Reviews

Lazarus is Dead by Richard Beard

jekky17's review against another edition

funny informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.0

phillipjedwards's review against another edition

5.0

At a gala performance of Jesus Christ Superstar, comedienne Victoria Wood was asked what she thought of the show. "It's very sad," she said, "he dies in the end you know."

Here, it is Jesus's friend Lazarus who dies, not at the end but in the middle. Then comes back to life again - thanks to his childhood friend. We are presented with episodes from the childhood of Lazarus and Jesus, speculations about those formative years together and the different paths their lives subsequently followed.

"Among all the people Jesus knows, and all the people Jesus meets, Lazarus is unique in the Christian New Testament. Not in coming back from the dead (there were others) but in being named as Jesus's friend. Jesus has disciples, some of whom he loves, but Lazarus is his only recorded friend.
And famously, unforgettably, in the shortest verse of the bible, Lazarus can make Jesus weep."

As you can see, much of this novel reads like non-fiction. The author, as narrator, attempts to piece together the life (and death) (and life again) story of Lazarus, and his connection to Jesus, from the few clues to be found in the Bible. A kind of literary archaeobiography (biblioarchaeology?) setting out to answer questions like: what did Lazarus die of? He lives with his sisters, who are unaffected, so whatever he has cannot be infectious, for example.

"Lazarus has eight months to live. That much we know, but smallpox would have killed him quicker than that. His rash at this stage must therefore be scabies, caused by parasitic mites beneath the skin. The mite Sarcoptes scabiei clusters on bedding, clothing and other household objects. Impregnated female mites wait for contact with human skin, then seek out the folds of the body. They make a home in the softness between fingers and toes, inside the elbow or behind the knee, between the buttocks or in the red heat of the groin. They start tunnelling."

Beard switches between this forensic analysis and speculative historical-fiction in the way of a highbrow television docudrama. Reconstructing history while deconstructing the barrier between fiction and non-fiction. Leaving us to wonder how much of history is as speculative as fiction anyway. Where is the line between reality and imagination? Can we ever know?

Lazarus is Dead does not have the sweltering atmosphere of Jim Crace's Quarantine, but it is a fascinating and compelling read. A fictional biography of someone who didn't exist, and then did, and then didn't, and then did again, and then...what?

scfrederick33's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

carmelitasita's review against another edition

4.0

I don't know how to express how impressive this book is. Intelligent, inventive, funny and different is how I'd describe it. Richard Beard takes on the story of Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead and draws a picture of a man who is Jesus' only real friend and who needs to die. Lazarus is not a particularly sympathetic character but is precisely what this story needs, a sort of anti-Christ. It is well written and thoughtfully put together, especially the quotes and themes he draws in from other novels, plays, and artwork. The only Biblical mistake I found was a mention of King Samuel trying to talk to the dead Saul at the witch's house - it was actually King Saul trying to reach out to the dead prophet Samuel.

* I received this book for free from Goodreads First Reads.

maises's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“The fate of the resurrected is uninterrupted misery, with no reason to smile for thirty years to come.”

I’m trying to articulate why this has given me such a heavy throat. We all know how the story is supposed to go. It’s about trying to escape fate and losing. Or not trying to escape at all and still losing. It’s about loving someone desperately who loves you too, but only the same as he loves everyone else. Or so you think. Because… I mean. He wept.

Beautifully written! In love with Beard’s pacing and atmosphere, as well as the natural fallback into historical sleuthing between musings. It felt alive and beating at all times and every emotion flew off at the page at me in real time. 

urlphantomhive's review against another edition

3.0

Full review to come!

expendablemudge's review

4.0

This review has been revised and can now be found at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud.