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A review by thebobsphere
The Gospel According to the New World by Maryse Condé
3.0
As a fun thing during prize season, I hold polls on my Instagram stories for my followers to choose the books on the longlist. I always start in alphabetical order and the poll's lose stays on for the next round. The Gospel was my last read because of this system.
I do know that Maryse Condé is a huge name in Caribbean literature and that, although, this one has received mixed reactions, she has many other superlative ones.
As I approach each book with zero expectations, I started to see why there have been so many dividing opinions on The Gospel..
The problem is, in my opinion, is that I'm not sure what exactly the book is satirizing? The main plot is about an abandoned, orphaned boy, Paschal (Easter Child), who is destined to be the new messiah and we see if him recreate various scenes which are famous in the Bible; the visit to the temple, the gathering of followers etc. There are characters named Maria, Martha and Lazarus so the Biblical homage is clear.
Things get a bit muddy Paschal goes off on a journey to find his father and learns some life lessons on the journey, such as other religious leaders like Siddhartha Gautama and Mohammed. Is the book poking fun of religious leaders and their devote followers, is it satirizing agnostics or is it mocking fun at the person who is searching for meaning, or even, as it doesn't feel like a satire and book about a person searching for meaning.
That aside, I wasn't too convinced by The Gospel.... At times I found the pacing of the book uneven, sometimes dragging. Saying that, I do want to try out Maryse Condé's other novels, especially Segu.
I do know that Maryse Condé is a huge name in Caribbean literature and that, although, this one has received mixed reactions, she has many other superlative ones.
As I approach each book with zero expectations, I started to see why there have been so many dividing opinions on The Gospel..
The problem is, in my opinion, is that I'm not sure what exactly the book is satirizing? The main plot is about an abandoned, orphaned boy, Paschal (Easter Child), who is destined to be the new messiah and we see if him recreate various scenes which are famous in the Bible; the visit to the temple, the gathering of followers etc. There are characters named Maria, Martha and Lazarus so the Biblical homage is clear.
Things get a bit muddy Paschal goes off on a journey to find his father and learns some life lessons on the journey, such as other religious leaders like Siddhartha Gautama and Mohammed. Is the book poking fun of religious leaders and their devote followers, is it satirizing agnostics or is it mocking fun at the person who is searching for meaning, or even, as it doesn't feel like a satire and book about a person searching for meaning.
That aside, I wasn't too convinced by The Gospel.... At times I found the pacing of the book uneven, sometimes dragging. Saying that, I do want to try out Maryse Condé's other novels, especially Segu.