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The Gospel According to Jesus Christ

4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 · rating details · 6,736 ratings · 416 reviews

This is a skeptic' s journey into the meaning of God and of human existence. At once an ironic rendering of the life of Christ and a beautiful novel, Saramago' s tale has sparked intense discussion about the meaning of Christianity and the Church as an institution. Translated by Giovanni Pontiero.

Hardcover, 341 pages

Published by Harvill Press (first published 1991)

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Apr 22, 2011 K.D. Oliveros rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Joselito

Shelves: religion

This is a bold fearless work and definitely not for the faint-hearted readers. I am not surprised that when this was originally published in 1991, it created lots of controversies with the Catholic Church condemning Jose Saramago for harboring anti-religious vision and his own Portuguese government asking the European Literary Prize to remove this from its shortlist because of the book’s offensive content to religion. Despite this book’s existence, Saramago won the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literatur...more

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May 18, 2007 Silvia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: portuguese-literature, highly-recommended

Imagino Saramago, um ateu confesso, lendo e relendo a Bíblia para reescrever a história do homem mais conhecido que já pisou na face da Terra. Penso também no culhões que o autor teve para levar a publicação adiante. Mexer com religião é coisa séria. Vide a ilíada do escritor Salman Rushdie com seus “Versos Satânicos”. “O Evangelho Segundo Jesus Cristo” é uma obra corajosa e, diferente de textos que só têm como mérito a polemização, também é genial. A concepção de Jesus Cristo e o seu encontro c...more

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Feb 23, 2008 Aduren rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: EVERYONE

Jose Saramago is atheist. This should be enough warning for everyone that desires to read the book. It is very explicit and so religion it’s exposed at its weakest and God as a character is revealed. I come from a Roman-Catholic background but I still wanted to read it, ever since the Gnostic gospel where Jesus childhood is revealed and he changes from a mischief bad behave kid to the Jesus from the new testament I wanted to see Saramago’s take on it. Saramago is such a master of words that he m...more Jose Saramago is atheist. This should be enough warning for everyone that desires to read the book. It is very explicit and so religion it’s exposed at its weakest and God as a character is revealed. I come from a Roman-Catholic background but I still wanted to read it, ever since the Gnostic gospel where Jesus childhood is revealed and he changes from a mischief bad behave kid to the Jesus from the new testament I wanted to see Saramago’s take on it. Saramago is such a master of words that he makes every bit of faith look totally illogical.

It does not take long for us to find out that Saramago is extremely sharp at finding all contradictions on roman-catholic religion. In the novel God seems to be the greediest of all gods, the vainer, the more detach from his people. Detached even from his son as he appeared to him in different shapes, only in the meeting at the lake did he appear to him as a man. God does not command, he orders, he tricks his own son into following his plan to the end. Ultimately Jesus’s betrayal was his last act of martyrdom.

The devil is given the name of Pastor. This has caused some confusion for English readers. When I was reading the book with some Jesuits this person contacted them just to let them know (as a good Christian I assume) how blasphemous was to name the devil pastor. It took me 30 minutes to explain that person that Pastor does not means priest, but rather it comes from the Latin word “pastor” meaning shepherd. Now did he use the word shepherd on purpose? Yes, what is the devil but a shepherd of men leading them to hell, just as Jesus is a fisherman of men. In the book Pastor is the most humanitarian, the more repented, so repented that when asked to be forgiven a clear distinction between right and wrong has to be made so God decides not to forgive him because what is a good God without evil? Saramago decides there cannot be one without the other.

The characters in the book are fascinating; my Jesuits friends and I laughed and enjoy this book. There were no doubts in our head by the end of the book. We did not feel like it shook our religion or affected the way we perceived God. This book was after all under fiction so everyone that is easily offended stay away from this book and stop complaining about blasphemy and crying around like little kids. Saramago is a Nobel price winner and foremost a grown man that is entitled to his own opinions. This one of his finest, if not the best, of his book in my opinion, a must read.
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Feb 17, 2009 Natalie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: atheists, Christians, and Jews

Shelves: god-is-dead

Or: Adolescent Jesus as Imagined by a Brilliant Authorial Atheist.

That's unfair and reductive, however. Jose Saramago is an atheist, and the book does explore the parts of Jesus' life that most people pretend didn't exist (early adolescence to just before the time when he knew he had Messianic Son-of-God Superpowers), while at the same time gently but firmly questioning the nature of God, divinity, religious fervor manifesting itself as the oppression of others, bizarre religious ritual, and rel...more Or: Adolescent Jesus as Imagined by a Brilliant Authorial Atheist.

That's unfair and reductive, however. Jose Saramago is an atheist, and the book does explore the parts of Jesus' life that most people pretend didn't exist (early adolescence to just before the time when he knew he had Messianic Son-of-God Superpowers), while at the same time gently but firmly questioning the nature of God, divinity, religious fervor manifesting itself as the oppression of others, bizarre religious ritual, and religious hypocrisy.

The familiar Biblical story arc of Mary and Joseph's pilgrimage to Bethlehem for a census begins the story, though Saramago quickly dispenses with any notion that Mary was a virgin; she also has, in quick succession, many other children after Jesus' birth. (Both of these points, of course, are regarded as highly sacred/controversial in most Church law; it is essential that the Mother of God be stripped of her sexuality, and it has long been denied, mostly by the Catholic church, that Mary gave birth to any other children besides Jesus.)

Throughout the novel, Jesus questions himself, his status as the son of God, the idea that he may be the Messiah of the Jewish people, and even God's own divine plan (revealed to Jesus as a stunning display of hubris, arrogance, and selfishness) - but always remains steadfast in his devotion to Mary Magdalene, with whom he lives freely and openly in a sexual relationship outside the bonds of marriage, and whom he treats as equally as any man. (The book makes clear from page one the wretchedly inferior status of women in ancient Judaic times.)

Saramago points out something that many modern Christians tend to forget, in their re-branding of God as a benevolent Father/Protector/Wish-Granter: the God of the ancient Jews and the Old Testament was a complete prick. If God singled you out for his special attention, that was just as frightening as his anger toward you. He pissed in Job's face, played keep-away with Moses and the Promised Land, turned Lot's wife into a pillar of salt simply for showing a bit of momentary concern for her neighbors, and totally Punk'd Abraham about that whole son-sacrificing thing, with all the equal amounts of jealousy and wrath that Old Testament God is famous for.

Of course Satan makes an appearance as a character, but Saramago fashions him as a much more interesting, multifaceted figure, possessed of depth, humor, and perhaps not as evil as he's often cast. He and God are posited to be old friends, not necessarily enemies, and in a co-dependent relationship of sorts in an arrangement to preserve the others' power. A very morally/religiously complex and long chapter is devoted to this balance of power, and for me was the climax of the novel - while God is telling Jesus of the horrific events that will occur in his name, Saramago devotes four pages of God's dialogue to alphabetically listing the names of martyred saints and the graphically violent ways in which they were killed for their belief.

The prose is beautiful, but Saramago's authorial imprint and style is his distinct lack of quotation marks in dialogue, and lack of paragraph breaks during dialogue between characters. It can be difficult to follow, particularly in situations with more than two characters speaking.

This is highly recommended for believers and non-believers alike. (less)

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Jul 28, 2009 Amy Reed rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: smart people

OK, I have officially given up on this book. I have 75 pages left, but I just can't do it. For the last few days, I have picked it up only to put it down again as soon as I read the first sentence five times. I feel stupid. This guy is a Nobel Prize winner, so that must mean I'm an idiot if I don't like him, right?

This book is smart, don't get me wrong. It's obvious a genius wrote it. But I don't read for intellectual stimulation unless I'm in a literature class. Perhaps that makes me a lazy re...more

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Jul 02, 2008 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Let me say at the outset that this book will probably be quite a challenge to anyone who holds (and doesn’t want to let go) a very traditional, orthodox reading of the traditional gospels in the Christian Testament. What Saramago has done here is to IMAGINE a gospel that places at least equal weight on Jesus as divine AND human. He also IMAGINES God (the Father, that is) who might also be both divine and human (as the ancient Greek gods were, with all their jealousies, rivalries, self-interests,...more

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Dec 31, 2007 John Casey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I believe that this novel will ultimately be recognized as the Nobel Prize-winning Saramago's magnum opus (followed ever-so-closely by Blindness). Drawing upon his innate qualities as cynicist, pragmatist and humanist, Saramago deals with a subject that has intrigued so many over the years - the missing developmental/adolescent years of Jesus and the all too human characteristics of self-doubt and questioning that must have incessantly plagued him.

Not surprisingly, Saramago's atheism/agnosticism...more

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Sep 25, 2007 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

As a former Catholic high school student, I started this book fascinated by the idea of the adolescent Jesus, as the gospel covers only a small fraction of Jesus's life (I understand it's not meant to be a play-by-play).

This book veers off from the Gospel from the get-go, and delves into an exploration of the human side of Jesus and his family. It is a long book, and slow, and I reckon it takes some New Testament knowledge to fully appreciate what's going on (although, to be clear, I am not Chr...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Heidi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club

3.5: The Devil is my favourite character in this book which challenges the traditional Christian view of God as the personification of good and the Devil as the personification of evil. This is the first book by Saramago that I have read. I enjoyed his poetic descriptiveness and ironic/sarcastic sense of humour but I wish that he used quotation marks, the dialogue was quite dense and sometimes difficult to follow.

A passage that resonated well with my absurdist side is: "Why should a lamb rescue...more

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Mar 22, 2011 Alberto Schiariti rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Saramago, oh, Saramago! Più lo leggo e più la sua scomparsa diventa grande. Sono ateo, non credo in Dio e sono quasi sicuro che la figura di Gesù, come ci è stata inculcata da piccoli, sia una gigantesca bufala.

Magari è un personaggio esistito realmente, ma quello raccontato dalla Bibbia non mi piace. Saramago rivisita con il suo stile impeccabile la vita del presunto figlio di Dio, donandogli uno spessore umano non indifferente. In realtà il racconto parte già da prima della sua nascita, mostra...more

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Nov 27, 2010 Giovanni Dall'Orto rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: maria-maddalena, gesu-cristo

Ho iniziato questo romanzo con curiosità: quando un romanziere comunista, premio Nobel per la letteratura, affronta la figura di Gesù, il risultato non può che essere insolito.

E in effetti lo è, anche se per il motivo opposto a quello che m'attendevo. Perché chi si aspetta un Gesù totalmente "evemerizzato", cioè spogliato dai suoi panni di divinità e ricondotto alla sua natura umana http://spiritualrationality.wordpress... , chi si aspetta l'eliminazione totale dell'aspetto soprannaturale dalla...more

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Jan 16, 2009 Alex Csicsek rated it 5 of 5 stars

Excellent. A profoundly philosophical book with a terrific sense of humor and compassion for human foibles. The interaction and history between God and the Anti-Christ, especially in the scene in the boat, raises some very interesting questions about the interdependent relationship and blurred distinctions between good and evil. His treatment of gnosticism puts some tough questions to believers in most brands of Christianity.

In addition to those broad philosophic topics the book is a great read...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Robert Wechsler rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: port-lit

Truly great storytelling. Knowing the story, but not what aspects of it he will choose to tell or how he will present it, makes the emphasis of the novel completely different, and makes everything interesting, at least to readers interested in how great writers make choices within limitations. There are lots of things that fall flat in this novel, but so many more that are wonderful.

The most special thing that Saramago does is to make the novel an ethical novel in a completely different way than...more

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Apr 09, 2013 Linsey Duncan rated it 3 of 5 stars

There's some real insight in here about how we can celebrate mercy in the particular, and forget the children who actually died in Bethlehem. And there's a fair amount that's a little obtuse at turns and tiresome at others. The most interesting segments are the early ones. The first half of the book is a fair enough exploration of our usual perceptions of mercy and sacrifice. Food for thought, whether or not you're in agreement with Saramago's conclusions about God. Who and what is deserving of...more

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Feb 08, 2013 Leya rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: all-time-favorite, keeper-shelf

I originally tried reading my mother's copy, O Evangelho Segundo Jesus Cristo, but I found it difficult to follow, so she went out and bought me a copy of the translation of it, The Gospel According To Jesus Christ. It's been in my shelf for about six years. I was bound to read it...sooner or later. I never thought it would take me this long.

Have you ever been curious on what happen to Jesus from the time of his birth to before he starts being the prophet or the Messiah (whichever one you prefer...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Iceman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

O Evangelho Segundo Jesus Cristo nasce, segundo o próprio Saramago, de uma visão tida em Sevilha, onde o autor julga ver escrito numa capa de revista o título "Evangelho Segundo Jesus Cristo", posteriormente tem o "tal" click em Bolonha, cidade onde ele escreve os primeiros apontamentos.

Saramago assume-se como ateu!

Assim e de uma forma racionalista que desde logo vai de encontro à filosofia catalólica, porque essa filosofia não se pode dizer que seja racionalista, ele tem a coragem de escrever s...more O Evangelho Segundo Jesus Cristo nasce, segundo o próprio Saramago, de uma visão tida em Sevilha, onde o autor julga ver escrito numa capa de revista o título "Evangelho Segundo Jesus Cristo", posteriormente tem o "tal" click em Bolonha, cidade onde ele escreve os primeiros apontamentos.

Saramago assume-se como ateu!

Assim e de uma forma racionalista que desde logo vai de encontro à filosofia catalólica, porque essa filosofia não se pode dizer que seja racionalista, ele tem a coragem de escrever sobre a vida de Jesus Cristo, mais, ele aborda o Evangelho bíblico de um ponto de vista humano, ou seja, ele aparta-se daquele ser divino para o tornar num simples ser humano que tem a sorte ou o azar de se encontrar com Deus e o Diabo. E o homem tem mesmo azar porque senão veja-se: Ele é o mais velho de 8 filhos de José e Maria (eram doidos para a brincadeira) e com tantos filhos logo tinha que ser ele a andar nas "bocas" do mundo?

E Saramago não recua: O anjo passa a mendigo, os reis magos são apenas pastores e até Maria Madalena (uma das heroínas de Saramago) é uma mulher com uma antiga profissão e que adora "ensinar" os prazeres carnais a Jesus.

Encontros e desencontros com um Deus feroz, vingativo, maldoso e que tem uma vasta colecção de mártires que morreram atrozmente em seu nome. Aí percebe-se claramente a aversão de Saramago à Igreja e tem um quê de Nietzsche (digo eu!). Um Diabo que veste a pele de um pastor cuja maior diversão e, precisamente, "divertir-se" com as suas ovelhas, mas que até dá bons conselhos a J.C.

Em suma: com Deus, J.C. conhece a fúria e a miséria, com Maria Madalena conhece os prazeres do corpo e o prazer da paixão, com o Diabo, aprende a conhecer o mundo que o rodeia.

Um romance que só escandaliza os fracos de espírito. Independentemente de sermos crentes ou não, isso não impede de pensar, interpretar e avaliar esta obra notável.

É por causa deste romance que Sousa Lara retira o nome de Saramago da lista de concorrentes ao Prémio Literário Europeu... Hipócrita!

Cada um faça o seu próprio juízo, no entanto, penso que Portugal se deve orgulhar deste grande escritor e da sua obra.(less)

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Dec 04, 2012 Piperitapitta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: autori-portoghesi, gruppi-di-lettura, letteratura-portoghese, romanzo

prima di tutto l'uomo.

[commento del 17/06 - a caldo]
ho appena finito di leggerlo e ancora non voglio fare commenti né assegnare stelline.

però ieri, quando ero ormai a due capitoli dalla fine, si è affacciato prepotentemente alla mia memoria il ricordo struggente di una poesia, bellissima e intensa, un ricordo che affiora da lontanissimo, dalle scuole elementari.
per lunghissimi anni, non so perché, forse per quell'insolito nome dell'autore, ho pensato che fosse di un poeta giapponese, poi, da gra...more

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Sep 08, 2012 Tad Hopp rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, this was certainly a different take on the life of Jesus. In all seriousness, I can definitely see why this book has proven to be so controversial. It definitely succeeds in humanizing Jesus which is always scandalous. Me, I've never really bought into the idea that Jesus was completely perfect and without sin anyway so I wasn't bothered that much by the way Saramago chose to portray Jesus here. He is presented as a fully human, flawed individual who occasionally makes bad choices just lik...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Sakura87 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-in-libreria, autori-portoghesi, novecento, storico

Il diavolo ha fatto le pentole, Dio i coperchi, e Saramago un capolavoro.

Scrivere questa recensione è, per me, alquanto difficile: intanto perché il libro l’ho letto a mozziconi –dato che sono capitati eventi piuttosto spiacevoli nei giorni passati-, senza abbandonarmi alle buone, vecchie, care ore di lettura di fila. Poi perché sono atea, sono profondamente antireligiosa, e dunque vorrei evitare il più possibile la parzialità che sempre e comunque, sappiatelo, permeerà queste righe.

Partiamo da...more Il diavolo ha fatto le pentole, Dio i coperchi, e Saramago un capolavoro.

Scrivere questa recensione è, per me, alquanto difficile: intanto perché il libro l’ho letto a mozziconi –dato che sono capitati eventi piuttosto spiacevoli nei giorni passati-, senza abbandonarmi alle buone, vecchie, care ore di lettura di fila. Poi perché sono atea, sono profondamente antireligiosa, e dunque vorrei evitare il più possibile la parzialità che sempre e comunque, sappiatelo, permeerà queste righe.

Partiamo da Saramago, Lui, l’Autore.
E’ la mia prima volta con lui. Ho preso il coraggio a due mani e gli ho offerto la mia verginità, un po’ intimorita dal suo stile che, a dirla tutta, a primo impatto è estremamente caotico. Parola virgola parola virgola frase virgola discorso diretto virgola altro discorso indiretto: o presti alla pagina ogni neurone, o per te è finita: non capisci più qual è la domanda, qual è la risposta e di chi è, qual è la descrizione, qual è il discorso indiretto. Pagina dopo pagina, eppure, l’occhio si abitua, il cervello inizia a smistare pigramente le informazioni, e smetti di chiederti a ogni riga cosa stia succedendo e quando i due personaggi hanno iniziato a discutere. Pensi di essere in salvo, e invece è solo l’inizio: ahité, disgraziato, sei caduto nel vortice Saramago.

Ho avuto fortuna, probabilmente: sono iniziata dal volume giusto. La mia anima profondamente antireligiosa non ha potuto fare a meno di gongolare infantilmente al pensiero di ‘come prenderebbero i miei parenti cattolici un libro del genere’. Dio, in effetti, ci fa una ben magra figura.
Il libro in questione, infatti, è un sedicente vangelo secondo Gesù Cristo, pargolo concepito con una poco immacolata concezione, in cui Dio ha messo del suo nel seme di Giuseppe, il quale ha trovato fertile terreno nel grembo di Maria. La Maria in questione è poco santa e molto donna palestinese dell’epoca, il Giuseppe poco venerabile e molto realistico, il Gesù poco divino e molto ragazzino supponente e irritante.
La triade è già vincente, ma ci stiamo dimenticando di loro, di Dio e del Diavolo. Due personaggi così snaturati dal ruolo che le leggende gli addebitano – o forse non così tanto - da apparire simpatici. Le due facce della stessa medaglia, e, vi assicuro, in questo libro il Diavolo ci fa una figura migliore del Padre.
Saramago non si spreca a tentare di spiegare inspiegabili e dogmatici concetti che nemmeno la maggior parte dei credenti ha mai capito –come la Triade, la Trasfigurazione o la Resurrezione, si limita a creare una storia che spesso, ma non sempre, sfocia nel fantastico, e che di canonico non ha nulla. Ogni episodio del Vangelo (dal concepimento, alla fuga da Betlemme, alla morte di Giuseppe, al poco casto rapporto con Maddalena, ai miracoli, alla stessa crocifissione) viene riscritto, reinterpretato, e rivestito di nuovi significati.
Dissacrante in maniera garbata, poetico, questo libro vale la lettura anche solo per un lungo e illuminante dialogo tra Dio, Gesù e Diavolo su una barca persa in mezzo alla nebbia.
Assolutamente da leggere, che siate credenti o no.(less)

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May 24, 2012 RMD rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Don't get the controversy. Or rather, why so much of it.
Still have to read a bible, but the way Saramago puts it, the "only" problem here is that God is not a *good* "being". So what? He shows up only in 5-10% of the book directly, the rest is just sacrifices and the usual ironic comments on how people behaved (respect to women and so on..).

I was impressed because the book managed to portray Jesus as a good guy. A really, really good guy. Who starts off completely innocent and horrified at what...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Mark Picketts rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bookclub

Saramago. If you have discussed literature with me over the past five years chances are i started blabbing on about him, and the respect I have for him. After a long time away it was great to get back to reading him and his incredibly unique and wonderfully readable style. I loved this quote from the introduction of the collected novels of Jose Saramago ebook:

"his use of what teachers call "comma fault" or "run-on sentences" makes me read too fast, breathlessly, losing the shape of the sentence

...more Saramago. If you have discussed literature with me over the past five years chances are i started blabbing on about him, and the respect I have for him. After a long time away it was great to get back to reading him and his incredibly unique and wonderfully readable style. I loved this quote from the introduction of the collected novels of Jose Saramago ebook:

"his use of what teachers call "comma fault" or "run-on sentences" makes me read too fast, breathlessly, losing the shape of the sentence and the speech-and-pause rhythm of conversation."

This trait is a big part of how reading Saramago is so enjoyable for me, this and his ... asides ... when he starts talking to/questioning himself in the text - if you don't know what i'm talking about, you should read Saramago cause I can't explain it. (i.e. location 13831* - when he talks of the rules of "effective narration")

So the Gospel According to Jesus Christ. Here he tackles the story that everybody (or a lot of people) knows. Yet he manages to humanize the characters and their stories. He breathes an understandable life into names I have heard forever, and somehow perhaps makes them more understandable. What did Jesus think about giving up his life? How did he feel about girls? Did he always get along with his dad? His disciples? Indeed he humanizes God, as we see God get frustrated with his son, his yearning for more power, or when we wonders if "his problem, is that no one shares his name." He questions religion (past and present), and its effect on human history, the role of women therein, and although I understand why some could be upset by this story I was raised to ask these kinds of questions and look forward to discussing them further.

Some quotes from the master*:
(probably too many but i cut out a lot....)

"for thought, when all is said and done, as others and we ourselves have observed before, is like a great ball of thread coiled around itself, loose in places, taut in others, inside our head." 11743

"Herod will be forgiven sooner than your husband, for it is easier to forgive a villain than a deserter." 12621
- think current school bullying (or inclusive community) push

"we must never forget that fate is a casket like no other, open and closed at the same time." 12892

"People don't choose their dreams, dreams choose people" 12918

"time is not a rope one can measure from knot to knot, time is a pitched and undulating surface which only memory can make accessible." 13199

"In other words, your God is the only warden of a prison where the only prisoner is your God." 14026

"God has forbidden anyone to copulate with you, so fear not, but as for shearing you, neglecting you, slaughtering you, and eating you, all these things are permitted, because for this you were created by God's law and are sustained by His providence." 14037

"thoughts are but passing shadows, neither good nor bad in themselves, actions alone count." 14240

"for as we know, words that come from the heart are never spoken, they get caught in the throat and can only be read in one's eyes." 15101

"Now I see why the devil is here, if Your authority extends to more people in more places, his power also spreads, for his territory will be the same as Yours." 15550

"for sin is as inseparable from man as man from sin, man is like a coin, turn it over and what you see is sin." 15606

"although as everyone knows, we mortals do not always see things in the same way, and this has undoubtedly helped preserve the relative sanity of the species." 15638

"human words are like shadows, and shadows cannot explain light, and between shadow and light stands the opaque body from which words are born." 15643

"sometimes with only the sky for a roof, God's enormous eye, black but speckled with lights, lingering reflections of eyes raised to heaven by generation after generation, interrogating the silence and listening to the only answer silence ever gives." 15978
- amazing.

"How did this happen, how did this happen, words that never fail to spring to our lips when we are confronted by something irremediable. We ask how it happened, a desperate, futile attempt to postpone the awful moment when we must accept the truth, we ask how it happened, as if we could replace death with life, exchange what is with what should be." 16219

"duties similar yet opposed, like a face and a mirror." 16242

"I'll look at your shadow if you don't wish me to look at you, she told him, and he replied, I wish to be wherever my shadow is if that is where your eyes are. Loving each other, they exchanged these amorous phrases not only because they were beautiful and true, but because shadows were closing in, and it was time for the two to prepare themselves for the darkness of final absence." 16257

"that his life had been planned for death from the very beginning. Remembering the river of blood and suffering that would flow from his side and flood the globe, he called out to the open sky, where God could be seen smiling, Men, forgive Him, for He knows not what He has done." 16419

So how do I rank it. I am not sure, i really loved the boldness of the writing and the ambition of taking this on, I have to admit there were sections that I spaced out a little, but i think that had more to do with me then with the writing. Do we judge the best harder, because we expect more from them? I know i do, but I am constantly thinking of this book and while re-writing some of these quotes (my favorites) I have to tip up.

*i read this fromt he "collected works of Jose Saramago, thus the Kindle locations shared are from that(less)

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Oct 25, 2010 Neil Crossan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Why do these alternative versions of the story of Jesus have Judas as being some tough guy forced to betray Jesus? If Judas was so hard core he never would have sold Jesus out. Anyway, this version is told from the Jesus as a human perspective. And whether Jesus is breaking off a piece from Mary Magdalene or tending sheep with Satan, the basic premise is: What if God appeared to you and told you that you were his son? Because it was God sperm that broke Mary’s egg seal, even though Joseph did se...more

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Aug 19, 2010 Mayara Arend added it

The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by José Saramago, is not for people who prefer an easy and light reading. Not that those people can't read it, but they will hardly be able to finish it. Me? It took me longer to read this one than Lord of the Rings - which is already considered a very "heavy" and complicated book.
Oh yes, a warning. I do NOT want to discuss anyone's beliefs. I'm introducing you to the book, considering the author's beliefs (who, by the way, was an atheist and comunist), not m...more The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by José Saramago, is not for people who prefer an easy and light reading. Not that those people can't read it, but they will hardly be able to finish it. Me? It took me longer to read this one than Lord of the Rings - which is already considered a very "heavy" and complicated book.
Oh yes, a warning. I do NOT want to discuss anyone's beliefs. I'm introducing you to the book, considering the author's beliefs (who, by the way, was an atheist and comunist), not mine and not yours.
Saramago has a unique writing style, with very few "final dots", severl commas and absolutely NO quotation marks. Lots of dialogues. But, hold on, how can there be dialogues with no quotation marks? I'll explain - all dialogues are "between commas". That alone makes reading very complicated and makes it take longer - until you understand who said what to whom and if it was a question or not (no question marks either). If that wasn't enough, since I read in portuguese, we need to read in Portugal's portuguese, which is a quite different portuguese, not as similar as British English and American English. Not only it's a different language, but his vocabulary was very large and the way he built his sentences was weird, so I had to re-read several times to make sure I got it.
It's a wonderful book. I'm not discussing that, would never say it isn't, but I thought it was part of my duty here to explain how complicated it is.
Now, a little more about the story, right? Well, we all heard that story since we were little - or most of us anyways. The Gospel, the story of Jesus Christ. But, here, much more about the man than about The Son of God. Actually, it starts with the fact that he was born a son of Mary and Joseph - "made" and born the usual way!
Preprare yourself for a human Jesus, smarter than others and more sensitive than all, but still human, living among men. Get ready for quick dialogues, full of third and fourth intentions, hundreds of meanings.
The conversation between Jesus, God and the Devil about God's will and the future is probably one of the most philosofical writings I've ever read, makes you think and, at the same time, says everything, clearly.
I recommend you to read. Really! Calm down, with time, no hurry, no "huge TBR pile waiting got to read fast", because we all know how the story ends - what matters here is the path.
Read it with an open mind, ready to accept that Saramago's beliefs are different than yours, that not everything means literally what it says and that many things are there exactly to shock you, so that people wake up from the numbness where they fall, after centuries agreeing and accepting what others say it's right and true.(less)

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Jun 03, 2010 Katsumi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. It is difficult to criticize Saramago's work. He is obviously a gifted writer, with a remarkably sharp eye. He hacks away at the core of man's frail soul with deft strokes. A master satirist, the Nobel Laureate and atheist seems to subscribe to the Freudian idea that God and religion are an illusion we create to satisfy human needs and urges. In all of the work I've read, not just this novel, our religious impulses are made to seem ridiculous and weak. But the skill with which he wields his word...more

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Jan 19, 2010 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-mainstream

Saramago, Jose. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS CHRIST. (1991). ****. Although this is an apparently very accessible novel, it is multilayered in its construction. The story, obviously, is the telling of the Jesus saga from his conception to his crucifixion, but with many of the missing parts filled in with extracts from other historical facts and myths – all juggled together to provide a coherent plot. In the first chapter of the book, Saramago starts out with his impression of a painting of the...more

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Nov 10, 2009 Rozlen Jeter rated it 5 of 5 stars

"guidance"! To me that particular word meant someone to lead you through your path in which you seek. Whether it's finding which direction to enter when your in a rough spot.Some believe in Jesus Christ and some don't. But for me i do. I believe that he has the ability to heal things that humans can't. Like pain,sorrow,tears. Those are the things that he can break like God and the lord. All it takes is a prayer or a sign and then you'll know that he is your guide. like that prayer that i say eve...more

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Aug 12, 2009 Vaughn Demont rated it 4 of 5 stars

My exposure to the Bible was limited to the cursory glances often reserved for a lapsed practitioner, but one of the things that came to the forefront was this: The God of the Old Testament is jealous and vengeful, and the God of the New Testament is loving and forgiving. I always wondered what caused the shift, and when I read The Gospel According To Jesus Christ, I was presented with another option: God didn’t change at all.
The Old Testament is where the Ten Commandments are laid out, and Co...more My exposure to the Bible was limited to the cursory glances often reserved for a lapsed practitioner, but one of the things that came to the forefront was this: The God of the Old Testament is jealous and vengeful, and the God of the New Testament is loving and forgiving. I always wondered what caused the shift, and when I read The Gospel According To Jesus Christ, I was presented with another option: God didn’t change at all.
The Old Testament is where the Ten Commandments are laid out, and Commandments numbers one and two are rather straightforward: God is the only true God, and he had better be at the top of your dance card if you have other gods in your life. God was quick to punish those who worshipped other gods or idols. It could cause God to be viewed as a rather jealous god, wanting his people, the Israelites, to offer their prayers and devotion to no one other than him. In the New Testament, God appears to be more forgiving and accepting, sending his only son to Earth to spread his new message of good news, and even suggest that those of other fates would be welcome in Heaven (as in with the incident with the Roman centurion). But there is no explanation for this shift. Since God is supposedly eternal, it’s a stretch to assume that he simply grew up and matured his attitude. But Saramago’s book presents a vision that shows that God hasn’t “matured” out of his jealousy, but rather grown more subtle about it.
The God of Saramago’s work still wants exactly what he wanted in the Old Testament, namely being the favorite and the supreme deity, except in this case he’s no longer content with just the Israelites, he wants all of humanity. He sends his son to Earth not as a messiah, but rather as a pawn, or worse yet, a tool to sway the hearts and minds of humanity by so “selflessly” sacrificing his child for the good of all, with his son only realizing it at the bitter end as he’s crucified.
Even the Devil, the epitome of Evil seems to go along with God’s plan, perhaps for the same reasons as God: to become the tempter for not just the Israelites, but for everyone. He tempts and tests Jesus, but it seems more like mocking, or gentle nudges to keep him on the path that God has laid out for him, to keep the pawn moving into checkmate. In the instances where God and the Devil appear together, it sometimes is difficult to distinguish who is who, leading to a theory that God and the Devil may be one and the same in Saramago’s work.
Being a pagan made this book an easier read, primarily because it’s easy not to be offended by the constant mocking and nose-thumbing at God when you don’t follow that particular version of him. Despite that Saramago himself is a skeptic, and that the work could be seen as a satire of apocryphal reading, I believe that it serves as more of a prodding to question about the gaps in the Bible, such as God’s sudden personality change, or providing a theoretical history of Jesus when eighteen years of his life are gone from the Bible (he goes from age twelve to age thirty in the blink of an eye). While the book isn’t pushing atheism, it does seem to advance the idea of faith with open eyes.
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Jul 15, 2009 Thom Foolery rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nobel-prize, fiction, christianity, religion, translated-into-english

In this novel Saramago has created a masterpiece, both in terms of style and content.

The prose is musical, poetically evocative of the streams of consciousness and conversation that fill our lives. While Saramago's paragraphs often run several pages in length, and his idiosyncratic use of punctuation (e.g., his refusal to use quotation marks to delimit speech and his insistence on ending all sentences--including questions--with a period) can seem daunting, the fluid, melodic language makes readi...more

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Nov 08, 2011 Mehdi added it · review of another edition

The most important and fundamental parts of the book are the meetings of Jesus with “God” and “Devil” where Saramago tells us his critical view toward the orthodox religious belief of these notions. By religion, Saramago means the three monotheistic religions, namely Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Even though the time frame of his novel is before Christianity and therefore he only talks about the Jewish “God”, he clearly believes that this is the same God who manifests in Christianity and Isla...more

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Mar 15, 2013 Dvd (all'improvviso) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

ondeggiavo fra 4 e 5 stelle...

nel senso: non è immediato come Cecità, che nella sua grandezza si fonda su una metafora unica e comprensibile con naturalezza; a tratti qui si fatica, su pagine fittissime, non solo di parole ma anche di concetti. Detto questo, la storia di Gesù rivista da Saramago è geniale, folgorante e la fatica in alcuni punti, soprattutto nella prima metà, è ben ricompensata dal capitolo centrale dell'opera, l'incontro sul lago nebbioso fra Gesù, Dio e, udite udite, il Diavo...more ondeggiavo fra 4 e 5 stelle...

nel senso: non è immediato come Cecità, che nella sua grandezza si fonda su una metafora unica e comprensibile con naturalezza; a tratti qui si fatica, su pagine fittissime, non solo di parole ma anche di concetti. Detto questo, la storia di Gesù rivista da Saramago è geniale, folgorante e la fatica in alcuni punti, soprattutto nella prima metà, è ben ricompensata dal capitolo centrale dell'opera, l'incontro sul lago nebbioso fra Gesù, Dio e, udite udite, il Diavolo, uno dei più grandiosi momenti letterari che mi sia mai capitato di leggere e che, nel complesso, insieme al rapido, sorprendente, eccezionale finale fa pendere decisamente la bilancia verso le 5 stelle... Per fare un'analisi del libro, poi, occorrerebbero pagine e tempo perchè i temi d'approfondire sono molti, tutti affascinanti nella rilettura del maestro portoghese. Su tutti:il tema della colpa, provata dall'uomo Giuseppe per avere salvato solo il proprio figlio durante la strage degli innocenti, e che sarà poi trasmessa come eredità al figlio; il tema del rapporto fra Dio, Gesù e il Diavolo (la vera trave portante del libro - qui la poetica e la genialità di JS raggiungono lo zenit); il rapporto fra Gesù e le donne della sua vita, ovvero la madre Maria e la compagna Maria Maddalena, epigoni dell'universo umano femminile che Saramago tratteggia con grazia e ammirazione.

Insomma, libro geniale, che ribalta completamente la visione classica della dualità bene-male (similmente a quanto aveva fatto Bulgakov nel Maestro e Margherita) e rivede la figura di Gesù in funzione di un rapporto con un Dio molto più "umano" di come siamo abituati a considerarlo (umano nel senso di non perfetto, limitato seppur quasi onnipotente: Gesù è infatti l'agnello di Dio in quanto sacrificato sulla croce non per redimere il mondo, ma come pedina in un gioco molto più terreno - e "politico"- di quanto si immagini... e mi fermo qui, ho già detto troppo per chi non avesse ancora letto il libro!).

Insomma, JS in grandissima forma, con la solita genialità, ironia (bordate tremende dirette verso il cattolicesimo dogmatico e la sua istituzione secolare, la Chiesa, nel suo percorso storico), profondità di pensiero e amarezza di fondo...da leggere appena possibile!
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About José Saramago

José de Sousa Saramago (pronounced [ʒuˈzɛ sɐɾɐˈmagu]) is a Nobel-laureate Portuguese novelist, playwright and journalist. He was a member of the Portuguese Communist Party.
His works, some of which can be seen as allegories, commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the human factor rather than the officially sanctioned story. Saramago was awarded the Nobel Prize for...more

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“...for human words are like shadows, and shadows are incapable of explaining light and between shadow and light there is the opaque body from which words are born..” — 15 people liked it

“Yet human experience and the practice of communication have shown throughout the ages that definitions are an illusion, like having a speech defect and trying to say love but unable to get the word out, or, better, having a tongue in one's head but unable to feel love.” — 13 people liked it

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