Rating: 
Summary: little by little, the shade thickens and solidifies
Review: and little by little, you no longer hear the words, just lulling music, monotonous and sad - and then gently, you fall asleep- like disciples listening to jesus. The book is powerful, it is very lonely and sad being God, and very lonely and sad being man, too. The language is repetitive and simple, like scripture. The character of Jesus is unique here, the author takes some chances, has... I wouldn't say fun. But plays. And does so in a loving way, with effort, sometimes more inspired than other times. And he questions the whole scribal process of Matthew, too, with the archangel making him write things that he does not witness, like the virgin birth in Bethlehem and the adoration of the magi which just fulfill prophecies. God's truth and man's are not the same. gasp.
The actual "last temptation" stuff where Jesus goes and starts the family with martha and mary I found very weak, almost disappointed the entire book, very flashy and gawdy and overwritten and false, not false because it didn't happen or doesn't correspond with scriptures but false in the writing, false in spirit.
Some parts bring tears to my eyes. Judas is deep. His character emerges so strongly. Chapter 12, the making of wine followed by the persecution of Mary Mag and Jesus saving her, is one of the best chapters I have read in any book anywhere.
Some emergences of 'biblical characters' are weak, such as Saul/Paul, and I think more could have been done with Pilate. I liked the portrayal of Peter, my favorite saint, his weakness, his fleshiness, his sometime joy, his earnestness, his effort, his failure. He reminds me of a painting by Carravagio of the three denials of St. Peter, this old man pathetic really, denying he knows the man.
And jesus is fierce. And there is the transformation that the desert has on him, from lover to lion. This is true imagination, this is what imaginations are made for.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent Novel about a great spiritual victory
Review: After I saw the Movie I had to read the book, The book helped me understand the movie alot better. The book has regained my interest in Jesus Christ, Kazantzakis' portrayal of Jesus helps the reader to better identify with Christ's sufferings and Temptations. I recommend this book to any person who has an open mind.
Rating:
Summary: a normal life, the greatest temptation?
Review: At sixteen I thought this book was a mind-opener and now at thirty i've come full circle to the same impression. I chose to live the normal life of a good man just as Jesus dreams of doing in this story and even I wonder, could I have been greater? Could I have contributed more if i'd suffered for others and sacrificed or did I take a cowards route? That's the central philosophy and universal appeal of this work. It's the argument that humanizes the biblical Jesus and elevates His sacrifices. Nikos Kazantzakis shouldn't have been excommunicated from the church as this book is in reality a love letter to his faith.
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Summary: The Last Temptation of Christ
Review: "The Last Temptation of Christ" is not so much a complex story but a different version of the Christ story. The author, a Greek by the name of Nikos Kazantzakis, is a person with definite views regarding humanity and he has chosen the Christ saga to express them. He, the author, invites the reader to consider his views and leaves the final decision up to the reader, with is both diplomatic and a clever approach to good story telling. Katzantzakis's chose to write "The Last Temptation of Christ" in the common person's vernacular, be it Modern Greek or English, as it best expressed the real behaviour of the average person. There is implied meaning in the narrative approach but again, it is for the reader to interpret the true meaning and purpose of this form of communication. The ultimate joy in reading this story is that it provides a fictitious account of the Christ saga and rational regarding the lessons, which have become part of modern western culture. It's interesting to note that author himself spent some years in a monastery in Greece. This may have may motivated him to write such a colourful and interesting story. John Papas
Rating:
Summary: 'A Very Flawed Masterpiece'
Review: The Last Temptation, Nikos Kazantzakis, Faber and Faber, London, 519pp. In this beautifully written novel, Jesus of Nazareth is first presented as a young carpenter who makes crosses to facilitate the Romans' crucifixion of troublesome Zealots, though he is much hindered in this activity by the figure of Judas Iscariot, himself a Zealot, who attempts to deflect his efforts by ruining his handiwork. After one such crucifixion, Jesus departs for a monastery in the desert, but just prior to this is a an episode in which he visits his old childhood sweetheart, Mary Magdalene, who has turned to prostitution because the God-possessed Jesus has been unable to take her as his wife.
Judas seeks out Jesus, intending to kill him, but when Jesus announces his intention to take a message to the people and shows no fear of death, Judas relents and decides to accompany him, hoping that his as yet vaguely defined mission will develop into a full-scale rebellion against Rome. Jesus' earliest preaching comes after he has rescued Mary Magdalene from a stoning, and is heavily influenced by a philosophy of love for all. He swiftly gains some rather fallible followers.
Judas encourages him to visit John the Baptist who daily proclaims the end of the world and the imminent arrival of the Messiah, believing that John will recognise Jesus for what he is. John's response is ambivalent, but on the whole, he is impressed by Jesus' Messianic credentials and counsels him to seek enlightenment in the desert. Drawing a circle in the sand there, Jesus refuses to emerge from it until he hears God's voice. He is visited by various temptations in different forms, but returns to his disciples with a more savage message: that of the axe. On his return journey, he enjoys the hospitality of two unmarried sisters, Mary and Martha, who later play a major part in the novel's conclusion.
He takes his new philosophy to Jerusalem where he of course angers the Scribes and Pharisees by his alleged blasphemies and criticisms of the Mosaic Law. He heals the paralysed daughter of the Roman centurion, Rufus, and in the vicinity of Bethany raises Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary, from the grave. The corpse-like Lazarus, however, is only partially restored to life and emits a disgusting smell which repels those around him. He is eventually murdered in a particularly gruesome manner by another Zealot, Barabbas. Jesus convinces Judas to betray him and his own crucifixion swiftly follows.
However, on the cross, between his anguished cry of 'ELI, ELI' and its conclusion 'LAMA SABACHTHANI', Jesus is again visited by a dream. His guardian angel, who later takes the form of a Negro boy, rescues him and brings Magdalene as his bride. Before her proposed marriage to Jesus, however, she is murdered by companions of the Apostle Paul in his former incarnation as Saul. Jesus eventually enters the household of Martha and Mary, effectively taking them both as wives. He again works as a carpenter and fathers many children, until one day, he encounters Paul (after his 'Road-to-Damascus' experience) preaching the Risen Christ. A violent quarrel ensues with the result that Paul feels he can now discard a historical Jesus completely, in his own quest to set the world alight with a new and supernatural gospel. Jesus is much disturbed, but returns to his tranquil earthly life.
Old age descends on him and, at the Fall of Jerusalem, he re-encounters his disciples as decrepit old men. Only Judas retains something of his former vigour. Jesus' complacency is finally shattered by Judas' accusation that he has been a 'Coward! Deserter! Traitor!', hiding himself in the life of an ordinary man, when his destiny clearly called for his sacrificial death. The other disciples appear as pitiable weaklings whose lives have been wasted because they invested their faith in Jesus the failed Saviour. Conscience stricken and broken, Jesus briefly experiences their anguish, but soon finds himself back on the Cross, the previous scenes all having been illusions representing his final and most severe temptation. He can now complete his death-cry as one who has been faithful to the bitter end. In a sense, then, in his end is his beginning.
The weakness of this novel, however, lies in its too-radical revision of the original Biblical narrative. Apart from the Temptation in the Wilderness scenes (e.g. Mt. Ch. 4) and the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (e.g. Lk. 22:44), there is very little in the Gospels to justify Kazantzakis' characterisation of Jesus as a figure even in conflict with himself and his mission, let alone as a tortured or morbid loner whose message to the world only dawns on him slowly and painfully by degrees. Kazantzakis finds it necessary to recreate by violence Jesus' so-called 'hard' parables and to foist on them new endings more in line with his own preconceptions. Many of the miracle stories attached to the authentic life of Jesus are subsumed by Kazantzakis into the dreams of his characters: Mary the mother of Jesus is visited by the 'Magi' in this way, and similarly, Jesus and Peter walk on water only in Peter's mind, and subsequently in Matthew the tax-collector's highly dramatised 'gospel'.
There is a major weakness in the author's characterisation of Judas; at first he is wholly resistant to the message of love and sees the role of the Messiah in very clear, if predictable, political terms. It is therefore to be expected that when Jesus reveals to him that the Saviour is Isaiah's 'Suffering Servant' and must be crucified, Judas would reject this philosophy just as violently. Yet he succumbs to Jesus' will with surprisingly little resistance. Indeed, few of Kazantzakis' characters are convincing as Jews, but come across as barely disguised Greek peasants, shrewd, worldly and cynical. In short, Kazantzakis has turned Jesus and his world into that of a struggling Nietzschean superman, almost wholly of his own making. Dr. Kenneth D. Farrow
(...)
Rating:
Summary: Elegant, soulful writing.
Review: Exquisite, tender writing. I tend to favor works that have female protaganists, but no matter the subject the writing is so gorgeous... my favortite fictional book because of the sheer beauty of the prose.
Rating:
Summary: A TRUE WORK OF ART!
Review: A book that is so beautifully written, Nikos Kazantzakis Gives a more rational & realistic view on The SUPER HUMAN BEING JESUS CHRIST
Rating:
Summary: A Thing of Beauty
Review: As a person who studies the New Testament very often and in great depth I can wholeheartedly say to all those who are seeking for the historical Jesus that this is definitely not him. Yet I can also say that those who wrote the New Testament would have fully endorsed the spirit of this great book. With a vividness of imagery and harsh truth Nikos Kazantzakis paints the story of a man that could be God if only he had courage enough. This Jesus embodies the hope and salvation of mankind in an entirely novel way, in his weakness, fear, and doubt. the poetry of language in english is beatiful, I imagine in the original Greek it is breathtaking. It's a true shame that many Christians object so strenuously to this book for I'm certain that the more devoutly Christian one is the more he or she will feel the emotional impact of this book. To be as succinct as possible; this book is beautiful, brilliant, and inspired. It contains the depth of passion that truly befits the love that so many people hold for Jesus.
Rating: 
Summary: Refreshing approach
Review: I selected this book as my interest in new approaches to religion and the psychological need for people to worship has been piqued since the attacks of September 11th. Not a very spiritual person, myself, I have been so curious as to why people are called to religion and what fundamental needs it fills. I suppose the world is full of the "hows" right now and I needed to see some of the "whys". Last Temptation was one a series of books I have read to try to provide some diversity and expand my acceptance of organized religion. I thought the author's approach was innovative and really enjoyed peering at Christ as a very human personality. Kazantzaki's truly sees past the divine side that is emphasized by the church and puts the reader in the shoes of what it must be like to believe that you are The Son of God but also a simple human. The questions Jesus asks himself, as well as the temptations he faces are those any of us could relate to. Ironically, I think he might be almost too successful at humanizing Jesus. By the end, I was unable to separate the character in this book with any of the myriad of quacks who each day (even today) stand up and proclaim that they are the Messiah or even God, himself. This is where the conflict arises in the Last Temptation of Christ for me. If truly, as Kazantzaki's proclaims in the Introduction, this is his spiritual manifesto and an expression of his most sincere beliefs in God and Christ, it does nothing to make this skeptic more inclined to believe than I was before. Jesus is portrayed as a man, and no evidence is given to support the fact that he is more than that. As alluded to above, there is no reason for me to consider him any different than any of the others who make similar claims and whom we call "nuts". I don't believe there is any way to distinguish between the "zealot" who is crucified in the novel's commencement and Christ who is put on the cross at the end. Essentially, this is not a work to make one who does not believe already draw conclusions about their own spirituality. In my mind it makes Christ and the Jews too normal to illustrate them as special in any extraordinary way. Still, it is an intriguing and very insightful psychological survey of what must go through the head of a person who believes in all of this and for that reason there is much value within it.
Rating:
Summary: fantasmagorical
Review: This was probabley one of the best translations i've ever read. i don't understand some of the comments about it being slow, or lacking rythym in the language, i found it beautiful. i was surprised to see the book rated so highly when the movie is rated as rather low, i guess smart people read books, and stupid people watch good movies but don't understand them.
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