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The Gospel of Judas A Novel Simon Mawer 9780316973748 Books

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The Gospel of Judas A Novel Simon Mawer 9780316973748 Books

Simon Mawer is brilliant and definitely up there among my favourite writers.
The Gospel of Judas is the fourth book I have read by this writer and he never disappoints.
The story line centres around Leo,a catholic priest who has an affair with a married woman and the dire consequences of that affair. He plays a leading role in translating an ancient scroll which is believed to be written by Judas and there are consequences to that. As with other stories by Mawer we are taken back in time (World war 2) to be introduced to Leo's mother which provides another insight into Leo. The story is complex in many ways which provide the reader with much opportunity for thought.
Leo was perhaps difficult to place, his character not very well defined, I felt, but small criticism for a wonderful book.
I love Simon Mawer's use of language which he obviously loves to play with, and I suspect he has a deep respect and liking for women! (Even though some of them are such manipulative wenches!)
I recommend highly The Gospel of Judas to anyone who enjoys intelligent but easy to read literature.


Tags : The Gospel of Judas: A Novel [Simon Mawer] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A priest experiencing a crisis of faith -- and the married woman to whom he is attracted. A scroll newly discovered near Jerusalem that,Simon Mawer,The Gospel of Judas: A Novel,Back Bay Books,0316973742,Thrillers - Suspense,FICTION Literary,FICTION Thrillers Suspense,Fiction,Fiction - General,GENERAL,General Adult,Literary,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

The Gospel of Judas A Novel Simon Mawer 9780316973748 Books Reviews

While it has a papyrus from a Dead Sea cave that offers a radically different version of Christ's life and the founding of the church, like Da Vinci Code and its numerous imitators, this is not a thriller.

It is a novel about a priest's doubt, a complex drama in which the discovery of a putative "Gospel of Judas" plays a decidedly minor role and only really in the last third of the book. The story of Father Leo Newman, a British papyrologist who lives in Rome, has as much in common with Bernanos' Diary of a Country Priest and J.F. Powers' Morte d'Urban as it does with the garden variety biblical thriller.

Mawer in fact has such an understanding of the celibate's mind, the emotional stunting that accompanies the vow of chastity, the fragile foundation in faith for this type of dedication, that it would seem he was in the seminary. If he was, his bio gives no indication of it, so perhaps he has simply gotten to know a number of priests well in his 30 years of living in Rome. In any case, he describes those feelings with considerable insight.

Less surprising is how Mawer can make Rome palpable with a few deft strokes. These are not elaborate descriptions but telling details that betray an intimacy with the sights, sounds and smells of the Eternal City. I've only spent a smattering of weeks in Rome, but the city came rushing back into my memory in Mawer's narrative.

There is more to say about the plot but it is the language that is in the forefront. It is a muscular prose, as vivid in its description of the tangible as the intangible. It is a sophisticated, sinuous narrative that has room for Latin, Italian, Greek, German seamlessly embedded in the text. He works at it, as evidenced in this statement from an interview he gave

"To write decent novels you have to be in love with the language. You have to feel the texture of it between your fingers, mould it like clay, carve it like marble. Despite all the creative writing programs in the world, I am sure this ability cannot be taught. So I try to use the meanings of words, of place names, of personal names, to inform the narrative."

This is exactly what comes across. In this book, just for instance, Mawer uses the redolent names of Rome's churches to convey the grandeur, the historicity, the plasticity, even, of these monuments -- Santa Maria Maggiore, San Crisogono, Santa Maria dell'Anima, San Lorenzo fuori le mura. His descriptions in various vignettes from the past of the picnics and outings that his mother, the wife of the German ambassador to Italy, made in wartime Rome evoke the splendid ruin of Italy's history. Such pursuit of civilized leisure even as the Axis war machine rains terror on the rest of Europe is reminiscent of Visconti's "The Damned."

Judas Iscariot, the apostle, is the author of the gospel that Leo comes to believe is genuine. But the novel is full of other Judases. Leo's mother betrays her lover in a way that can know no forgiveness (except from the betrayed), and Leo himself earns the title of Judas for his work on the Gospel of Judas.

The details of the gospel are interesting, how it transforms the narrative of Jesus' life simply by shifting a couple of small facts. Whether genuine or forgery, whether a truthful account or deliberate misinformation, the gospel of Judas has little chance of challenging the centuries-old Christian faith. History has too much invested in the received tradition to accept any other truth, even if factual. Yes, the gospel has information that could shake Christianity to its foundations, but it can never earn the credence that would allow this to happen.

Just where the author stands in all this become clear in his account of Leo's "pilgrimage" at the end of the book, which explains why the church will remain triumphant and why it's futile to seek the truth.

Mawer clearly doesn't set out to write bestsellers. This is anything but a potboiler, though it is a compelling read and has its own suspense. Nor will his willingness to question Christianity and make a faith-challenged priest his hero endear him to legions of believers. But the reader doesn't have to identify with Leo. The reader can see him as a flawed, in some ways tragic individual. The Gospel of Judas is a question, not an answer, and the reader can decide where the truth lies.
I found the first part of the book interesting, well written - but seemingly very slow, tedious and I was actually ready to put it down (something I always hate doing...). I then did my usual process reserved for these moments - i started reading the book backwards from the last chapter...what an incredible book! The last 50-100 pages, which deal with the unraveling of the actual gospel relics, are superb - yes, there is the necessary foundation laid in the first part of the book, but this is the very essence of the novel. The message here - skim through the first part, and really enjoy the last third!
I do find the story line about Leo's mother not really contributing much to the somewhat powerful novel; could have easily been omitted. I am not historically versant in the Judas gospel, but it certainly compels one to hit the reference books for some background information!
The book, the story and to a great extent - the ending - will linger for a while...well worth the read.
I didn't realize it was a novel.I was looking for an apocryphal letter frrom the 4th century. Thanks anyway. Bob
This book lets us look at the character of Judas in his own time and feelings of those around him.
This is a must to read. As said, " The truth always finds the light". It is wonderful. Marsha, Enchanticals
The initial premise of the book was so great that I couldn't wait to read it, by the time I got to the end I couldn't belive that I had read it.
The flash backs did nothing to move the book forward or to explain anything that happened later. The priest and his mistress sub-plot didn't either. The central issue of what finding a document like a gospel written by the hand of Judas Iscariot would mean to Christianity was treated with a cop-out sort of ending.
Also the fact of Judas being alive after the crucificion when two different gospels in the bible give two completely different accounts of the death of Judas would also seem to be an interesting avenue to explore, since this gospel seems to contradict both accounts as much as they contradict themselves.
In the long run the revalation of something like a gspel written by Judas would probably not change anyones ideas about religion. People who don't belive would have a lit tle more confirmation of their disbelief and people who did believe would write it off as a hoax, but the idea could have been explored in a much better fashion.
Simon Mawer is brilliant and definitely up there among my favourite writers.
The Gospel of Judas is the fourth book I have read by this writer and he never disappoints.
The story line centres around Leo,a catholic priest who has an affair with a married woman and the dire consequences of that affair. He plays a leading role in translating an ancient scroll which is believed to be written by Judas and there are consequences to that. As with other stories by Mawer we are taken back in time (World war 2) to be introduced to Leo's mother which provides another insight into Leo. The story is complex in many ways which provide the reader with much opportunity for thought.
Leo was perhaps difficult to place, his character not very well defined, I felt, but small criticism for a wonderful book.
I love Simon Mawer's use of language which he obviously loves to play with, and I suspect he has a deep respect and liking for women! (Even though some of them are such manipulative wenches!)
I recommend highly The Gospel of Judas to anyone who enjoys intelligent but easy to read literature.