Customer Reviews

Testament: A Novel

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It is certain that devout Christians will not be happy with this portrayal of the life of Jesus. Jesus is not a god, Mary is not a virgin and there is no resurrection in this story which is told in four books narrated by Judas Iscariot, Mary Magdalene, Simon of Gergesa and Mary the mother of Jesus.

I enjoyed the book as a stunning piece of historical fiction - through the character of Judas we get a view of life under the Roman occupation along with the usual toadies ready to sell out their own people. Vivid descriptions of the lakes, the fishermen and wharf areas make the countryside come to life, and most unforgettable is the magnificent temple of the Jews with the smells of blood and smoke from the animal sacrifices and tables of money changers. While I was reading "Testament" it was easy to slide into the past and imagine life in ancient times.

That anyone would be able to take the story of Jesus and put such an new slant on it is a testament to the writing skills and imagination of Nino Ricci, and to be able to make the story suspenseful is very impressive. By the same author I have also The Book of the Saints with its poetic and beautiful style of writing, then "In a Glass House" so emotional penetrating it was almost too painful to read - Mr. Ricci is one of those writers that always surprises, continuing to get better and better.

I've been a fan of Nino Ricci's since I read Book of Saints in college several years back. Now he's written an amazingly beautiful, deceptively simple portrait of a brilliant, mesmerizing, not always entirely likeable man named Jesus, and in doing so has created a character who I can understand and empathize with far more than the Christ of biblical lore.

The book is told by four different people - Judas, Mary Magdalene, Jesus's mother Mary, and a boy named Simon who follows Jesus to Jerusalem. I was particularly interested in the perspective of his mother, whose recounting of Jesus's youthful rebellion and strained family life vividly evoked what life was like in the Middle East 2000 years ago and also gave a fuller understanding of the kinds of things that could have led to Jesus becoming the messiah he was seen to be.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who has struggled with religious faith and needs a character they can relate to, anyone interested in historical fiction, and anyone looking for a plain good read. 5 stars!

I ejoyed this book thoroughly - very compelling, well-written and engaging. I suspect, however, that many devout Christians will have trouble reading a work of fiction based on the life of Jesus Christ, with the emphasis on the human rather than the divine.

Having said that, telling the story from four points of view, including some overlap in recounted events, presents a fascinating reflection on how our perceptions are influenced by what we bring to the situation (very interesting and relevant for the telling of THIS story). It also works well for maintaining momentum in the telling of a story that we already know very well. For anyone who feels that they can enjoy such a book without feeling uset or offended on religious grounds, I recommend it highly.

It is well known to most of the readers of the New Testament that each of the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John had different views of Jesus. Nino Ricci has chosen four other narrators, people who interacted with Jesus to tell their stories. In his stunning historical novel, he has Judas, Mary Magdalene, Mary, Jesus mother and Simon, a follower tell us how they saw and experienced Jesus. This work of imagination puts the reader in the time and place of Jesus in Galilee, Alexandria,Nazareth, Jerusalem with story lines for each that are plausible and compelling. The prose is simple because the people speak simply of their deep feelings and their relationships with Yeshua. I was fascinated by the alternate narrative, the interweaving of the events we take for granted, and the clear fact that no one person understood the whole of Jesus' mission. I finished the book only to reread it. The second reading was even more enjoyable. This is a masterful work and well worth every minute spent with it.

I was fascinated by the book. Each of the four characters was such an individual with a different relationship to Jesus. Jesus was seen as messianic, petulant, noncommunicative, loving, distant....all these things. The core of his true teachings came through too, such as the idea that heaven is right here in front of us but we do not open our eyes to see it. I am not a Christian and I agree with other reviewers here that some Christians may find this a difficult read, but if they are open-minded, they should find it a valuable addition to the stories of Jesus. Most of all, to me, I was so sorry when it ended. 450 pages, and then I said, "is that all?" I wanted even more! I did not, as one reviewer did, find the writing simplistic, I found it echoed the voices of the people of the time...there was almost a sense of it being translated from their own language - Aramaic or Greek. The historical aspect was excellent as well. Overall a very interesting novel.

I read Testament a couple of years ago and enjoyed it very much. Now, with renewed interest in the Gospels of Judas, I was reminded of Ricci's historical fiction. I especially liked the different points of view for the story of Jesus. No doubt some devout readers will see this book as blasphemy and view it on that basis. (Even my sister, who is only an occassional Catholic, at first couldn't get past the idea of the rape of Mary by a Roman soldier- although eventually she did read the whole thing.) Overall it is Ricci's talent as a writer that brings this story of the Holy Land 2,000 years ago to life. In my view, the major idea that Jesus was a charasmatic yet troubled person does not diminish the impact of his good ideas. How can you go wrong with: love each other, help those who need help, be generous and don't be afraid? What's not to like?

Well, it's in the running. This lovely fictional treatment is consistent with John Dominic Crossan's prominent research on the historical question, and makes for a compelling read. Is this, however, the historical Jesus? The suggestion that it probably isn't is revealed in the account of Jesus being crucified by accident for no reason at all. While the attempt to show us that sometimes things we find meaning in just aren't is admirable, this probably stretches things to the breaking point. A far more reasonable approach is to ask, what would it take to get a religious figure memorably executed by the Romans? Though Crossan's belief that it was Jesus' radical ethos, this is even less likely than being killed by accident (do our forces in Iraq scour the countryside looking for people with an interesting ethos? we have nothing better to do?) I think the real Jesus must've been more of a threat than this, to both the Temple and the Empire. But I could be wrong, and if I am, I imagine something very like this would be the truth.

This is one of those books that stays with you and you want to tell everyone to read it. It gives a different and very human slant to the life of Jesus. It would probably have the most impact on someone who is familiar with some of the common Bible stories but is a good read for anyone.

It's quite obvious that the author of this book has an anti-Christian agenda. Jesus born from the rape of Mary? What?!?!? I can understand poetic license, but that is so far off the reservation as to be criminal in my estimation.

He's lucky that Christians don't declare fatwas against people like him.

If you're a Christian, don't bother getting this book unless you want to see your religion disparaged and marginalized.

I was looking forward to this book. I love twists of common stories, and novels such as Saramago's Gospel According to Jesus Christ and Crace's Quarrantine not only gave me much to ponder, but were so well written that they were a joy to read. Not this one.

Based on his knowledge of history and of the human psyche, Ricco was able to interpret events from the bible in ways that are very plausible. My problem was the writing. At first it didn't seem to bother me; I found myself turning pages as fast as my eyes could scan them. But by the third chapter I was tiring of the simplistic language, and the constant repetition of obvious fact as if the reader didn't get it the first time. Also each chapter is written in the first person. The ideal would be for each of these narrators to tell the story in his own voice, and tell it so that we become enthralled in the world he weaves. Instead, they story telling was about as exciting as reading a court document. I did like how each chapter connected and how each person saw the same event or the same person slightly differently, leading to their differing perspective. But again, the writing kept getting in the way of making it a truly enjoyable novel.

I'd recommend the book if only for the interesting take on the story. But don't expect much from how it is written.