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The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ

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The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ

By: Philip Pullman
Narrated by: Philip Pullman
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About this listen

In this ingenious and spellbinding retelling of the life of Jesus, Philip Pullman revisits the most influential story ever told.

Charged with mystery, compassion and enormous power, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ throws fresh light on who Jesus was and asks the listener questions that will continue to resonate long after the final page is turned. Above all, this book is about how stories become stories.

Read by the author.

©2010 Philip Pullman (P)2010 Canongate Audiobooks Thought-Provoking Inspiring
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It is, of course, The Greatest Story Ever Told, which has probably been re-examined more often than anything. This time, a simple but effective device is employed to allow a separation, in real time, of the inspirational life of a man and how that was used and twisted for political ends.

Pullman has explored aspects of faith and how humanity uses religion for power before, most famously in His Dark Materials. This time, he keeps close to the best known elements of the story of Jesus Christ from the Bible, but separates the Good News from early signs that it will be used and abused over the centuries that follow. I hope there is much here to provoke fresh thinking and debate for both believers and non-believers - and not just of the Christian faith because the basic arguments of how an initial truth gets distorted by time and deliberate re-writing can be applied much more widely.

But is it a good listen? I find Pullman's reading style a bit problematic. His tone of voice can feel as though he is talking down to his audience. Those familiar with the story of Jesus will find it easy to follow and will not struggle to see the points of direct contact and ironies that Pullman explores. It could be a useful vehicle for group discussion, but I somehow doubt many people will find it truly engaging - hence my rating.

Exploring faith, myths and real politik

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Very clever reimagining of the most famous of stories, and with a true ring about it too!

Very clever

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Beautiful and thought provoking, this book explores the eternal juxtaposition of Jesus' teachings and the resulting ideology of the Church. Although Philip Pullman tells the story simply in concise chapters, I found it deeply moving and listened compulsively over two days.
It is well-read by the author. I felt that the story was even improved and all its nuances made clear by Pullman's narration.
I will listen again for sure.

A glorious and intriguing retelling of the Gospels

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I am reviewing this as an atheist
At the time I was an avid fan of Philip Pullman so I read this when it came out, I have spent a decade recommending it to people and when I was around 2 hours in to the audio book I couldn't remember why! However, the last hour drew it all together for me. I found a huge amount of sympathy for both characters Jesus and Christ, as well as moments of disgust. When it finished this time I did not have the revelation of understanding that I remembered the first time, but it make me feel a little better about the intention of religion.
The narrator is the author and for me this added something.

Gives a well known story a refreshing spin

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I like Philip Pullman but this one enters a pretty crowded market place: "The Last Temptation of Christ", "The Gospel According to the Son", "Her Story", "King Jesus", to name but a few. The authors seem to want to set out a retelling of the christian gospel to grind their own axe about Jesus and the way his message has been shaped by the distortions of the evangelists and the church in general. Pullman is of course a famous clergy-baiter, so you can see why he would want to jump on the bandwagon.

All the scenes in TGMJATSC are familiar of course, and I was left just waiting for it to be over. Funnily enough, I really really liked the last sentence.

If you are thinking of reading this, stop. Read "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ" by Jose Saramago instead because it's by far the best example of the subgenre.

There are better Jesus books

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