This lyrical allegory is a tale of evil. It is an account of Christ’s older brother whose lust for power drives him to become a major influence among the Romans who rule Judea. Although the story takes place in the time of Pontius Pilate and Herod, the parallels to evil today are stunning. Betrayal abounds, but there is no sign of redemption.
The anti-hero’s contempt for all mankind drives him to acts of cruelty for which he suffers no remorse. He plans his betrayals with cold precision and carries them out in the same way until he himself is betrayed. He understands treachery well enough not to be daunted by it. He merely changes his tactics to reach a final goal, the betrayal of his brother Jesus to the Roman authorities.
In spite of the unrelenting evil in this monumental work, it is a book the reader cannot put down to the very end. We yearn to know the why of malevolence. The novel graphically describes, but does not explain. Somehow, that seems right. Who can explain Judas? Who can explain Hitler? Who can explain Osama Bin Laden? Who can explain anti-Semitism? Evil weaves in and out of this work seamlessly, invidiously, as if it has a perfect right to prominence in the world.
In a new preface to the 30th anniversary edition, the author adds a unique rationale for writing this riveting work. It is “…to reclaim with burning pride the kinship of my brother, Jesus Christ of Bethlehem and Nazareth, unequivocally, irreversibly, and irrefutably, for the Jewish people. For when all is said and done, it is from the ancient soil of this Land of Israel that Jesus sprang into the sky.”
