Though this hefty tome from award-winning French author Carrere (Limonov) is described as a fictional account of the early Christians, don't expect a swords-and-tattered-sandals biblical epic. Carrere, known for genre blending of the highest order, opens with a prolog about returning to this book after storming out as scriptwriter for a hit French TV series, then offers an extended look at a spiritual crisis of earlier years (though he hates the word spiritual). The account itself, which doesn't start much before page 100, reads less like fiction than accessible, brightly penned history. Homier scenes ("Luke was a doctor. Paul was sick") are followed by in-depth reflection ("Thousands of pages have been written on this 'thorn in the flesh.' ...What could it be?"), and there's contemporary contextualizing, too ("You can't say that the Romans invented globalization...but they brought it to a point of perfect"). VERDICT If, as Carrere says, Borges called theology a branch of fantastic literature, this could be it. Strong if sometimes extended reading for sophisticated readers.
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