For the The Classics Spin #33, we were given #18, and this was my novel.
Almost a novella, but this novel needs no more pages. We all know Barabbas, the one in whose place Jesus was crucified. But what do we know about him other than his name? Here Pär Lagerkvist thought about what might have happened to Barabbas afterwards.
The story is believable, many early Christians went the way Barabbas goes in the book. There is the wish to believe, the doubt, the inability to come to terms with what happens. Something that still is in every Christian today, I think.
And even if this is not at all what happened to the protagonist, it's an interesting thought to see what could have been.
They even made a film out of the story, Barabbas was portrayed by Anthony Quinn.
From the back cover:
"Barabbas is the acquitted; the man whose life was exchanged for that of Jesus of Nazareth, crucified upon the hill of Golgotha. Barabbas is a man condemned to have no god. 'Christos Iesus' is carved on the disk suspended from his neck, but he cannot affirm his faith. He cannot pray. He can only say, 'I want to believe.'"
Pär Lagerkvist received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1951 "for the artistic vigour and true independence of mind with which he endeavours in his poetry to find answers to the eternal questions confronting mankind".
I contribute to this page: Read the Nobels and you can find all my blogs about Nobel Prize winning authors and their books here.
By the way, this is where I heard about the book in the first place: The Content Reader.
The story is believable, many early Christians went the way Barabbas goes in the book. There is the wish to believe, the doubt, the inability to come to terms with what happens. Something that still is in every Christian today, I think.
And even if this is not at all what happened to the protagonist, it's an interesting thought to see what could have been.
They even made a film out of the story, Barabbas was portrayed by Anthony Quinn.
From the back cover:
"Barabbas is the acquitted; the man whose life was exchanged for that of Jesus of Nazareth, crucified upon the hill of Golgotha. Barabbas is a man condemned to have no god. 'Christos Iesus' is carved on the disk suspended from his neck, but he cannot affirm his faith. He cannot pray. He can only say, 'I want to believe.'"
Pär Lagerkvist received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1951 "for the artistic vigour and true independence of mind with which he endeavours in his poetry to find answers to the eternal questions confronting mankind".
I contribute to this page: Read the Nobels and you can find all my blogs about Nobel Prize winning authors and their books here.
By the way, this is where I heard about the book in the first place: The Content Reader.
I have heard of this book, and of the movie, but have never read/seen either. I'm even more intrigued by it now!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gypsi. Definitely a good read if you are interested in the topic. I just added the link to the place where I found it.
DeleteI am happy you liked it Marianne. To me it was such a surprise read, and I loved it. There is so much to think of in the action of the people and their thoughts. Much to ponder over.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lisbeth. After reading this, I totally understodd why he was given the Nobel Prize. Something that brought us together.
DeleteI have this one on my Classics Club list, too. Thanks, Marianne!
ReplyDeleteIt's highly interesting, Deb. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.
Delete