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Testament
Set in a remote corner of the Roman Empire during a period of political unrest and spiritual uncertainty, Testament is a timeless story of how the holy man we know as Jesus alters forever the course of human history.
We come to know Jesus through the eyes of four dissimilar people. First is Judas, a committed political fighter who is invigorated by his discussions with Jesus about a sovereign nation for the Jews -- a place Jesus imagines as a philosophical rather than a physical kingdom. Second is Miryam of Migdal, through whom we learn of Jesus's controversial teachings as the two travel through Galilee and Jesus encourages the masses to question the teachings of the powerful few. Through Jesus' mother, Miryam, we learn of his all-too-human vulnerability, the rigor of his conviction, and his unfailing compassion. Finally, it is through Simon of Gergesa, a Syrian shepherd, that we witness the last days of the Jewish preacher as he journeys to Jerusalem. Though Simon is uncertain about how to assess Jesus' legacy, he now sees beauty where before there was none.
Covering overlapping portions of Jesus' life, Testament tells the recognizable story of the four Gospels but without recourse to miracle. The naturalism of the novel is based on extensive research and is utterly convincing, and yet there is indisputably something profound and even holy about the man and his teachings. As the novel progresses we begin to see how his story, filtered by different eyes and desires and subject to countless retellings, will be transformed into myth.
Ricci is not the first novelist to approach this central figure of western civilization, but here he accomplishes something of an entirely new a portrait that is historically grounded, philosophically rich, and emotionally moving and that speaks eloquently to the place and power of stories in our lives. test
We come to know Jesus through the eyes of four dissimilar people. First is Judas, a committed political fighter who is invigorated by his discussions with Jesus about a sovereign nation for the Jews -- a place Jesus imagines as a philosophical rather than a physical kingdom. Second is Miryam of Migdal, through whom we learn of Jesus's controversial teachings as the two travel through Galilee and Jesus encourages the masses to question the teachings of the powerful few. Through Jesus' mother, Miryam, we learn of his all-too-human vulnerability, the rigor of his conviction, and his unfailing compassion. Finally, it is through Simon of Gergesa, a Syrian shepherd, that we witness the last days of the Jewish preacher as he journeys to Jerusalem. Though Simon is uncertain about how to assess Jesus' legacy, he now sees beauty where before there was none.
Covering overlapping portions of Jesus' life, Testament tells the recognizable story of the four Gospels but without recourse to miracle. The naturalism of the novel is based on extensive research and is utterly convincing, and yet there is indisputably something profound and even holy about the man and his teachings. As the novel progresses we begin to see how his story, filtered by different eyes and desires and subject to countless retellings, will be transformed into myth.
Ricci is not the first novelist to approach this central figure of western civilization, but here he accomplishes something of an entirely new a portrait that is historically grounded, philosophically rich, and emotionally moving and that speaks eloquently to the place and power of stories in our lives. test
456 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
26 people are currently reading
417 people want to read
About the author
Nino Ricci
15 books68 followersNino Ricci’s first novel was the internationally acclaimed Lives of the Saints. It spent 75 weeks on the Globe and Mail‘s bestseller list and was the winner of the F.G. Bressani Prize, the Books in Canada First Novel Award, and the Governor General’s Award for Fiction. In England it won Betty Trask Award and Winnifred Holtby Prize, in the U.S. was shortlisted for the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, and in France was an Oiel de la lettre Selection of the National Libraries Association.
Published in seventeen countries, Lives of the Saints was the first volume of a trilogy that continued with In a Glass House, hailed as a “genuine achievement” by The New York Times, and Where She Has Gone, nominated for the Giller Prize. The Lives of the Saints trilogy was adapted for a television miniseries starring Sophia Loren and Kris Kristofferson.
Books in Canada commented that Ricci’s trilogy “so amply demonstrates the author’s tremendous talents that we would be foolish as readers not to follow him down whatever road he next chooses to follow.” That road led him to Testament, a fictional retelling of the life of Jesus. Hailed as a “masterpiece” by Saturday Night, Testament was a Booklist Choice for the Top Ten Historical Novels of the Year and a Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year. It was shortlisted for a Commonwealth Prize and for the Roger’s Writers’ Trust Award for Fiction and was a winner of the Trillium Award.
Ricci’s national bestseller The Origin of Species earned him the Canadian Authors Association Fiction Award as well as his second Governor General’s Award for Fiction. Set in Montreal in 1980s, the novel casts a Darwinian eye on the life of Alex Fratarcangeli, who is torn between his baser impulses and his pursuit of the Good. “This novel does so well, on so many levels,” wrote the Toronto Star, “that it’s hard to know where to begin tallying up the riches.”
Ricci is also the author of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, a short biography that forms part of Penguin’s Extraordinary Canadians series, edited by John Ralston Saul. Ricci’s biography, according to HistoryWire, “provides the best, and best written, perspective on Trudeau there is.”
Ricci's newest novel is Sleep, out in the fall of 2015.
Published in seventeen countries, Lives of the Saints was the first volume of a trilogy that continued with In a Glass House, hailed as a “genuine achievement” by The New York Times, and Where She Has Gone, nominated for the Giller Prize. The Lives of the Saints trilogy was adapted for a television miniseries starring Sophia Loren and Kris Kristofferson.
Books in Canada commented that Ricci’s trilogy “so amply demonstrates the author’s tremendous talents that we would be foolish as readers not to follow him down whatever road he next chooses to follow.” That road led him to Testament, a fictional retelling of the life of Jesus. Hailed as a “masterpiece” by Saturday Night, Testament was a Booklist Choice for the Top Ten Historical Novels of the Year and a Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year. It was shortlisted for a Commonwealth Prize and for the Roger’s Writers’ Trust Award for Fiction and was a winner of the Trillium Award.
Ricci’s national bestseller The Origin of Species earned him the Canadian Authors Association Fiction Award as well as his second Governor General’s Award for Fiction. Set in Montreal in 1980s, the novel casts a Darwinian eye on the life of Alex Fratarcangeli, who is torn between his baser impulses and his pursuit of the Good. “This novel does so well, on so many levels,” wrote the Toronto Star, “that it’s hard to know where to begin tallying up the riches.”
Ricci is also the author of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, a short biography that forms part of Penguin’s Extraordinary Canadians series, edited by John Ralston Saul. Ricci’s biography, according to HistoryWire, “provides the best, and best written, perspective on Trudeau there is.”
Ricci's newest novel is Sleep, out in the fall of 2015.
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February 4, 2019
I’ve been stressed about turning thirty-three since I was about twenty-five.
You see, thirty-three is largely considered to be Jesus’ age when he died. This was the year he established his ministry, rebelled against the Romans, rose from the dead, and laid the groundwork for Dan Brown to become the most unlikely gajillionaire the world has ever seen.
In short, he crushed it. He fulfilled his destiny and became the man he was meant to be (however horrid that destiny may have been).
Thirty-three has since become synonymous–insofar as the Christian zeitgeist is concerned–with a person’s figurative death and resurrection. A precedent has been set for thirty-three being the height of one’s powers, the year we tear down the walls that surround us and rebuild ourselves into something better.
It’s a testament to my Catholic upbringing and its particular brand of “gee shucks” brainwashing that I’m still so affected by its laws, taboos, and beliefs more than twenty years after I left the church for good.
Classical conditioning is one hell of a drug.
Over the last two decades, my fascination with Jesus never waned. If anything, it’s gotten deeper and more relevant. The difference is that he’s more than a fairy tale for me now. I don’t for one second believe in his literal death and resurrection. I don’t believe he was capable of miracles. I don’t believe he tamed dragons as a child. (Seriously, that’s in the Apocrypha.) I do like to believe he was an actual man, though, capable of opposing tyranny and ushering in a new kind of spirituality, one focused on inner work as opposed to outer work. Sadly, this message has been lost on the vast majority of his followers. If only Christians were more Christ-like.
Now, my bibles are books like Zealot by Reza Aslan, Christianity: the First 3000 Years by Diarmaid MacCulloch, and Testament by Nino Ricci.
I turned thirty-three (at long last) in March. At the time, I’d been in the middle of a prolonged reading slump so I did what I usually do when that happens: I read an “old reliable.” Ricci’s Testament, in this case. Testament is a re-telling of the Jesus myth from the perspective of four of his closest followers: Judas, Mary Magdalene, his mother, and Simon of Gergesa. What’s wonderful about Testament is that it essentially presents four alternate Gospels, but from the position of Jesus as a man and nothing more. It is, in a word, beautiful. I adore it.
If I were to be buried with five books, Testament would be one of them.
Somehow, I was blissfully unaware of the connection, that I was reading my favorite book about Jesus just days before I would turn thirty-three. Not only was it a cure for my reading hangover, but it was the perfect panacea for my anxiety. Re-connecting with Yeshua (as he’s called in Testament; Jesus is actually the Greek form of Yeshua, his actual name), has allowed me to understand that living a “Jesus life” isn’t about changing the world. It’s about dedicating yourself to being better, to doing better.
They went to Yeshua and said they couldn’t accept Simon because he had refused circumcision. But Yeshua, seeing their contempt for Simon, grew angry.
You only talk about the outer man and not the inner one.
The law tells us there’s no inner faith without the outward sign, Yaqob said.
Tell me who is more true to God, Yeshua said, the one who as an infant has done to him what he doesn’t know or understand or the one who freely chooses God as a man.
No one knew how to answer him. Finally Shimon, who was deeply troubled by the matter, said But without circumcision there’s no covenant. Without circumcision we aren’t Jews.
Sometimes you have to be more than Jews, Yeshua said.
This is what thirty-three looks like for me now.
- It’s about dedicating (and re-dedicating) myself to growing, every day
- It’s about acknowledging that perfection is a moving target, and just because I’ll never get there that doesn’t mean the journey isn’t worth it
- It’s about knowing who I am, loving who I am, and putting that out into the world, even if it’s not in step with everyone else
- Especially if it’s not in step with everyone else
- It’s about giving a little more of myself to those around me
- It’s about doing what I can, and knowing that there will, in fact, be a thirty-four
- As trite as it sounds, life is a marathon, and not a sprint.
Dates are largely arbitrary. Birthdays are most certainly arbitrary. Who gives a shit when a really famous, probably fictional preacher died. Aging isn’t about signposts, or at least it isn’t about other people’s signposts.
Judge not, lest ye be judged? These are words I now say to myself, about myself.
“However things get remembered,” Simon muses near the end of the novel, “you can be certain it won’t be how they actually were, since one man will change a bit of this to suit his fancy, and one a bit of that, and another will spice it to make a better story of it. And by and by the truth of the thing will get clouded, and he’ll simply be a yarn you tell to your children.”
So far, thirty-three has taught me to live here, in the now, and care less about what the future holds. So far, I like it.
After all, my Elvis Year is still nine years away.
No need to stress just yet.
If you liked this, you can find lots more like it at Another Book Blog.
You see, thirty-three is largely considered to be Jesus’ age when he died. This was the year he established his ministry, rebelled against the Romans, rose from the dead, and laid the groundwork for Dan Brown to become the most unlikely gajillionaire the world has ever seen.
In short, he crushed it. He fulfilled his destiny and became the man he was meant to be (however horrid that destiny may have been).
Thirty-three has since become synonymous–insofar as the Christian zeitgeist is concerned–with a person’s figurative death and resurrection. A precedent has been set for thirty-three being the height of one’s powers, the year we tear down the walls that surround us and rebuild ourselves into something better.
It’s a testament to my Catholic upbringing and its particular brand of “gee shucks” brainwashing that I’m still so affected by its laws, taboos, and beliefs more than twenty years after I left the church for good.
Classical conditioning is one hell of a drug.
Over the last two decades, my fascination with Jesus never waned. If anything, it’s gotten deeper and more relevant. The difference is that he’s more than a fairy tale for me now. I don’t for one second believe in his literal death and resurrection. I don’t believe he was capable of miracles. I don’t believe he tamed dragons as a child. (Seriously, that’s in the Apocrypha.) I do like to believe he was an actual man, though, capable of opposing tyranny and ushering in a new kind of spirituality, one focused on inner work as opposed to outer work. Sadly, this message has been lost on the vast majority of his followers. If only Christians were more Christ-like.
Now, my bibles are books like Zealot by Reza Aslan, Christianity: the First 3000 Years by Diarmaid MacCulloch, and Testament by Nino Ricci.
I turned thirty-three (at long last) in March. At the time, I’d been in the middle of a prolonged reading slump so I did what I usually do when that happens: I read an “old reliable.” Ricci’s Testament, in this case. Testament is a re-telling of the Jesus myth from the perspective of four of his closest followers: Judas, Mary Magdalene, his mother, and Simon of Gergesa. What’s wonderful about Testament is that it essentially presents four alternate Gospels, but from the position of Jesus as a man and nothing more. It is, in a word, beautiful. I adore it.
If I were to be buried with five books, Testament would be one of them.
Somehow, I was blissfully unaware of the connection, that I was reading my favorite book about Jesus just days before I would turn thirty-three. Not only was it a cure for my reading hangover, but it was the perfect panacea for my anxiety. Re-connecting with Yeshua (as he’s called in Testament; Jesus is actually the Greek form of Yeshua, his actual name), has allowed me to understand that living a “Jesus life” isn’t about changing the world. It’s about dedicating yourself to being better, to doing better.
They went to Yeshua and said they couldn’t accept Simon because he had refused circumcision. But Yeshua, seeing their contempt for Simon, grew angry.
You only talk about the outer man and not the inner one.
The law tells us there’s no inner faith without the outward sign, Yaqob said.
Tell me who is more true to God, Yeshua said, the one who as an infant has done to him what he doesn’t know or understand or the one who freely chooses God as a man.
No one knew how to answer him. Finally Shimon, who was deeply troubled by the matter, said But without circumcision there’s no covenant. Without circumcision we aren’t Jews.
Sometimes you have to be more than Jews, Yeshua said.
This is what thirty-three looks like for me now.
- It’s about dedicating (and re-dedicating) myself to growing, every day
- It’s about acknowledging that perfection is a moving target, and just because I’ll never get there that doesn’t mean the journey isn’t worth it
- It’s about knowing who I am, loving who I am, and putting that out into the world, even if it’s not in step with everyone else
- Especially if it’s not in step with everyone else
- It’s about giving a little more of myself to those around me
- It’s about doing what I can, and knowing that there will, in fact, be a thirty-four
- As trite as it sounds, life is a marathon, and not a sprint.
Dates are largely arbitrary. Birthdays are most certainly arbitrary. Who gives a shit when a really famous, probably fictional preacher died. Aging isn’t about signposts, or at least it isn’t about other people’s signposts.
Judge not, lest ye be judged? These are words I now say to myself, about myself.
“However things get remembered,” Simon muses near the end of the novel, “you can be certain it won’t be how they actually were, since one man will change a bit of this to suit his fancy, and one a bit of that, and another will spice it to make a better story of it. And by and by the truth of the thing will get clouded, and he’ll simply be a yarn you tell to your children.”
So far, thirty-three has taught me to live here, in the now, and care less about what the future holds. So far, I like it.
After all, my Elvis Year is still nine years away.
No need to stress just yet.
If you liked this, you can find lots more like it at Another Book Blog.
December 26, 2013
Nino Ricci is fortunate that Christian leaders aren't currently issuing fatwas, although as Salman Rushdie knows, there's nothing like a blasphemy charge to boost sales. Back before Madonna became a madonna, she profited from fundamentalists hyperventilating over her lyrics, but we haven't really had an energetic heresy debate since Martin Scorsese's "Last Temptation of Christ" in 1988.
On balance, this is a good thing. Fear of censure can smother artistic creativity. And liberal democracies don't function if we have to stop shopping every few days to gather dry sticks. But literature, particularly literature about religious issues, has lost something in this triumph of tolerance: the chance to be taken seriously on religious terms. Between fundamentalists painting their critiques in primary colors and liberal theologians claiming they can't find a brush, we're left talking about signs of Christ in a sexy kung fu movie called "The Matrix."
Nino Ricci's "Testament" deserves a wide audience and should ignite vigorous debate. With a nod - but just a very faint nod - to the structure of the New Testament, this Canadian author has imagined four testimonies by very different people who knew Jesus: Judas, a Jewish rebel who did not betray Jesus; Mary Magdalene, a chaste young woman who jealously defends Jesus; his mother, who was raped by a Roman soldier; and Simon, a pagan shepherd who follows Jesus to Golgotha.
In a brief end note, Ricci states, "This is a work of fiction.... It does not purport to be an accurate historical representation." Jack Miles offered the same perfunctory defense at the end of his "Christ" in 2001: "The interpretation of the New Testament offered in this book is literary, rather than historical or theological."
There's something disingenuous about these disclaimers. They sound like those permission slips that try to absolve school principals of all responsibility in case your child is impaled during a field trip. In fact, when a book portrays the central figure of Christianity as the bastard progeny of rape, shows his cures as exaggerations or lies, and presents the Ascension as a desperate invention, it's making theological claims. And if it weren't for millions of people's faith in a very different kind of portrayal - a faith these authors claim is irrelevant, even while they play off it continually - there would be little interest in their reimaginings.
Ricci is a fantastic storyteller, and the four testimonies he's bound in "Testament" comprise an unsettling book. Judas's narrative draws us into the political tensions smoldering in ancient Palestine. A careful, analytical man, he's a member of one of the many Jewish groups plotting revolt against Rome in a climate so fearful and repressive that they end up striking against one another more than the emperor. He hopes to use his position among the disciples as a cover for rebel recruitment, but soon he feels impelled to protect their enigmatic teacher, even as he's frustrated by Jesus' apparent disregard for danger. In a world obsessed with exclusion and purity, he's particularly awed by Jesus' willingness to embrace lepers, eat with them, and offer recuperative herbal treatments.
Far less intellectual or political, Mary Magdalene's testimony burns with claustrophobic intensity, fueled by romantic attraction she can't even admit to herself. One of several women in Jesus' inner circle, she describes the personal dynamics of this small group, their petty jealousies, shameful plays for favor, and shifting alliances. Her master's insistence on ignoring all the differences she's been taught to respect - clean and unclean, Jew and pagan, man and woman, well and sick - ushers her into a kind of freedom she can barely grasp.
Though they remain in a cold war, competing for Jesus' affection, both Judas and Mary agree that the rumors about his wondrous cures were started by ignorant gossips or spies hoping to overwhelm their teacher with hordes of sick people he couldn't help.
Ricci's creation of Mary the mother of Jesus is his most psychologically sophisticated. What would it really have been like, he asks, for a poor woman to raise a precocious boy in a culture that had no place for bastard children? It's an agonizing, masterly portrayal that roots Jesus' philosophy of inclusion in the tragedy of his own childhood. Jesus and Mary engage in a battle of passive aggression that will seem familiar to many parents, but it's also a daring attempt to trace the doctrine of Christian salvation to the psychological violence of one dysfunctional family.
The final testimony comes from Simon, a happy-go-lucky shepherd who tags along with Jesus to get away from his cruel brother. He seems a rube at first, and his narrative is the only one free of any particularly personal or political agenda. He's also the only one to follow Jesus through his trial and death, and his plainspoken voice eventually provides the most gripping and terrifying story. Like the other three narrators, he never sees Jesus perform any sudden cures or violate any natural laws, but what seems more wondrous to him than any of those distracting "miracle rumors" is Jesus' insistence on forgiveness.
Indeed, "Testament" is an unrelentingly secular picture of Jesus that threatens to reduce Christian spirituality down to a doctrine of being really nice to everybody. Hopeful as that might have been (and continues to be), it's difficult to fathom how such a practice could have shaken the world.
But the novel's most remarkable - or devilish - strategy is the way Ricci creates the ordinary events and statements that were, he implies, twisted for a variety of motives to produce the Gospel anecdotes. The subtle differences between his testimonies from Judas, the two Marys, and Peter force us to consider the opportunities for creative addition, alteration, and interpretation as stories about Jesus were handed through innumerable retellers. Any reader familiar with the New Testament will experience the jarring recognition of sacred statements and stories reconstructed, recombined, or disassembled in ways that make today's Christianity look entirely happenstance - or even ridiculous.
Not surprisingly, Ricci acknowledges his debt to the Jesus Seminar and insists that he "has made every effort to work within the bounds of historical plausibility." This is an entirely reasonable approach, except that history tends to turn on moments of striking implausibility.
The four narrators Ricci creates are exceptionally well drawn and brilliantly infused with the details of their time, but the figure they revolve around remains something of a black hole, observable mostly by his influence on them. When we do glimpse Jesus, he's a provocative, captious man, confusing to his devoted followers. Ricci's fascinating vision presents a challenge to those comfortable with a quaint Christ. But on the other hand, little about Jesus' words or actions as portrayed here seems sufficiently unique or powerful to have sparked the spiritual revolution that began 2,000 years ago.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0515/p1...
On balance, this is a good thing. Fear of censure can smother artistic creativity. And liberal democracies don't function if we have to stop shopping every few days to gather dry sticks. But literature, particularly literature about religious issues, has lost something in this triumph of tolerance: the chance to be taken seriously on religious terms. Between fundamentalists painting their critiques in primary colors and liberal theologians claiming they can't find a brush, we're left talking about signs of Christ in a sexy kung fu movie called "The Matrix."
Nino Ricci's "Testament" deserves a wide audience and should ignite vigorous debate. With a nod - but just a very faint nod - to the structure of the New Testament, this Canadian author has imagined four testimonies by very different people who knew Jesus: Judas, a Jewish rebel who did not betray Jesus; Mary Magdalene, a chaste young woman who jealously defends Jesus; his mother, who was raped by a Roman soldier; and Simon, a pagan shepherd who follows Jesus to Golgotha.
In a brief end note, Ricci states, "This is a work of fiction.... It does not purport to be an accurate historical representation." Jack Miles offered the same perfunctory defense at the end of his "Christ" in 2001: "The interpretation of the New Testament offered in this book is literary, rather than historical or theological."
There's something disingenuous about these disclaimers. They sound like those permission slips that try to absolve school principals of all responsibility in case your child is impaled during a field trip. In fact, when a book portrays the central figure of Christianity as the bastard progeny of rape, shows his cures as exaggerations or lies, and presents the Ascension as a desperate invention, it's making theological claims. And if it weren't for millions of people's faith in a very different kind of portrayal - a faith these authors claim is irrelevant, even while they play off it continually - there would be little interest in their reimaginings.
Ricci is a fantastic storyteller, and the four testimonies he's bound in "Testament" comprise an unsettling book. Judas's narrative draws us into the political tensions smoldering in ancient Palestine. A careful, analytical man, he's a member of one of the many Jewish groups plotting revolt against Rome in a climate so fearful and repressive that they end up striking against one another more than the emperor. He hopes to use his position among the disciples as a cover for rebel recruitment, but soon he feels impelled to protect their enigmatic teacher, even as he's frustrated by Jesus' apparent disregard for danger. In a world obsessed with exclusion and purity, he's particularly awed by Jesus' willingness to embrace lepers, eat with them, and offer recuperative herbal treatments.
Far less intellectual or political, Mary Magdalene's testimony burns with claustrophobic intensity, fueled by romantic attraction she can't even admit to herself. One of several women in Jesus' inner circle, she describes the personal dynamics of this small group, their petty jealousies, shameful plays for favor, and shifting alliances. Her master's insistence on ignoring all the differences she's been taught to respect - clean and unclean, Jew and pagan, man and woman, well and sick - ushers her into a kind of freedom she can barely grasp.
Though they remain in a cold war, competing for Jesus' affection, both Judas and Mary agree that the rumors about his wondrous cures were started by ignorant gossips or spies hoping to overwhelm their teacher with hordes of sick people he couldn't help.
Ricci's creation of Mary the mother of Jesus is his most psychologically sophisticated. What would it really have been like, he asks, for a poor woman to raise a precocious boy in a culture that had no place for bastard children? It's an agonizing, masterly portrayal that roots Jesus' philosophy of inclusion in the tragedy of his own childhood. Jesus and Mary engage in a battle of passive aggression that will seem familiar to many parents, but it's also a daring attempt to trace the doctrine of Christian salvation to the psychological violence of one dysfunctional family.
The final testimony comes from Simon, a happy-go-lucky shepherd who tags along with Jesus to get away from his cruel brother. He seems a rube at first, and his narrative is the only one free of any particularly personal or political agenda. He's also the only one to follow Jesus through his trial and death, and his plainspoken voice eventually provides the most gripping and terrifying story. Like the other three narrators, he never sees Jesus perform any sudden cures or violate any natural laws, but what seems more wondrous to him than any of those distracting "miracle rumors" is Jesus' insistence on forgiveness.
Indeed, "Testament" is an unrelentingly secular picture of Jesus that threatens to reduce Christian spirituality down to a doctrine of being really nice to everybody. Hopeful as that might have been (and continues to be), it's difficult to fathom how such a practice could have shaken the world.
But the novel's most remarkable - or devilish - strategy is the way Ricci creates the ordinary events and statements that were, he implies, twisted for a variety of motives to produce the Gospel anecdotes. The subtle differences between his testimonies from Judas, the two Marys, and Peter force us to consider the opportunities for creative addition, alteration, and interpretation as stories about Jesus were handed through innumerable retellers. Any reader familiar with the New Testament will experience the jarring recognition of sacred statements and stories reconstructed, recombined, or disassembled in ways that make today's Christianity look entirely happenstance - or even ridiculous.
Not surprisingly, Ricci acknowledges his debt to the Jesus Seminar and insists that he "has made every effort to work within the bounds of historical plausibility." This is an entirely reasonable approach, except that history tends to turn on moments of striking implausibility.
The four narrators Ricci creates are exceptionally well drawn and brilliantly infused with the details of their time, but the figure they revolve around remains something of a black hole, observable mostly by his influence on them. When we do glimpse Jesus, he's a provocative, captious man, confusing to his devoted followers. Ricci's fascinating vision presents a challenge to those comfortable with a quaint Christ. But on the other hand, little about Jesus' words or actions as portrayed here seems sufficiently unique or powerful to have sparked the spiritual revolution that began 2,000 years ago.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0515/p1...
February 9, 2013
I am a Professor of New Testament Studies who is well versed in historical Jesus study and has written a few things of my own on the topic. Ricci has clearly done his homework and has spent a good deal of time with the scholarly literature, especially with that from the Jesus Seminar. Jesus is a Cynic like character. Ricci leaves the Jesus Seminarians behind when he has Jesus recruiting followers amongst Gentiles in and around Gerasa (itself a highly contested spot historically). This seems unlikely since it is most likely that the saying that Jesus has come to only the lost sheep of Israel makes it likely that Jesus did not recruit non-Jews. If he had, given the development of the movement amongst non-Jewish followers, Gospels traditions would have said more about that, Instead the stories are limited to a handful of accounts (the Syro-Phonoecian Woman; the Centurion's Slave/Son), probably because Jesus' proclamation was limited. The silence in other words speaks volumes. But is important to state that Ricci is not interested in furnishing us with an historical account, but a piece of historical fiction, and as such, this is the best I've read. What has emerged is a compelling account of a figure, who, outside the New Testament, is shrouded in mystery. Like the Gospel writers and the traditions associated with them, Ricci offers us an account of Jesus from four different people, some of them opposed to Jesus, others sympathetic to him, and others puzzled by him. The Jesus who emerges is, as is always the case in any account of Jesus, a report told from varying interests and points of view. Ricci uses shifting point of view to great effect. We are treated to varying and overlapping perspectives, embedded in differing narrative tellings of encounter with Jesus. I would have wished, however, that Ricci could have told his story in narrative styles that marked each account from the other. The retrospective narration tells different stories, but grammatically and sylistically in the same voice. I like how Ricci makes Jesus' death (contrary to the Passion of the Christ account) a typical (if that is the right word) crucifixion. Jesus has found himself in the wrong spot at the wrong time and combined with his provocative message things go desperately wrong for him. That this death became the foundation for another account is both historical and theological and Ricci is making no claims for either, though his account of first followers beginning to hear reports of Jesus alive is engaging.
I can imagine that this book would make many people very angry; that it offends piety; that it calls into question a reading of the Gospels as pure history. But to those who discover in the Gospels mirrors for reflection on life, desire, hope, fear, etc., this is a very engaging read. For those who find the Gospels literature tired out with cultural familiarity, Ricci's novel offers a means back into them from a fresh perspective.
The book was published by Anchor Canada and the endorsements are worth reading because they are insightful and encourage the reader who knows too little or too much (!) about Jesus to take up an ideal role not as believer but as seeker.
I can imagine that this book would make many people very angry; that it offends piety; that it calls into question a reading of the Gospels as pure history. But to those who discover in the Gospels mirrors for reflection on life, desire, hope, fear, etc., this is a very engaging read. For those who find the Gospels literature tired out with cultural familiarity, Ricci's novel offers a means back into them from a fresh perspective.
The book was published by Anchor Canada and the endorsements are worth reading because they are insightful and encourage the reader who knows too little or too much (!) about Jesus to take up an ideal role not as believer but as seeker.
April 10, 2021
If there was a historical figure of Jesus, who was he? Where did he come from and what did he really believe and preach? Ricci explores these questions by composing four new gospels. Although independent stories, and largely covering different points in Jesus’ life, there is some overlap and quite a few “ah ha! That explains it!” moments as events are told from different perspectives.
Testament imagines a human Jesus, a Jesus who is mythologized and divinized by followers who loved and depended on him and who were lost when he was suddenly ripped away from them. Jesus is also a presented as a complex individual who comes to mean different things to different people. Those around him struggle to understand him, to fit him into simplistic models, but of course these cannot accommodate real personalities (which tend to be multi-facetted and even contradictory).
I generally dislike books written from multiple perspectives. Invariably, the author’s own voice shows through, making each account too similar (minus the occasional superficial difference, such as the use of phonetic accenting). But in Testament, each narrator feels like a completely separate entity. They have their own interpretations of events and pay attention to only those details that are of interest to them. Mary’s story feels like a female, world-weary, and maternal narrator, while Mary Magdalene’s story feels like a love-struck, hero-worshipping young girl. The construction of psychically real characters is clearly Ricci’s strong suite.
Testament is a continuing story. By this I mean that while only four stories are actually told, there are many other characters throughout the novel who hint at having their own interesting perspective to talk about, their own stories. The book could easily have been far longer, but instead Ricci chose to merely hint at these other stories, to provide food for the reader’s imagination long after the novel itself has been finished.
A great deal of research clearly went into the writing of Testament. It was a fun little game for me to try to identify which theory Ricci was calling upon at any given moment. While I don’t personally agree with all of his choices, he did certainly manage to collate many diverse theories into a cohesive whole and, more importantly, a historically believable story.
I found this to be a very enjoyable read. Not only is in entertaining and interesting, it is also intellectual (as far as these things go). It is a book that feeds the brain without the reader even noticing and, as such, can easily be enjoyed on a number of different levels. It certainly ought to be required reading for all Atheists and doubters from a Christian tradition.
Testament imagines a human Jesus, a Jesus who is mythologized and divinized by followers who loved and depended on him and who were lost when he was suddenly ripped away from them. Jesus is also a presented as a complex individual who comes to mean different things to different people. Those around him struggle to understand him, to fit him into simplistic models, but of course these cannot accommodate real personalities (which tend to be multi-facetted and even contradictory).
I generally dislike books written from multiple perspectives. Invariably, the author’s own voice shows through, making each account too similar (minus the occasional superficial difference, such as the use of phonetic accenting). But in Testament, each narrator feels like a completely separate entity. They have their own interpretations of events and pay attention to only those details that are of interest to them. Mary’s story feels like a female, world-weary, and maternal narrator, while Mary Magdalene’s story feels like a love-struck, hero-worshipping young girl. The construction of psychically real characters is clearly Ricci’s strong suite.
Testament is a continuing story. By this I mean that while only four stories are actually told, there are many other characters throughout the novel who hint at having their own interesting perspective to talk about, their own stories. The book could easily have been far longer, but instead Ricci chose to merely hint at these other stories, to provide food for the reader’s imagination long after the novel itself has been finished.
A great deal of research clearly went into the writing of Testament. It was a fun little game for me to try to identify which theory Ricci was calling upon at any given moment. While I don’t personally agree with all of his choices, he did certainly manage to collate many diverse theories into a cohesive whole and, more importantly, a historically believable story.
I found this to be a very enjoyable read. Not only is in entertaining and interesting, it is also intellectual (as far as these things go). It is a book that feeds the brain without the reader even noticing and, as such, can easily be enjoyed on a number of different levels. It certainly ought to be required reading for all Atheists and doubters from a Christian tradition.
July 20, 2014
Not impressed, but not for theological reasons. Whilst Ricci's portrayal of Jesus as a cynic teacher and folk healer is at odds with my own understanding, it was more the literary and narrative styles that frustrated. Whilst the story was told from four different perspectives, the language and phraseology of each narrator was not distinctively different, and all characters, whether narrators or others were hard to warm too. That said there were interesting insights offered that rarely appear in more traditional accounts, including life of exiled Jews in Alexandria, the climate of Jerusalem, practice of pilgrims at Passover and some of the political complexity. Not convinced with some dimensions eg the interplay between Roman and Jewish authorities or the openness of the original Jesus movement to Gentiles. All in all, disappointing given the high praise heaped on this book by other reviewers.
August 7, 2009
An imaginative retelling of the life of Jesus. Appropriately enough, it's divided into 4 "books," each narrated from a different perspective by someone close to Jesus: Yihud of Qiryat (Judas Iscariot), always a favorite of those seeking to dramatically recount Jesus' life; Miryam of Migdal (Mary Magdalene, ditto; Miryam, mother of Jesus; & the Simon who carried Jesus' cross to Golgotha. This is a decidedly secular telling, with the miracles discounted & Jesus' divinity not really even considered. On the other hand, the author clearly conveys how Jesus' life & teachings challenged his followers to rethink pretty radically their self-image & the way they relate to others (especially those of different backgrounds) & to the world. All in all, an egaging, challenging, & rewarding book.
September 14, 2008
This is a fictionalized version of the story of Jesus that, is intriguing as literature, although not as Scripture.
November 16, 2008
Phenomenally ambitious and successful. Felt utterly human and true.
March 21, 2020
Eye opening. Interesting and Depressing just about sums up this novel. I believe Simon's story at the end to be by far the best though Miryam his mother is a close second place. The different perspectives and outlooks on Jesus provided in this book leave me feeling a multitude of feelings towards Jesus as a man, teacher and healer. That more real persona. In the end feeling despair for his situation person to person. A very moving and sad. I believe this book has connected me more to the stories of Jesus than any story of the Bible ever has.
April 26, 2023
Nino Ricci🇨🇦tells the story of Jesus through the eyes and experiences of four individuals: a curious interloper, the woman we know as Mary, his Mother, and finally a new follower who witnessed the crucifixion.
Each contribute a side or personality of Jesus, unique to their level of intimacy or expectation.
Each contribute a side or personality of Jesus, unique to their level of intimacy or expectation.
October 19, 2008
Really outstanding novel.
Nino Ricci divides the novel into 4 parts, much like the 4 Gospels and chronicles the birth, life and death of Jesus from the lives of those around him.
It is very poignant. The "Mary" Gospel is particularly moving.
I read this in less than 2 days I think. It was that good.
Nino Ricci divides the novel into 4 parts, much like the 4 Gospels and chronicles the birth, life and death of Jesus from the lives of those around him.
It is very poignant. The "Mary" Gospel is particularly moving.
I read this in less than 2 days I think. It was that good.
October 19, 2012
I adored this book. I loved the every day interpretation of Jesus' life and miracles - an easy explanation for the entire series of events. Artfully crafted, it does not take away from the Bible itself, but rather humanizes Jesus. Beautiful. I rarely reread books, but this one is on my list to do so.
January 19, 2010
This book was interesting. It made me really think about a lot of things that I had learned about Jesus growing up. It was not historically accurate at all, but it was interesting nonetheless. But also kind of strange.
April 30, 2015
While the wording of individual sentences was great, the overall picture for the first few chapters I read was quite bland. Sigh, I just could not finish it. Maybe I'll work my way around to it again sometime, perhaps I just was not in the mood for this now.
March 20, 2023
Awesome.
I got closer to Ricci's work thanks to his novel "Lives of Saints", and I came across this book, which has only been published in the Anglo-Saxon market.
Ricci rethinks the life of Jesus of Nazareth, setting aside the mystical nature of the character, and seeking to situate and give a "rational" explanation to the figure we know today.
He presents the novel in 4 acts, or gospels, from the point of view of Judas Iscariot, Mary Magdalene, Mary, and Simon of Gergesa.
The novel narrates from the first years of Mary (the narrative of the moment of rape at the hands of a Roman legate, which causes her to get pregnant of Jesus and her subsequent marriage is chilling) to the days and years after Golgotha.
Testament is a refracted biography of Jesus, and it becomes a rethinking of what the narrative itself is.
Here there are no explicitly narrated miracles. The magic that Ricci achieves is that we are the ones who end up reimagining the story, by discarding that mystical aspect, the novel itself mixes with that previous imaginary that we all possess, making us part of the work itself. Not only what we read happens, but also what we imagine.
At the end of the novel, Simón says a sentence that sums it all up: Things are remembered, you can be sure that they are not the way they really were, since someone will change something to adapt it to their fantasy, and another person will the same (...) and little by little the story will become cloudy, and it will be nothing more than a simple story that you will tell your children (...)
I got closer to Ricci's work thanks to his novel "Lives of Saints", and I came across this book, which has only been published in the Anglo-Saxon market.
Ricci rethinks the life of Jesus of Nazareth, setting aside the mystical nature of the character, and seeking to situate and give a "rational" explanation to the figure we know today.
He presents the novel in 4 acts, or gospels, from the point of view of Judas Iscariot, Mary Magdalene, Mary, and Simon of Gergesa.
The novel narrates from the first years of Mary (the narrative of the moment of rape at the hands of a Roman legate, which causes her to get pregnant of Jesus and her subsequent marriage is chilling) to the days and years after Golgotha.
Testament is a refracted biography of Jesus, and it becomes a rethinking of what the narrative itself is.
Here there are no explicitly narrated miracles. The magic that Ricci achieves is that we are the ones who end up reimagining the story, by discarding that mystical aspect, the novel itself mixes with that previous imaginary that we all possess, making us part of the work itself. Not only what we read happens, but also what we imagine.
At the end of the novel, Simón says a sentence that sums it all up: Things are remembered, you can be sure that they are not the way they really were, since someone will change something to adapt it to their fantasy, and another person will the same (...) and little by little the story will become cloudy, and it will be nothing more than a simple story that you will tell your children (...)
July 18, 2020
I am not sure how to describe this novel version of the life of the historic Jesus. There are some long and erudite discussions here on Goodreads about the theology and history which are very interesting, but I am not qualified to render an opinion of them. Ricci's purpose is to portray Jesus the human being. Little is made of miracles and myths except to demonstrate the their roots in possible fact. Believers could be very upset, but I enjoyed this interpretation. The story is narrated by four people in Jesus' life: Judas, Mary the mother , Mary Magdalene, and a fourth Simon who gets to tell of Jesus' last days in the hands of the Romans. I am giving this the fifth star not because of any great revelation, but because the writing is beautiful, and it stimulated my mind and heart greatly.
January 27, 2023
Interesting take on the life of Jesus as a cynic and folk healer. There are four narrators with their perspectives of Jesus. I did not mind the various narrators and their opinions, in a way I can see how in Jesus' day that is how many people may have seen him as he was not considered by the majority of the Jewish community as the Messiah. He would have been seen by many as a rebel and a threat to the status quo. I feel that the writing although good was somehow confusing to me and I found it difficult to agree that the mother of Jesus Mary would be so hostile to her own son. Anyway, somewhat enjoyed this book so 3 stars.
January 22, 2021
A profound attempt to reconstruct the historical Jesus through the eyes of four people close to him - Judas, Mary of Magdalene, Mary his mother, and Simon - with the Roman empire political landscape in the background. Clearly, this is a work which brings the human side of Jesus to the forefront but at the same time acknowledges, almost imperceptibly, his divine side which is beyond the reach of mortals' comprehension.
January 2, 2022
Interesting but found it a difficult read. I persevered only because I don't like to give up on a book. I did find Miryam of Migdal and Simon of Gergesa easier to read and connect with the characters. I was not a fan of how Jesus' mother Mary was portrayed and found the book of Judas (Yihuda of Qiryat) very tough going.
October 21, 2017
Interesting take on the life of Jesus, plausibly filling in details and back story the Bible and other sources don't provide. Might have to look for other novelizations of the life of Jesus to compare how other authors fill in the details.
October 13, 2017
Nice historical perspective.
January 5, 2020
My favorite book
December 27, 2023
A well written book exploring what life may have been like for the early followers of Jesus. Ricci creates a highly researched and plausible world while looking at themes of faith and identity.
December 28, 2023
I couldn’t finish it. Everything drew out
January 2, 2014
Jesus' life story in novel form, as told by four individuals who knew him, each holding a separate facet of his life up to examine. The first, Judas (Yehudi), leaves off his story before Passover begins. Then Mary Magdalene (Miryam of Migdal) tells her version up to the point of their departure for Jerusalem. Interestingly, his mother comes third and tells the story of his conception and childhood--NOT the story from Matthew and Luke!--and their current relationship which is extremely strained. Finally, a Gentile named Simon, who joins Jesus' group just as they leave for Passover in Jerusalem, tells of Jesus' final two weeks and how it was that he was arrested and what that meant to the disciples. Would be great to reread this, or do it as a book group.
December 4, 2016
Um, nope! I'm a Christian!
With that said, I have lived my life with an open mind. I have never condemned anyone with different views or opinions that don't coincide with my beliefs. To each his own. As I read this book I tried to keep an open mind, that it is a work of fiction. Someone else's view based on an historical figure. He made Jesus out to be petty at times and temperamental. His birth being from rape and his relationship with his mother and family broken. Of course, it's just a book. In my opinion, we all include some of our beliefs, values, and emotions into the things we write. I did however like his style of writing from different perspectives.
With that said, I have lived my life with an open mind. I have never condemned anyone with different views or opinions that don't coincide with my beliefs. To each his own. As I read this book I tried to keep an open mind, that it is a work of fiction. Someone else's view based on an historical figure. He made Jesus out to be petty at times and temperamental. His birth being from rape and his relationship with his mother and family broken. Of course, it's just a book. In my opinion, we all include some of our beliefs, values, and emotions into the things we write. I did however like his style of writing from different perspectives.
July 28, 2009
i think having theological education makes reading biblical fiction tricky. the author borrows a lot from Jesus seminar and leans heavily towards Jesus (Yeshua) being a Cynic philosopher. I found the Judas character the most appealing and his narrative had better imagery than most of the other narratives. I think he portrays the women a little bit unfairly, even though for women of that time and place had very restricted roles, their thoughts and behaviors could not have been as petty as Ricci make them out to be.
January 20, 2011
The most disturbing novel I have ever read...and I mean disturing in a way that left me shaking...physically & mentally. I have no adequate words to describe how powerful this book truly is...you'll have to discover it for yourself.
This is unlike any other novel I have ever encountered. I'm almost afraid to ever read it again.
This is unlike any other novel I have ever encountered. I'm almost afraid to ever read it again.
December 22, 2019
I am rating this a five. I think Ricci is a great story teller and this book was clever and nicely developed. As a Christian, I was fascinated and challenged by the "provocative" interpretation or hypotheses concerning the various parts of the story of Christ found in the bible that is touched on in this book.
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