Gospel of Judas

Rating:
Summary: He Actually Got This Book Published??
Review: "If you cant dazzle them with brilliance baffle them with bull." This seems to have been Mawer's modus operandi as he undertook to write about ideas and themes that apparently are too grand for him to handle. This novel has a great many flaws which seem to have escaped most reviewers I have read. Perhaps they were confused by his writing, and thought they were dazzled when they were actually only baffled.

The greatest flaw in this novel is that nothing, and I mean NOTHING, actually happens until well after 100 pages. After all, the title of the novel is "The Gospel of Judas", but it takes Mawer 131 pages to get around to it. In other words, the first 50% of the novel is meandering fluff and digression. Yes, it does help set up Leo's crisis of faith that follows, but half a novel of backstory? A more skillful author would have introduced the gospel much earlier and let Leo's crisis of faith and his affair with Madeline slowly unfold side by side. Mawer seems to be capable of only running a single thread in his story, because almost immediately after the gospel is found Mawer has Madeline commit suicide for no apparent reason. But then, there are many things in this novel that are either pointless or "just happen" for no reason.

The next greatest flaw is the atrociously BAD writing itself. The reader is constantly bludgeoned with the "authorial interruptions" that Mawer just cannot get away from. He isn't skillful enough to let his characters and his story carry themselves. He instead has to interject awkward statements that tell the reader how to think, how to feel, how to react to the particular situation (e.g.; when Leo is on the airplane he keeps telling us to "picture" how torn he is. For crying out loud, don't TELL the reader how to feel about Leo, SHOW the reader how LEO feels!! Duh!!) He also interjects out-of-place statements of explanation that seem only to serve to let us know just how much smarter Mawer feels he is than the rest of us (e.g., the meaningless "7Q5" reference). There is absolutely no consistency in his use of tense or voice, they are just simply muddled together. How in the world did this manuscript get past the editor?

Mawer also makes great use of a thesaurus throughout this novel, in a vain attempt to sound intelligent and eloquent, but leaves only long, empty, and meaningless descriptive passages that do little to evoke a mood, reveal character, or move the plot.

This novel is really nothing more than a case study in poor writing that should have not been published as is. However, I will have to give it one more star than the minimum allowed because Mawer does show some creativity, and in a few places the writing actually isn't all that bad. It was an ambitious undertaking for him to explore these ideas, but as a whole, "The Gospel of Judas" fails miserably.

Rating:
Summary: A Beautifully Written Novel Of Doubt & Betrayal!
Review: "The Gospel of Judas" is a novel containing three skillfully woven storylines, all sharing the theme of betrayal. The events are recounted in flashbacks to a time a few years before the present, and to a period during WWII in Italy. Underlying the entire narrative is the theme of Judas Iscariot. When I hear the name Judas, I immediately associate it with the word "betrayal." Some of the questions this novel poses are, who was Judas? Did he betray? Has religious history given Judas a bad rap?

Father Leo Newman, a Roman Catholic priest, is a biblical scholar working in Rome for the World Bible Center. He is an expert at deciphering, translating and interpreting the bits and pieces of ancient papyrus discovered in Near Eastern archeological sites that deal with biblical history, especially those pertaining to New Testament writings. Newman is lonely, middle-aged, and somewhat ascetic. When the novel opens, he finds himself at a crossroads of sorts, questioning the value of his passionless existence, his life's work in the Church and his faith in God. He thinks, at one point, "And indeed, what kind of faith was it? A poor, dried-out thing, a construct put together of habit, defiance and anxiety." For the first time since his adolescence Leo finds himself attracted to a woman, Madeline Brewer, the wife of a British diplomat. Madeline, (and the author is quick to point out the similarity in the names Madeline and Magdalene), senses that the attraction is mutual and overtly pursues a friendship with the priest - and then a stronger emotional relationship, and then...much more.

It is during this relationship between Madeline and Leo that papyrus fragments are discovered, in a dig near the Dead Sea, which may be the writings of Christ's disciple, Judas Iscariot. This potential "Gospel of Judas" could, if proved to be authentic, blow apart the foundation of Christianity and also the foundation on which Father Leo Newman has built his life. Newman is called upon to study the parchments for validation and interpretation.

While Leo is taxing his emotional limits, dealing with the Judas Gospel and his adulterous relationship with Madeline, Simon Mawr takes us back further in time to Italy during the war years. He seeks to explain Leo's troubled past by giving the reader a glimpse of his German parents' lives, and their characters, during the years prior to his birth. What is revealed here is astonishing in itself, as a story of terrible pain, conflict and betrayal, and also in the parallels to the emotional upheavals that Leo Newman is experiencing in the present.

Simon Mawr masterfully intertwines his stories as his characters cope with issues of faith, identity, responsibility, love, betrayal and loss - and what it means to believe. Betrayal permeates the narrative, beginning with relationships, events and lies which occur before Leo's birth, and continuing with his own, and Madeline's. The question also arises of whether to betray the truth - the facts of the new incendiary text, and perhaps, even the person who Judas was.

Mawr's prose is extraordinary, as usual, his characters sensitive and believable, their development is solid, and his research is impeccable. I was left, however, with a feeling of dissatisfaction at the novel's conclusion. I grew to care about the people Mawr created, especially Leo Newman. I found myself drawn into their lives and psyches. Mawr's ending left me hanging. His intelligent narrative built considerable tension as the novel's various scenarios played out, but I was left feeling that many of the issues were never resolved adequately enough to dispel the tension. Nor did Mawr answer many of the questions the novel posed. After such a glorious telling, the tale ended on a flat note.
JANA

Rating:
Summary: Very dissapointing
Review: Following gripes with this book:

1) Juicy bits about actual gospel of Judas stuck in the BACK of the book and should have been introduced right away.

2) In the beginning, instead of starting a new story in practically every chapter, he should have stuck with one, two, or THREE at the very most!! Instead, Mawer had about a billion subplots in a relatively small book. Very frustrating.

3) A passive protagonist. The main character is this old, sterile priest who, for some reason, has ALL THESE CHICKS THROWING THEMSELVES AT HIM!! What was so fantastic about this guy? I couldn't tell.

4) Cliche love scene. Alone in a chapel on a rainy day and the lights go out. Gimmie a break. When the heck does that ever happen? And, of course, she just CAN'T restrain herself. Bleah.

5) When I finally got to the end of the book -- basically cuz I just skipped the middle it was so hard to follow and dull -- the dealing with the actual gospel of Judas was very obvious. Not to ruin the ending for anyone else, but wouldn't it have been such a better book if the gospel hadn't been treated as it had been? If it had come to light? What would the world-wide ramifications have been?

Props to Mawer for the following: very well researched. Good description. Beautiful writing.

Rating:
Summary: Mary Doria Russell's new favorite author
Review: I suppose I should be grateful that The Gospel of Judas
hadn'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.

Rating:
Summary: Leaves the reader thinking
Review: 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

Rating:
Summary: Splendid Writing and a Compelling Plot!
Review: 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.