Reviews

The Liars' Gospel by Naomi Alderman

kingarooski's review against another edition

5.0

The gospel of Jesus from four, at times conflicting, points of view. Loved it and found it very thought-provoking. What, if anything, is objectively true in the gospels that play such a huge role in Christianity?

daisyemmahughes's review

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

aleffert's review against another edition

4.0

I didn't really know what to make of this. Alderman, who wrote the wonderful, The Power, takes on the Jesus myth, telling the story through the viewpoint of some surrounding characters. A Jewish woman, Alderman reasonably doesn't really seem that interested in Jesus and in this story his miracles are questionable at best. Instead, her project is to tell the story from the perspective of some surrounding characters, including of course, Judas.

I guess I felt like it didn't really hang together. Parts of it were strong, poor Miriam, disowned by her son. Poor Judas, disenchanted. There was lots of good stuff about what it means to be complicit and when to compromise with an oppressor vs fight.

mildibobildi's review against another edition

4.0

Definitely not a book for everyone. Especially not for ones who get offended by interpretation of Jesus' live different than the bible.
But I found the author cleverly weaved in part of the bible most of us know well into the stories of the 4 main characters, Mary, Judas, the high priest, and Barrabas -- at times attributing the story line to a different character all together, while creating compelling stories about life in Judea under Roman occupation. However, I didn't like the epilogue where it felt like she tried too hard to put the whole story in historical context.

braamreads's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

jessie_b's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

sam_piercy's review against another edition

challenging mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

herondaleducks's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

deep_reader's review against another edition

funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I really enjoyed reading this novel, which is deconstructing the story of the New Testament and it's moral certainties from a Jewish point of view. The holy men and women (and their antagonists) become again very human with all their vanity, narcism, desires and dreams. It's an interpretation of the Bible offering a possible story of what really happened 2000 years ago.

foulone's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0