'The Good Man Jesus & The Scoundrel Christ' by Phillip Pullman

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I knew Pullman from his 'Dark Materials' trilogy - one of those stories written in theory for young adults, but actually read by people of all ages - including me.

With those books, Pullman had achieved success in so far as he had written fantasy books that I actually read and enjoyed. Though I enjoy fantasy and sci-fi films and TV shows, I rarely enjoy them as novels. I had also never read anything that Pullman had written for adults.

Anyway, one of the themes of the 'Dark Materials' books was how organised religion perverts individual faith and belief for its own end. Since rising to fame with these books, Pullman has become a well-known voice for "new athiesim" - Generally not as strident as a Dawkins or a Hitchens, but outspoken nontheless.

So, all of this was the background I had going into this book. The basic idea is that Pullman has written an alternative version of the life and times of Jesus Christ. On the surface, his conceit is that Mary had 2 sons: Jesus & Christ. Jesus was a normal child who became a popular evangelist and man of the people. Christ was a quiet studious and devout child who became the documentarian of Jesus's life.

Of course, what it is really about is how personal faith is different to organised religion, how history and truth are very different things, how stories change each time they are told and how circumstances can turn people into something they are not.

Pullman's real skill here is writing a book that has something in it for both believers and athiests. I imagine if you are an enthusiastic member of an organised religion there are things you can take offence at, but if your belief system is more open or personal, then there is a lot to chew on here. Despite being an Athiest, Pullman never mocks those that do believe, but he does poke and prod and asks difficult questions.

All of this makes the book sound like it is a heavy treatise on belief and spirituality. It's actually a very easy read. You will probably know most of the story already, and if you are like me, then you'll enjoy the deviations that Pullman takes from the better known version. There are of course, far more than 4 Gospels in existence, and Pullman writes as if he is just writing another version of the Gospel.

I'm guessing that most of the people who have read this book will have been confirmed athiests - which is a shame as perhaps the real target audience is those who 'sort of' believe.

Anyway, as my first book of 2012, I can't recommend it highly enough.