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Summary: Samarago weaves a facinating reworking of a familiar story.
Review: The Gospel According to Jesus Christ is a powerful work by an inspired storyteller. The reader cannot help but wish he or she were sitting under a fruit tree on a warm afternoon somewhere nestled in the countryside while Samarago himself regales a private audience with the intimate details of his story about, perhaps, the most public of legends. Samarago's plain, but unorthodox, literary style forces a certain moral equivalence among the characters, from Mary Magdelene to Jesus to the Devil to God. While the reader knows the general outline of the story, Samarago departs from it in several ways, leaving one prepared for nearly any twist or turn in the familiar plot. If there is a shortcoming to this book, it may be that Samarago imports human wisdom and reason to understand divine motivations. This is, of course, all he can do. However, one gets the distinct impression that Samarago has summed up the story of Jesus and his relationship to God, and essentially rejects it on the basis that it may not hold up when considered on human notions of justice. How could God allow Christianity to proceed, knowing as he must what death and suffering will follow? Samarago has little hesitancy here in condemning God. He may or may not be right, but he ignores a basic underpinning of Christianity, and many faiths, that mere mortals cannot ascertain, perceive and judge divine purpose. However, it cannot be disputed that the book is a rich and textured work. One would be well advised to read it more than once in order to unlock the fullness of its author's talent.
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Summary: Excellent and Brilliant
Review: This is one of the most controversial books ever written after The Last Temptation. Although it might arouse the anger of Roman Catholic, it has to be written and must be written. He has choosen to write Jesus from the perspective of which he is an ordinary man, like you and me, rather making a Son of God. No offence, I'm not a Christian. He try to relate Jesus to us and bring him close to us, sharing his fear, weaknesses, and uncertainty of his destiny to save the mankind. The most interesting is the third last chjapters where Jesus, SAntan and God has an interesting discussion. It is MUST READ BOOK.
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Summary: An Absolutely Stunning Interpretation of Christ's Life
Review: Given the fact that Saramago had won the Nobel Prize for Literature, I had some high expectations for this book. But, I was not prepared for the enormous scope of emotion that this book presents. After I had finished it, I believed I had experienced the humanity of Christ. All of Christ's joys, disappointments, and failures were brought to life for me. And as a result, he seemed much more accessible than the demi-god presented in the Bible. I was particularly impressed with Saramago's use of nature as both a precursor and an accompaniment to the events in Christ's life. The book is filled with wonderous natural events, from the miracle of the fishes to the cries of a newborn animal. By tying God and Christ to the magic of nature, Saramago gives the book a supernatural tone that's both plausible and appropriate. Special acknowledgment must be given to Giovanni Pontiero for his excellent translation. The book retains all the mysticism and energy that Saramago poured into the original text. After reading this book, it is easy to see why Saramago won the Nobel Prize. This book is brilliant. It is a must read for anyone who has spiritual inclinations. Instead of being (as some fear) a deconstruction of Christ's life, it is instead a celebration of the sacrifices and trials of this most extraordinary figure in human history.
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Summary: Obra-prima do Prémio Nobel de Literatura
Review: A história de Jesus Cristo rendeu a José Saramago a excomunhão branca que lhe expulsou de Portugal, fazendo-o ir viver às Ilhas Canárias. O Vaticano divulga nota de repúdio à premiação de Saramago pela Academia Sueca. Tudo isso mostra a posição coerente e corajosa de Saramago, em oposição à da Igreja, que não se deu conta de que a Inquisição do Santo Ofício já não tem lugar hoje em dia.
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Summary: The worlds most famous story by Himself
Review: One of the most amazing books ever written. Saramago is probably the best living portuguese writer. This book is a clear example of his uncommon talent.
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Summary: Admirable New World
Review: Saramago brings forth in all is works, including this one, the magic mixed with pure realism. The simplicity of the stories mixed with deep thoughts about our own existence and inner thoughts are brilliant. The story you know, but the Saramago's version is one to remember. READ THE BOOK.
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Summary: ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING
Review: I did this book for a book group that I run and the ten readers, including myself, agreed that this book is a real treasure. It's excellently translated and will be loved by all lovers of fine literature.
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Summary: The ancient history of Jesus told in a fantasitc new way!!
Review: Saramago is one of the best authors of all times. The simplicity and humanity of his books are the essential ingredient of this Gospel. He tells the history of Jesus Christ, his relations with his parents, the world, God and Satan in an astonishing way, surprising the reader with intrincate and human relationships between the characters, and keeping our attention until the last word, to an outstanding end. After I finished reading this book, I couldn't stop thinking about it for a very long time, digesting all its parts. It's a book to savor every well-placed words.
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Summary: For Christian, Taoist and even Atheist, a beautiful book.
Review: Saramago writes dialogue so one hears it, tells of the life of Jesus so one lives it, or feels it lived. In a beautifully rendered retelling of the Jesus story, the reader understands people, life, death and the beauty of it all, and the sadness.
For any person interested in the Jesus story, from whatever background, this tale is wonderful, evokes the smells of the sheep, the cacophany at the temple, the duality of nature, and the poignancy of life. I don't want to give away the plot, after all, it is well known.
This story makes it believable.
Rating: 
Summary: A gospel of narrative tricks
Review: This novel doesn't seem to me to be as provocative as Kazantzakis's The Last Temptation of Christ which dealt with Christ's humanity in a much more serious tone. Saramago offers up a satirical view of the origins of religion and the bases of belief. And sometimes he is thought provoking and funny, but just as often his critique is punchless and stridently atheistic. The style of the novel will certainly keep readers on their toes. It is often tricky to keep up with the dialogue, but after a while one gets the knack of deciphering the run-on lines of speech. It is more difficult to get used to the tense shifts, but if readers keep in mind that the Narrator is relating the story from Eternity . . . well, it becomes easier understand how little conventions such as past, present, and future tenses tend to lose their relevance. And because the novel is written as if all time were the same moment, what we might normally view as anachonisms mostly become lame narrative attempts at humor. Of course, the Narrator is intrusive. Trust me when I say, that not Matthew nor Mark nor Luke nor John is as self-referential as Saramago's Narrative Voice. And, in the end, this may be the biggest short-coming of the novel because the tension Saramago sets up between Son and Father, as well as the duplicitous nature of the Father as the basis of the satire, is undercut if the Son gets the last word out in the form of the Gospel. I'm happy that I've read other works by Saramago to realize that he is a much better novelist than he is in this gospel. Still, a Saramago somewhat lesser than himself is several notches above most contemporary writers. OK--3 and a half stars.
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