The Final Testament of the Holy Bible [Hardcover]

James Frey (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 22, 2011

James Frey isn't like other writers. He's been called a liar. A cheat. A con man. He's been called a saviour. A revolutionary. A genius. He's been sued by readers. Dropped by publishers because of his controversies. Berated by TV talk-show hosts and condemned by the media. He's been exiled from America, and driven into hiding. He's also a bestselling phenomenon. Published in 38 languages, and beloved by readers around the world. What scares people about Frey is that he plays with truth; that fine line between fact and fiction. Now he has written his greatest work, his most revolutionary, his most controversial. The Final Testament of the Holy Bible. What would you do if you discovered the Messiah were alive today? Living in New York. Sleeping with men. Impregnating young women. Euthanizing the dying, and healing the sick. Defying the government, and condemning the holy. What would you do if you met him? And he changed your life. Would you believe? Would you? The Final Testament of the Holy Bible . It will change you. Hurt you. Scare you. Make you think differently. Live differently. Enrage you. Offend you. Open your eyes to the world in which we live. We've waited 2,000 years for the Messiah to arrive. We've waited 2,000 years for this book to be written. He was here. The Final Testament of the Holy Bible is the story of his life.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

For two thousand years people have spent their lives waiting, praying, fighting, begging, and going to war for the Messiah. They continue to do so, every minute of every day, every day of every year. And yet, as far as we know, the Messiah has never come.

How would a man like Jesus be perceived if he appeared today? How would he live, what would he say, what would he preach and believe? How would society react to him, and what would they to do him? And though he may be the Messiah, he is not the man that has been prayed for over the course of the last two thousand years. He believes religion is a fraud, government is a sham, and that love should be a choice, regardless of gender. He is, as Christ was, everything that religious leaders and government officials fear, what they speak against, and what they destroy. He did not burn books, or picket doctor's offices, or spend his time in religious institutions. He simply preached a message. Love your fellow man.

Written from the perspective of his family, friends, and followers, in the same way the story of Jesus Christ was told in the New Testament, The Final Testament of the Holy Bible is the story of Ben Zion Avrohom, also known as Ben Jones, also known as the Messiah, also known as the Lord God.

In The Final Testament of the Holy Bible James Frey, America's most controversial bestselling writer, has written the most compelling and provocative work of his career.

Author Q&A with James Frey

Q: What inspired the controversial concept behind The Final Testament?

A: It’s something I’ve thought about for 15 years. What would it actually be like if the Messiah arrived, or if Christ returned? Who would that person be, how would they live, what would they believe in, how would we recognize them, and how would society react to them? I don’t claim to have the answers. I just wanted to tell a theoretical version of the story.

Q: You've opted to go with the Gagosian Gallery in New York rather than a traditional publisher. Why did you choose a small art gallery over a traditional publishing house?

A: Gagosian is the most prestigious gallery in the world. And they publish about 50 books a year--beautiful art books that transcend what a writer can do with a traditional publisher. I wanted to make a beautiful book, an object that people would be proud to own and display,something looked and felt like a real Bible, but more contemporary. I have always said that art influences me more than writing does so the idea of working with a gallery made sense to me.

Q: What artists inspired you while writing The Final Testament?

A: I looked at a ton of Renaissance religious art, like Michelangelo and Raphael, Carvaggio. Some of the sculpture Rodin made. Illuminated manuscripts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There is a much greater and more substantial body of religious art than there is religious literature.

Q: Could you talk about the design of the book? How involved were you in the process?

A: I was very involved in every step of it, in every decision related to it. I worked with a design firm in London called GTF. They make incredible books, and they were incredible to work with on this project. The goal was to make a beautiful, unique, collectible book.

Q: The Final Testament will be released as a limited-edition $50 printed book and a $150 autographed version, but you're self-publishing the ebook at $10. Do you see a future where the printed book is an expensive object intended for collectors while digital copies are for everyone else?

A: Absolutely. I think the future of publishing, or one version of it, is in physical books for collectors and serious fans and ebooks for mass distribution. I believe in that future and want to be a part of it as early as possible.

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Review

Bold, brilliant, honest -- Erica Wagner, The Times Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant: every page is great. -- A N Wilson, Financial Times This is a wonderful book, which one picks up with enthusiasm and puts down with reluctance -- Lionel Shriver, The Times Compelling as both a thriller and a provocative riposte to religious orthodoxies -- Guardian Unputdownable -- Sunday Times It's a truly brilliant book - beautiful, moving and thoughtful, yet entertaining and gripping too -- Matthew Cain, Channel 4 A gently humorous, surprisingly plausible, rather charming read -- Decca Aitkenhead, Guardian Exhilarating ... It grabs you by the throat -- Julie Myserson, New Statesman Compulsive reading -- Elle A work of towering ambition, heartbreaking drama and devilish skill -- Shortlist A powerful page-turner that questions conventional political and religious mortality -- She --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Gagosian Gallery (April 22, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1935263269
• ISBN-13: 978-1935263265
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #117,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Frey is originally from Cleveland. He is the author of A Million Little Pieces and My Friend Leonard. He lives in New York.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 97 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Gentle Ben channels hippies April 21, 2011

By Ripple

Format:Kindle Edition

The Rabbis say that all the signs are there from the birth of Ben Zion Avrohom that he is the Messiah. That's a lot of anyone to cope with and, like Jesus, there's much of Ben's early life that is untold here. When he is involved in an horrific accident on a building site that he miraculously survives, albeit with terrible scaring, the prophecies appear to be true. He develops a form of epilepsy during which he appears to speak to God. He is fluent in ancient languages despite never learning them, knows all the Holy books by heart and yet distains all forms of religion, instead spreading his message of love to all who meet him in modern day New York.

As a rule, I believe a book should be judged solely on it's own merits without reference to the person who wrote it. Yet the publishers fill the cover blurb with statements about Frey himself. He has, we are told himself been called a "saviour. A revolutionary, A genius" as well as "a liar. A cheat, A con man". To a British reader, the furore surrounding Frey seems a bit overblown but the fact remains that he comes with a lot of "baggage". Since the publishers concentrate on this, it is perhaps on, this occasion, worth considering the background to the book.

In the UK we don't place such faith in the supreme being and judge of all that is good. By that, of course, I mean Oprah! In 2003 Frey wrote an `autobiography'. It was very good. Oprah loved it. Then it was revealed that some of the `facts' were at least a little stretched. Oprah got mad. Publishers dropped Frey and he became something of a pariah, branded a liar and who knows what else. The fact that Frey is a gifted and interesting writer was worth nothing it seemed. That's the gist of the background. Presumably taking the line that "you may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb" Frey here turns his focus on the lamb that is the Holy Lamb of God and has a pop at religious beliefs in general. Again, in the UK, we are less subject to the Christian Right power, but even so, Frey is no longer afraid of controversy although perhaps the conceit that he knows what it is to suffer for his art like Jesus did is a little nauseating.

So, is the book any good? Well, in parts, yes it is. However, let me qualify that slightly by saying that at least some of strong religious beliefs will find something to offend them here, if not in the story itself, which features a Messiah who practices free love with both men and women, then in the layout which is all justified hard left to look, well, like a Bible or other Holy book. The Good Friday publishing date adds fuel to the fire. He also pretty much distains all religious belief, although he tends to focus on Christianity and avoids Islam, perhaps on legal advice? If that's likely to offend, then my advice would be to avoid it. Then there's the fairly fruity language that pervades passages - Matthew (yes chapters are named after the characters who speak them, including Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Ruth, ... well you get the idea) is particularly given to the f-word.

I approached the book expecting to either love or hate it but in fact, I never hated it and indeed I started off by loving it. The different narrators for each chapter to tell the story is carried off with aplomb and I remain of the view that Frey is a talented writer. Personally, I was never offended by the central argument, but that will depend on your own belief system. But what I did find, which was unexpected, was that by around half way through, it actually started to bore me. Judith's chapter, an over-weight and unloved woman who becomes a follower, and which in fact has one of the largest page counts, was by far the least interesting.

The reason for this is that his Messiah, Ben's solution is that we should all just love one another and, if possible have sex with one another and then it will all be OK or if not, at least we'll have had a good time in the process. That's hardly a new position (no pun intended) to take. The 1960s anyone? John Lennon? It ends up as being little more than a hippy manifesto and apart from the fact that he appears to glow, has strange epileptic episodes and survived a bad accident, there's little to suggest why people would listen to Gentle Ben.

I loved the idea of each chapter told from different people's perspectives (we never get Ben's). But there's too much of a whole at the centre in the form of Ben. Yes, fans of Richard Dawkins may well appreciate the denouncing of organised religion but Ben doesn't suggest anything terribly radical or inspiring as an alternative. All he has are some liberal beliefs, which to be fair to Frey, might be more controversial in the US than in the UK.

The publisher's concentration on the so-called traits of the man (Frey) are what we tend to focus on rather than the message. I suspect it's all part of the point. Frey is nothing if not highly intelligent and he has a strong sense of self and understanding of the power of publicity. It's tempting to quote Monty Python at this point and say that "he's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy", but while Frey is clearly having fun with his naughty image, the fact remains that he is a genuinely innovative and talented writer. I just wished he had more to say.

41 of 52 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not his best, but Frey is still amazing May 14, 2011

By NYC Composer

Format:Hardcover

While I was a sobbing mess at My Friend Leonard, and a huge fan of Frey's work - I, too, was chomping at the bit to get his new novel. There is no denying this man, Frey, is a superbly talented writer. While his newest novel may not be for everyone, it is still well-written, gripping at times, entertaining and ultimately thought-provoking. If this is your first Frey, do start and read his novels in order, beginning with "A Million Little Pieces". Then and only then can you appreciate the phenomenal writing of Frey. Well done James.

58 of 78 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars If you're looking for an engaging, thought-proviking story, look elsewhere April 30, 2011

By Ismail Elshareef VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I couldn't wait for this book to come out, considering that Frey's "Bright Shiny Morning (P.S.)" is one of my very few all-time favorite books. I ordered both the $50 leather-bound book and the $10 Kindle edition because I wanted to have the story with me wherever I went; to read it whenever I wanted; to savor it whenever I needed.

Well, it didn't quite pan out that way.

My anticipation was met with a colossal disappointment at the third-rate writing (absolutely uncharacteristic of Frey's, by the way,) embarrassingly indulgent themes, underdeveloped characters (another very odd thing coming from Frey) and overtly preachy agenda. I thought the idea behind the book was brilliant (i.e. love conquers all and organized religion is the source of all evil) but the execution was painfully lacking.

The story is about Ben Zion Avrohom, whom Frey goes to explain, is "also known as Ben Jones, also known as the Prophet, also known as the Son, also known as the Messiah, also known as the Lord God."

Throughout the book, "Ben Jones" reminded me a lot of Jim Jones of Jonestown. It was very disturbing. But I digress...

The book is divided into 16 small chapters, each of which is the story of Ben told from the perspective of a distinct character that meets Ben and is changed by him. There are 12 characters, analogues to the 12 apostles in the Bible, and one of them narrates three chapters.

Amongst the colorful (yet sadly austere and underdeveloped,) narrating characters are a Dominican prostitute, a construction supervisor, an ER surgeon, Ben's sister, Ben's mother, a born-again homosexual Christian evangelical, a rabbi, a derelict, an FBI agent, an evangelical pastor, a priest, an obese white woman from upstate NY, and a Black Public Defender. There is also a recurring character that doesn't narrate and that is Ben's brother, Jacob.

Ben himself didn't have a chapter, although I'm sure there was plenty of writing materials in NYC, where he hung out.

Anyway ...

Through the eyes of this eclectic group of people we get to learn what Ben thinks of government, religion, money, the Gods, Jesus, race, sex, homosexuality, all sexuality, abortion, death, Heaven, Hell, guns, drugs, and of course, the Holy Bible and the Words of God.

It sounds all great in theory, but the way it was written was, in a way, insulting. Not in a blasphemous sort of way, but in an intellectual sort of way. Maybe Frey wanted to book to be so banal to poke fun at the Holy Bible? I'll never know. All I know is it didn't work for me.

The long and short of it is this: God wants us to live and act on all our desires and needs and "love" and engage in orgies because in the end ... LOVE IS RELIGION.

I think Frey should have focused more on his writing and his characters rather than the design of the book, which by the way is beautiful. If you're a James Frey fan, you will either love this book or really hate it. If you don't know who James Frey is or haven't read any of his books, run for your life. Read "Bright Shiny Morning (P.S.)" instead.

If you do decide to get the book, get the eBook edition first just to make sure you like it. If you love it, buy the leather-bound, Bible look-alike edition. Great for collectors.

I'll give the book this, though. It had the most appropriate title. Because very much like the Bible (old and new), The Koran and all the other "holy" books, it is a waste of paper and ink and a crime against the environment.

I guess "skip it" would be my recommendation.