Rating: 
Summary: A slow and thoughtful read -- not a fast paced thriller.
Review: For me, this was "slow food". Not the stuff of today's best sellers. And, I don't think Jim Crace intended it to be.His descriptions of the desert are some of the best I have seen. At the end, as Musa rides off on a donkey cart with his fat legs hanging off the back, I couldn't help but visualize a modern televangelist doing the same while preparing his scripts and ambience settings for his next fund-raising production. This was a very worthwhile book to read.
Rating: 
Summary: meandering, pointless and confusing
Review: What begins as an inquisitive study of the humanity and divinity of Jesus meanders to a disappointing conclusion. Character development and geographical descriptions are excellent; that is all except for the central character. All the supposed mysticism, parallels and theology fall flat on their faces. A very compulsive yet unsatisfying read.
Rating:
Summary: Very thought-provoking, strong characters
Review: The novel is essentially a detailed character, cultural and behavioural study which happens to explore some rather intriguing and potentially divisive issues. If you can read with an open mind, you'll see that this book is most definitely neither mean-spirited _nor_ mocking or derisive of religion. It's a book that attempts to challenge and encourage it's readership to think - if you start reading expecting to be shocked by it's blasphemous content, well, you've prejudged and will doubtless find such a message.
Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking, contentious and vivid ..
Review: This book supplies the reader with a vivid depiction of a handful of very human individuals struggling with self-imposed quarantines in a harsh landscape. Not much of a plot and not a lot of action, but I kept turning the pages because of the sheer story-telling skill of the author. Description and detail are so intense, you can bury yourself in the desert along with the characters. This is a book that makes you think, question and re-examine your attitudes to other people and to your own set of beliefs. No doubt the central figure described as Jesus will raise eyebrows amongst the religious and non-religious alike, but I found "Gally" to be ultimately one of the least sympathetic characters and almost incidental. Far more interesting is the illustration of evil and temptation and the impact on future lives. It is certainly a "good read", absorbing and thought-provoking.
Rating:
Summary: Depressing and Mean Spirited
Review: Reading this, I am reminded of a book by John Gardener entitled "On Moral Fiction". Essentially Gardener rails against authors who write fiction that does not strive towards uplifting humanity. Gardener thinks moral fiction serves a purpose to have the reader emerge with a drive to better themselves and in this process will better society (and I don't want to get Clintonesque and digress into relativistic discussions over the term "better") Quarantine does neither. Rather it is depressing and pessimistic. The main character suffers no consequences for his actions and is left to perpetrate more of the same. His victims meekly depart. I have no idea why the author uses Jesus as one of the characters, other than for shock value. The ending left me cold and mad. Obviously the book has no moral agenda, but the author does have an ideological ax to grind, this being that we live in a world of **** and that those willing to exploit others can do so with impunity, provided they have the kahunas to do so. Belief in God is for naive waifs and delusionals. While atheists feel this is true, some agnostics may be convinced that it is...not a proud accomplishment. And certainly not worthy of applaud and honors.
Rating: 
Summary: remarkable, suble story-telling
Review: This novel is definitely not for those who want all the nuances of a story spoonfed to them, and I suspect the complaints that _Quarantine_ is "boring" and "has no plot" stem from the attitude too many take toward reading books nowadays. _Quarantine_ is immensely rewarding, but it's not a airport rack thriller. While not exactly inspirational, and definitely morally ambiguous, the events that lead upto the last 20 pages or so are perfect; Crace's handling of what happens with Jesus and Musa after the former's "death," and the emancipation of Musa's wife and the woman he raped, are far superior to anything I have read in a long time. Although the prose is a bit dry at times, that actually turns to its advantage at the end, where it is all-important to be understated. I highly recommend this book. But unlike a previous reviewer, I didn't detect even a smidgen of stereotyping of Arab culture. I read that review prior to buying the book, and was fully prepared for some prejudicial characterization, but I couldn't find any whatsoever. All the characters in here are truly universal -- Miri's subservience to and concealed hatred of her husband, Musa's mercantilistic thinking and amorality, and so on. I would have no problem at all imagining Miri as a modern, oppressed Western housewife and Musa as a domineering, conceited middle manager. Just because not all the characters here are admirable doesn't mean they're stereotypes. Such accusations about books and movies usually have at least some merit, but for _Quarantine_ they're completely unjustified, and seem a bit paranoid, actually.
Rating: 
Summary: A colorful portrait of a judean desert 2,000 years ago.
Review: This book is accurate, historically, but because it centers around half a dozen god-seekers 2,000 years ago, it may be a little boring (for anyone who isn't particularly interested in archaeology or ancient history).
Rating:
Summary: A vivid and well crafted tale.
Review: Jim Crace's QUARANTINE was a compelling and ultimately moving retelling of one of the pivotal moments in New Testament narratives. It vividly recreated the often brutal realities of ancient middle eastern existence. In the barreness of the desert and in the barreness of the characters' lives there are suprising signs of life. I suspect that believers and non-believers will both gain insights from this beautifully crafted tale.
Rating:
Summary: Crace's Arab characters devoid of humanity, one-dimensional
Review: Inspite of its stunning imagery this otherwise well researched novel suffers from traditional negative portrayal of Arabs and Arab culture.
Rating:
Summary: hugely impressive, so carefully written and precise
Review: I found this novel hugely impressive and the language so carefully and precisely used, that the intrusion of Jesus (the latin form of his name) into such a carefully constructed Judaie world was a real irritant. Why not use the Hebrew/Jewish name of Joshua bar Joseph? If you think that your audience isn't clever enough to have equated Joshua with Jesus by the end of the novel surely you're smart enough to drop us a few more clues? Similarly I thought every child who had been to Sunday School knew that'forty days' was a New Testament idiom for a 'long time' (forty years a very long time). This realisation would have released you from the adherence to be factual, literal timetable and forced you to use a tighter time-frame, for I believe that human beings cannot survive more than 5 - 7 days without water, 25 days without food. Having said all of this, I'll recommend this novel to all my friends.
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