As a reader, I had a very productive year in the 9th grade, reading Grapes of Wrath, Madame Bovary and The Last Temptation of Christ. I turned fourteen that year and my mother was horrified at my reading choices. For me, they were pivotal. I understood, even at that early age, the importance of freedom of thought and divergence of vision. The Last Temptation of Christ is one of the greatest books of the 20th century as far as I am concerned. It is FICTION. One must remember that. And it explores that unresolved question, was Jesus wholly man, or wholly God or wholly both? And it explores, for some, uncomfortably, the underlying conflict within Jesus, that is reflected in each human being on the earth plane. This incredible Greek writer, Nikos Kanzantzakis, with a different approach and an array of symbols, presents the reader with a very different vision of what might have been. Is it wrong to consider a different vision of the Christ? I think not. The important point is that at the very end of the book, Jesus says, "It is accomplished!" He did not give in to that very greatest temptation, to be totally human. He became fully self-realized as a spiritual being. This is the goal of all mankind. We are here on this earth-plane to realize our God-self and our total range of potentials. Jesus came to show us the possibilities for our personal development. That's what this book really shows us!

I am Jewish, and so I have never been taught anything about Jesus. I'm a huge fan of Scorsese's and saw his film and had mixed feelings on it, but then I thought, 'well, one day I must read the book.' I wanted to understand Christianity without having to read the Bible. I wanted to know about Jesus and his spiritual legacy without having to be bogged down with doctrine. I simply had no desire for conversion. That being said, I must say that reading this book gave me a great respect for the Christian religion, and what I mean by that is that I've always respected all peoples and their beliefs but was simply ignorant about the most important figure of our time... Jesus Christ.

So, now, about the book. The writing is pure poetry, the description of the earth, sea, air, animals and everything natural comes alive in a spirit that envelopes the Son of Mary. The narration is in third-person and is almost exclusively from Jesus's perspective, and so we are privy to the spirituality he sees in every living thing... ants, sunflowers, earth, moon, desert. To him, the face of God is revealed in all of these. He sees man, and he can't help but feel compassion. He is human, he is fearful, he is chosen, and he wants to bat God away. But he can't.

One must imagine what it'd be like to be chosen as he was, and not in the sense in which your average schizophrenic believes that he is the One, but in the sense of what the story is really about, God manifested into a man... with fears and with temptations. Until the very end, Jesus wishes his destiny away, wishes himself to be human. And being human has never seemed as such a blessing until we realize what the consequences of being the Messiah is. The flesh must be crucified, the blood must be drawn, the lamb must be slaughtered... the final lamb, Jesus, will save mankind. What a concept! And he knows it, and he loves man as much as he is frustrated with man and as much as he sees his sins, because he has faced those sins inside himself and he has transcended them. And he will die for them. Pure beauty; pure sacrifice; truly marvelous.

Much of the novel almost reads like one of those serial magazine stories; the plot is so thick, and the story is so down-to-earth, that I just felt like 'wow, I wonder what will happen next.' There's the Mary Magdalene love interest. There's the antagonists: Zebedee, Pontious, the Scribes and Sanhedrin, the naysayers, and at some points, even Judas and the rest of the disciples' loyalty is doubtful (ironically, Judas happens to be his most loyal disciple). And then-- last-- we have the nagging, impetuous "Smallville" frustrations, and wonder, 'when is Jesus going to realize his powers, perform miracles, and be worshiped as God by everyone already?'. We can't help but chuckle when everyone spits in his face at the beginning and don't understand his true calling.

This novel opened a spiritual void in me. It is what many of the other reviewers had said this book to be: through Jesus's struggle of choosing between divinity and human frailty, and through his triumph of resisting the temptation for less glorious earthly pursuits and instead choosing to be crucified for man's salvation and God's purpose (which in essence is his purpose... and our purpose), we touch upon our own struggle between nobility and cowardice. The right path is always difficult and frightening and to some extent a sacrifice, and, hopefully, if we lead our lives right, and have the courage to follow our true calling, we shall also follow the same difficult path and also experience a triumph which will lead to a greater good. Not a triumph that will impact the entire world and bring the promise of human salvation that Jesus is known for, but a triumph that should, at the least, lead us to a personal sense of peace, spirituality, and purpose. Did I mention this is beautiful?

I have read this book several times and learned from it on every
occasion. It has become my standard gift to any high school or
college graduate. Here is what I tell them (and you):

This is NOT a biography of Jesus Christ. It is about realizing our
purpose in life, the importance of love, truth, and commitment -- and
the great presence of the Divine in every moment of our lives.

Kazantzakis feels: '...our highest obligation, something higher even
than morality, truth, or beauty: the obligation to transubstantiate
the matter which God entrusted to us, and turn it into spirit.'

For a frequently banned book, I expected more. My expectations were definitely high, which is probably part of why I didn't really dig "The Last Temptation".

Jesus is really not a very likeable character in this book. He's really mean to his Mom--which I didn't appreciate. He won't even look at her or acknowledge her--he pretty much disowns her. And I can't understand why Jesus never heals Joseph, yet he heals that Roman's daughter--that seemed really cruel. Jesus is basically so self absorbed throughout the entire book. It's always, "me, me, me." He's desperate, and I mean whiny, falling on the knees on the verge of a tempter tantrum desperate to "find God"--too desperate for me to really relate to and his disciples--OMIGOD!! They are so annoying. They're whiney, shuffling sheep. Ugh...couldn't stand them. Judas is the most likeable of the bunch-which I found ironic--since he is generally thought of as the worst traitor ever.

That being said, the book is well-writen and a real page turner at times--it's just that the characters themselves are so unlikeable-every one of them (except Judas). Also, I think the author assumes the reader knows a lot about Christianity, which I don't, so I was often confused-especially about why Jesus draws certain conclusions about what God wants him to do and why. I didn't understand Jesus' reasoning. In fact most of the time Jesus seems like a frothing maniac, not how I imagine the son of God to be.

All in all, it's okay--if you have an interest in religion I recommend it, if not I wouldn't bother--but read the prologue if you happen to pass it on a bookself sometime. I found the prologue the most interesting and inspiring part of the book.

The powerful message of this book and its author is a simple one: The life of Jesus was heroic, and thus worth emulating, even if He were only a man who thought--perhaps through imaginings--that men and women were worthy of redemption through a love that suffers. Camus describes such a man as our true friend, one who sleeps on the cold ground while we are in prison, hoping for our release through his effort.

Through fear, and fear only, many prefer the savage, vengeful God of the Book of Revelation to the courageous man of Mark's Gospel, described here so well for us by Kazantzakis. Only the Spirit can take us further, but first we must accept and admire the man.