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: Too much or too little: take your pick
Review: Simon Mawr is ambitious. In his *Gospel of Judas*, he wants nothing less than to paint a portrait of post-Christian doubt. The main character, Father Leo Newman, is an everyperson who represents those of us in the earlier 21 century who can no longer believe in the old religion and are forced to create new identities for themselves (the name "Newman" isn't accidental). As such, the novel is a kind of spiritual fin de siecle. Although this theme isn't exactly a new one, the spin that Mawr puts on it is quite wonderful: what happens to a man--to a culture--already on the religious edge when a new "gospel" is discovered that claims to have been written by Judas Iscariot and gives eyewitness testimony AGAINST the Resurrection? The good news, then, is the exciting concept that inspires the novel. The bad news, I fear, is that Mawr couldn't quite pull it off. The novel reads as if there are two books crammed into one: Newman's unhappy love affair with Madeleine Brewer, and Newman's involvement in the discovery and translation of the Judas Gospel. Either tale is a stand-alone novel. Shoved together, neither quite comes off. Too much time is dedicated to the love affair, too little to the gospel, such that the last 50 pages are breathless, as if Mawr is furiously trying to tie all the loose ends together. Nor does it help that Mawr tries to weave together two different sets of flashbacks into the story line. One of the casualties of this shaky structure is Father Leo himself, who comes across as a curiously wooden figure. We never quite understand who or what he is. Nor is his enigmatic nature, I believe, intentional on Mawr's part. It comes from the fact that Newman isn't fully developed as a literary character, and that in turn comes from the fact that the novel is either too long or too short, depending on your perspective. Either separate its two tales, or extend the narrative far enough to do justice to them both. Still, Mawr is a wonderful wordsmith who can do beautiful and sometimes breathless things with the language. Moreover, the female characters in this novel are masterfully portrayed, particularly Magda. *The Gospel of Judas* is flawed, but it's well worth a read.
Rating: 
Summary: What if Jesus was not who we thought he was?
Review: The Gospel of Judas by Simon Mawer The backdrop is Rome, and Father Leo Newman undergoes several crises including betraying his priestly vows and experiencing a crisis of faith in Simon Mawer's THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS. Several plots run throughout the book, all of them seeming to be centered on Leo at various times of his life. However, the main thread takes us to the not so distant past, where Father Leo helps discover what could be a faith-shattering object. A gospel written by Judas Iscariot, the apostle who had betrayed Christ to the Romans, is discovered and everything in it contradicts the other four published gospels. If this document is released, Newman believes that the Church will go through a terrible catastrophe. This gospel could change what the Church stood for these past 2000 years, and invalidate what the world believed about Jesus Christ. During this same time frame, Leo has befriended a couple, Madeleine and Jack Brewer. Jack is a British diplomat, and Madeleine his beautiful wife. Madeleine invites Father Leo to their home for dinner one evening, and soon they begin to develop a friendship. It is Madeleine, however, that becomes Leo's close friend and confidante. What happens between Madeleine and Leo, along with the complications brought on by the gospel of Judas, shakes up Leo's world and changes his life forever. Flashbacks take us to Nazi Italy, where we see a British woman and her Nazi German husband live their daily lives in luxury, complete with young son Leo and Leo's instructor "Checco". There is obviously something going on between Gretchen and Checco, which eventually leads to betrayal and death. This whole subplot is full of mystery, and what we learn about Leo at the end of the book helps explain who Father Leo Newman really is. THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS was a very interesting story of a person's crumbling faith in the Church and in oneself. Readers may miss the many references to Mithraism, which were interspersed throughout the book to help illustrate the possibility of the Church's attempt to hide or change the truths from its followers, both in the past and in the present. Mithraism is pure fact, but as far as I know, THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS is pure fiction. Despite the controversial theme, I highly recommend this book. It is part of my list of top 20 books of 2002.
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.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Premise That Goes Absolutely Nowhere.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Spare yourself
Review: The main character was interesting, but the author couldn't seem to begin to get around to the point of the book in the six chapters I read... very disappointing, as I was intriqued by the supposed premise.
"Life is too short to read a badly-written book." ~ T.M.
Rating:
Summary: A Thinking Mans Thriller
Review: This book has all the elements which make for an excellent read. A well crafted, well written book, The Gospel of Judas works on several levels. It is an absorbing character study, and a taut archeological thriller packaged in one book. It is not for the reader who is into instant gratification. This is a book to savor slowly and enjoy. It is a literary meal, not a snack.
Rating: 
Summary: Could Have Been a Contender
Review: This could have been an excellent book had the author focused on the Judas scroll and all its implications. Instead, Mr. Mawer gives us a rambling, confusing, and time-hopping indulgence into the lives of a doubting priest, his mother, and various lovers, non of which generated any interest or empathy. This was a true disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Simply the worst!
Review: This has got to be the most frustrating book I have ever read. It should have been called the Gospel of Simon. He goes on and on but never mentions Judas. I understand Judas is finally introduced at the end. I couldn't wait that long and had to close the book before I pulled my hair out. Not worth the time or money.
Rating:
Summary: Of love, faith, and betrayal--heaven and hell on earth.
Review: This haunting and ironic novel takes us into the heart, mind, and family history of a dedicated priest living in Rome, giving the reader a rare look at his insecurities, the internal battles he faces, and the constant choices he must make. Father Leo Newman is an expert in ancient scrolls from the Dead Sea. Called to investigate a new, intact scroll in Jerusalem, he makes the startling discovery that this scroll is a record of what happened immediately after the crucifixion, as witnessed by Judas and Paul. Its transcription and publication will call into question the accuracy of the more familiar gospels, all of which were written later than this scroll, and which have, until now, been the underpinnings of Christianity and its traditions. Mawer takes us into the mind of Father Leo as he battles the demons of doubt unleashed by his discovery, and other, entirely mundane demons represented by his love for Madeleine Brewer, the wife of a diplomat. As the novel spirals from the present to the very near past and into the more distant past of Father Leo's childhood during World War II and back again, we see fascinating parallels between the betrayals Father Leo commits, and those of his mother, and of Judas. The roles of Mary Magdalen, Madeleine, and Magda, all of whom even share a name, continue these intriguing parallels and expand the novel's themes. As Mawer investigates the many kinds of love--love of mankind, love of God, and romantic love--he also shows us the multiplicity of threats to these kinds of love, and the difficulty of facing personal challenges armed only with black and white arguments. Father Leo, an honest man doing the best he can to be true to his church, is, strictly speaking, guilty of betraying both individuals and the church, while Judas, usually thought of as the most villainous of betrayers, possesses a core of honesty here which calls into question the traditional view of him in later gospels. This tour de force of a novel is a stimulating and thought-provoking study of love and truth, connecting a modern man with a much vilified disciple and raising the big question of whether a long-range good can come from a short-term betrayal and whether the price is worth it.
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