Happy New Year, ‘ballers!
This was my third Michel Faber novel. Overall I’ve enjoyed the books and also marveled at his ability to tackle seemingly anything. But…this was pretty thin. The idea is fantastic, but the execution left me unmoved.
This guy finds a fifth gospel (“fire gospel” is an inflammatory [<—see what I did there!?] title suggested by a critic after incidents inspired by the guy’s subsequent translation & book). It’s an interesting concept: a pretty cool way to think about the relationship, or sometimes lack thereof, between religion and facts, and also about the anger and confusion some believers experience when their faith is questioned.
The protagonist is unlikable, and that’s fine, but he needed to be either more or less so. That’s kind of the way I felt about the whole book — it should have been more fleshed out, or could possibly have been a decent short story. As it stands there are a few plot points that feel extraneous.
Underdeveloped-feeling, with an abrupt ending, all in all it feels a little empty to me. Maybe that’s because I’m not a believer? If I were, perhaps I’d have had a more emotional reaction? I’m going to try some of Faber’s short stories next.