The Nazarene

Description

A compelling retelling of the Christ story, as narrated by Pontius Pilate's aide and military adminstrator of Jerusalem, Cornelius by name; a young rabbinical scholar who hears stories; and Judas. Powerful and poignant, this book on its first publication was rejected by readers of both the Christian and Jewish right. Since then, it has been recognised as a classic of interfaith writing.

Description

This classic novel by one of the greatest writers of Yiddish literature tells the unforgettable story of three men: Cornelius, an officer in the Roman garrison of Jerusalem in the first century A.D.; Joseph Arimathea, a young Pharisee student at the time; and Yeshua, a radical preacher from Galilee, better remembered by his Greek name of Jesus. The stories of these three men are narrated by Pan Viadomsky, an anti-Semitic Polish scholar who claims to have discovered the lost Fifth Gospel, containing the life of Christ according to his betrayer, Judas Iscariot. With unparalleled historical immediacy, Asch's inspired work presents a sweeping panorama of the Holy Land nearly two thousand years ago.

First Sentence

NOT the power to remember, but its very opposite, the power to forget, is a necessary condition of our existence.

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