The Gospel of Judas

I suppose I should be grateful that The Gospel of Judashadn't been written until well after I published The Sparrow and Children of God. I wouldn't have bothered trying to write my own novels if I'd been able to read Simon Mawer's. I haven't been this enthralled with a writer since Dorothy Dunnett died. If you liked my books, you'll be glad I told you about Mawer's. He is a wonderful writer, interested in themes I also find fascinating: science, religion, faith, and character.

Life is what we make of it, and (Father) Leo Newman (the story's protagonist) has made a botch of his. And just as his religious faith begins to fall prey to his mounting doubts, Madeleine Brewer ("Maddy" - Mawer's choice of character names is subtly clever) enters the scene, and away they go; displacing thought for action, the cerebral for the physical. Mawer conflates this love triangle - Maddy is married to a British diplomat; Leo is married to his faith and religion - with the discovery of another gospel, this one by Judas Iscariot. What Leo, as translator of the parchment, learns about Jesus Christ and the birth of Christianity causes him to view the religious and the secular in a different light...This book's marketing can create some confusion: is it a dialectic about faith, a thriller, a love story? It is each of these, and more. Simon Mawer has managed - artfully, gracefully - to ensnare the reader into entertaining even enjoying the questions (and some answers) that transcend our individual lives. *The Gospel of Judas* is, quite simply, an astounding novel - perhaps the best novel I have read in several years! Admittedly, it does include ALL of the topics and issues that *I* find so thrilling: faith, religion, history, and language. Mawer's love of language mimics his love for the quotidian, and allows him to tell a tale for all.But don't take my word for it, on faith; check it out for yourself. You must see, smell, feel, and read this novel, to believe it. Highest recommendation.

This question echoes in the mind of Father Leo Newman when he realizes the content of the scroll he has been called upon to examine and translate, found near the dead sea, and apparently dating from the first century -- older than any existing basis for any of the gospels. As he translates the first few lines, he realizes that the scroll is claimed as the work of none other than Judas -- and as might be expected, it presents a version of events very much at odds with those upon which Christianity has been based for nearly two thousand years.Father Newman is called upon to be a part of the team examining this important artifact -- which has the potential to turn the church (and, indeed, the world) upside down -- at a time in his life when he is wrestling with his own crises, of faith, of doubt, of morality. He has recently become involved in an affair with a married woman, the wife of a diplomat.The story unfolds basically on three levels. The main plot line takes place just a few years in the past, and involves Newman's work on the scroll and his affair with Madeleine Brewer. In vivid flashbacks, we are also given glimpses into his family's past -- in Italy, during 1943, when his mother was married to a German officer, and engages in an forbidden affair of her own, with a Jewish instructor hired to educate the couple's son. The third is set in the present day, and shows Newman living in the company of a young woman named Magda, come from Moravia to Rome to learn English so that she might eventually go to America -- destination of so many seeking to start a new life. She is an artist, and we are given evocative glimpses of the world through her eyes.Mawer brings all of these plots into play nicely, weaving them into this well-constructed novel in such a way as to slowly open them like blossoms, revealing the interconnections and implications of each in due time. By the time the novel reaches its climax, they are inextricably tied together -- aspects from each are seen as connected solidly, in both a physical and a psycological sense. The torments experienced by Leo Newman -- what to do with his life and his emotions (being a priest), and the implications of the release of the information contained in the scroll, are very relevant and real. He holds within his power a revelation that could bring down his church. Is is a true account of events of two thousand years ago, or is it merely the earliest known piece of anti-Christian propaganda ever discovered? The struggles he makes, emotionally, spiritually and physically, to chart the path of his life, make for some compelling reading. Mawer is an incredibly talented writer -- this novel, as well as his amazing MENDEL'S DWARF, attest well to that fact.

The Gospel of Judas is a splendid novel on several levels. First of all, it's exceedingly well written. The descriptions of Rome and the natural world are quite striking, as are those of the protagonist's interior life and interaction with other characters. I think The Gospel will appeal to those who liked The English Patient (the novel, that is). The author employs shifts in perspective (third person to first person narrative), shifts in the time period (present day to 1943), and a particularly intersting twist in the plot -- all with great skill. Mawer also does well in handling the conflict between faith and logic, dogma and reason. A novel of this type will never satisfy everyone (the reasons for that are amply demonstrated in the controversy over the scrolls in the plot), but I found it immensely satisfying and thought-provoking. I also enjoyed and "bought" the relationship between the priest and the two women in the story. Obviously, someone else may not. And I absolutely loved Mawer's explanation of the derivation of various words and the turbulent beginnings of Chrisitian precepts. We take what came to be so much for granted. There are very few books that I feel I could begin again right at the end and enjoy even more. This is one of them. I gave copies to several friends and I'll read Mendel's Dwarf just on the basis on this fine piece of writing. Highly recommended.

Near the Dead Sea, a new scroll from the time of Jesus has been discovered. The church sends Rome teacher-scholar Father Leo Newman to investigate and translate the newest find. Leo is going through a difficult period as he has doubts about his chosen avocation ever since he met and sinned by having an affair with Madeline Brewer. Still, Leo immediately travels to Jerusalem to join an international team inspecting the rich find, but his assignment is to concentrate on one particular papyrus. Leo quickly realizes that the document the Church sent him to inspect apparently contains the Gospel accordance to Judas Iscariot. Instead of supporting the other Gospels, this scroll denies much of what has been claimed. Leo begins to comprehend how Judas felt when he condemned his best friend to death. THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS is an insightful look at the Judas betrayal but in a modern text and through Leo's break in faith. The story line is fast-paced especially in an allegorical manner that compares Leo to Judas. The flashbacks to World War II are cleverly written, but the story belongs to the Leo-Judas relationship that, in turn, proves how talented Simon Mawer truly is.Harriet Klausner