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Summary: Kevin Williams
Review: The book is remarkable and shows the story of Christ as a story of a human and a parable of the life of the average man. The portrayl of Jesus' apostles is far more believable and interesting than the Bible. This is one of the most thoughtful books I have read and I found it hard to put down.
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Summary: Addressing some prior reviews as well as my own thoughts
Review: The most common complaint people have of this book is that it moves too slowly. Maybe that can be blamed on the translation, but don't fault the translator - fault the English language, which is a barbaric piece of work compared to Greek. Anyone who has studied Biblical Greek or even modern Greek, or read a New Testament translation with commentaries on the original Greek, will understand that Greek is an amazingly complex and rich language compared to English. A single word in Greek can mean several different things in English - sometimes, that Greek word means something literally and something figuratively, and by using that word the author means both the literal and figurative! So if the translation seems dull or slow, it may be because the author is trying to translate passages that, in the original Greek, would be far more lively and rich with meaning. Also, Kazantzakis' descriptive narratives are not without significance. He carefully takes time to describe the world in which Jesus lives and acts because this is the world we are familiar with, and his description makes it temptingly, seductively beautiful, and he wants us to be lured into that seduction. In the midst of this walks Jesus, who is tempted at all times to give up his work and embrace that world so familiar to us, and yet must give up that common life in order to bring new life to this world. Kazantzakis wants us to clearly feel and understand the world that Jesus had to give up himself. Finally, one reviewer did not like how the author continually changes the way in which he refers to Jesus... "the youth," "the son of Mary," and finally "Jesus." There is a reason for this. Up until he uses "Jesus," Jesus is on a torturous journey to discover who he is and what his purpose is. He even has gone so far as to reject his calling, refusing to follow God's will for many chapters. Thus, he is not called "Jesus" because he has not yet taken on that role - Jesus, after all, means the savior of the world, and until he accepts that role Kazantzakis does not address him as such. It's just a name that others call him by, but it's not yet his identity. Prior to that point, he must be called "the son of Mary" or "the youth" because THOSE are his identities at that point in the early chapters. Kazantzakis refers to him by the role he takes on, not by something as crude as his given name. All this said, I agree with most of the posts here. An important work that challenges us to think about Christ's life and how it relates to our lives. A book to be kept in any good book collection (in hardback preferably, since it should be pulled out every few years and re-read). If you haven't read it and have any interest in challenging how you think, buy it now. Also, I agree that the movie does not plumb the rich depths of the novel, but if it attempted to do so it would have been ten hours long. I think that the most important thing Scorcese captured on film was the crucifiction. Never in any readings of the gospels have I sensed that the crucification was painful, torturous, barbaric, or the worst way to die in that age. The gospels even mention the thieves conversing, in polite formal English, with Jesus while supposedly dying a horrible death. The film, on the other hand, made real the entire process, from the whipping, crown of thorns, the hatred of the masses, to the slow procession up to the hill, to the nails being driven into the hands and the long, long hours of simply waiting to die in miserable agony. This part of the movie brought me to tears and still does. So watch the film and read the book, both are valuable.
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Summary: Great idea, difficult to read.
Review: Kazantzakis explores the humanity of Christ and really focuses on how difficult human life must have been for Jesus. The story of Christ becomes even more beautiful when one realizes how difficult the temptation of sin must have been on him. This is an incredible story...but I had immense difficulty reading this book. Kazantzakis wrote this story in Greek, and maybe the problem is in the translation. The Greek, I assume, probably flows with ease and is easy to read. The english translation is choppy, and problematic. I really found Kazantzakis' style to be very uneven, very choppy, and very tedius. Once again, I believe the problem is within the translation. When a new translation comes out, I will be the first to buy it.
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Summary: Solid but slow
Review: It is certainly a solid piece of literature, and I personally find Kazantzakis' angle of approaching the story of Christ very fascinating. So, in that regard I don't have much to add to the praise of the prior reviews, it certainly is a good book. However, for my taste it was definitely too slow and, in places, too obvious. You can guess something that's going to happen many, many pages before it will, and it's not only because the basic story is known to everyone - Kazantzakis takes his time and moves very slow; although very emotional, his writing style is not at all intense. But this may have more to do with my personal tastes :).
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Summary: an absolute triumph! Kazantzakis' Christ feels real.
Review: Forget the movie...Scorsese left out the balance and meat of this story. He seemed to be going more for controversy than for an actual bringing to life of this book. The writing here is absolutely incredible. There's a proper blendung of realism and surrealism. I always thought that Jesus and the apostles would have been more human. They certainly are here. The book-long tortured, loving relationship between Judas & Jesus is one of the most powerful presented in the history of literature. The book didn't have its first misstep until at least 300 pages in. That misstep didn't last longer than a page. I did find the actual Last Temptation, as presented in the book, to be too wildly fantastic to be believable. It's easy to forgive that; this is a work of fiction. Released in the middle of the 20th century, this book remains timeless. No single book has done more to make me want to read more on this subject. I did have one problem with the book. It does perpetuate the myth that Mary Magdalene was a whore. She wasn't, as almost all Binle historians will attest. She was politically & religiously outspoken. That has earned her two thousand years of character crucifixion. That said, The Last Temptation Of Christ is easily one of the fuve best books I have ever read. Very powerful.
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Summary: Question to author of previous post
Review: Where in the bible does Jesus live the life of a king?
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Summary: Powerful material.
Review: Growing up in my backwoods hometown, I had heard about the film for years but couldn't find a copy because the film was "blasphemous" and all that rubbish. I finally saw the film last year (movie and soundtrack are highly recommended, by the way) and was pleased to discover that it was actually an adaptation of a book. Before I continue, let me say that I'm agnostic and am not a huge fan of Christianity. With that out of the way, I must say that I'm moved both by intellectually stimulating and spiritual material. This book easily fits both bills. Like Kazantzakis says in the introduction, this book is meant to be uplifting and reaffirm one's faith in Christ. I truly feel sorry for all those who have deemed this material garbage without reading it. There is much to be found by anyone with an open mind, Christian or not. What I found most powerful was how I could easily relate to Christ. In my old church, Jesus was a distant figure. Here, I could feel his pain as he fought to resist his temptations. This, to me, is the mark of a great book; when a book can completely suck you into the storyline, the author has done something special. My only complaint (a _very_ minor complaint) is that the book's a hair slow at times. It also might not hurt to have a quick brush-up of Bible history (or at least the time when Jesus was alive) beforehand. However, these are indeed moot points. The bottom line: read this book! I have the utmost faith in it and would recommend it to just about anyone.
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Summary: No research, bad style
Review: I tried to fill the form with "No stars". 1 star is a compromise. I am still in the middle of this book and fighting through every page. Why did I ever start it? The style is just terrible: "The son of Mary..." "The son of Mary..." - this reads like a 12 years old writings. The story is boring. It stands in stark contrast to "The Master and Margarita", another book which tells of Jesus' life - but interestingly and compellingly. The part that annoys me most about the book is the complete lack of historic research. The story occurs in Israel, about 2000 years ago. How come the people are eating grilled corn and tomatoes? These were brought from the Americas 1500 years later! And seeing gunpowder mentioned shocks me too. Kazantzakis also did not understand the kosher rules, and puts salt water sea life into the fresh water sea of Galilee... I expected more from the writer of Zorba the Greek.
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Summary: Just read the Bible
Review: What?.....I'm done.......just read the Bible. You want to know about Christ? Then JUST READ THE BIBLE!!!!!!
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Summary: one of the most boring books ever written
Review: I found this book to be compelling yet at the same time, extremely slow moving and tedious. It is too kong winded for its own good. Instead of saying "Jesus crossed the street", we have to learn what Jesus wore at the time, how fast he walked, whether he was hot, cold, tired etc. The compelling ideas are lost in the teduious and sometimes unnecessary dialog that pervades every part of this book.
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