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Available
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Publication
Canongate (2008), Edition: 1st, Hardcover, 208 pages
Description
Theo Gripenkerl is a modest academic wtih an Olympian ego. When he visits a looted museum in Iraq, looking for treasures he can ship back to Canada, he finds nine papyrus scrolls that have lain hidden for 2000 years. Once translated from Aramaic, these prove to be the fifth gospel, written by an eye-witness of Jesus Christ's last days.
User reviews
LibraryThing member brokenangelkisses
The character at the centre of this novel (Theo Griepenkerl) is arrogant, short-sighted and unlikeable - but this is entirely deliberate. After making the stunning discovery of a fifth gospel, apparently published before any of the other gospels in the New Testament, Theo's sole concern is how to
The writer of the gospel, Malchus, is equally unlikeable, due to his dull reflections and obsession with bodily functions. Again, this is deliberate and suits the nature of the character perfectly. If you're someone who likes to identify and engage with characters then this is not the story for you.
Where the novella excels is in two areas: satirising the publishing and reviewing industries, then stirring up ideas and discussions, including how texts can affect us and how people respond when their certainties are challenged. It is worth reading for the eminently recognisable internet reviews alone ('I haven't read this yet, but I think...') Faber also seems to take a shot at the very human habit of focusing on meaningless trivia even when placed in the most unusual and dangerous situations.
It is cleverly written but not beautifully described. Action develops logically, albeit shockingly, but the text is narrated in such a way that drama itself is minimised, perhaps to emphasise the ideas over the content. Overall, this is a thought-provoking text, an ideal book to kick off a serious discussion, but not an enthralling read. This new addition to the Canongate Myths series will suit those who like stories to ignite debate, as this undoubtedly will.
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wrench money and fame from his discovery. His thoughtlessness in releasing such a controversial document upon the world is rewarded by action from certain increasingly angry and determined citizens who have various reasons to hate the message the gospel sends - that Jesus was more human than transcendental.The writer of the gospel, Malchus, is equally unlikeable, due to his dull reflections and obsession with bodily functions. Again, this is deliberate and suits the nature of the character perfectly. If you're someone who likes to identify and engage with characters then this is not the story for you.
Where the novella excels is in two areas: satirising the publishing and reviewing industries, then stirring up ideas and discussions, including how texts can affect us and how people respond when their certainties are challenged. It is worth reading for the eminently recognisable internet reviews alone ('I haven't read this yet, but I think...') Faber also seems to take a shot at the very human habit of focusing on meaningless trivia even when placed in the most unusual and dangerous situations.
It is cleverly written but not beautifully described. Action develops logically, albeit shockingly, but the text is narrated in such a way that drama itself is minimised, perhaps to emphasise the ideas over the content. Overall, this is a thought-provoking text, an ideal book to kick off a serious discussion, but not an enthralling read. This new addition to the Canongate Myths series will suit those who like stories to ignite debate, as this undoubtedly will.
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LibraryThing member Aeyan
Woe Prometheus who brought the puny, cold, shivering humans fire to warm themselves, stolen from the gods, by no means intended for the non-divine fleshed mortals. Woe Theo Griepenkerl who brings a lost Gospel to the hordes of Christianity, a very human document recounting the last days of Jesus,
Sealed away, revealed by an Iraqi bomb and a happenstance of place and opportunity, Mr. Griepenkerl discovers in the belly of a two thousand year-old goddess statue (symbolism much?) an Aramaic scroll, preserved from oxygen and eyes, offering the witnessed account of Jesus' very human, very messy, death. In a fit of scholarly euphoria (and egregious ethical behavior), Theo snatches the scroll, smuggles it to Canada, translates the Aramaic, marvels at the whigny and torrid writing, pursues publishing, engages the junkets and book tour, gets threatened and harassed and other nasty things, all while delivering, without even a slight pondering as to the religious ramifications of the text he has discovered, an incendiary Fifth Gospel, soon to be heralded and maligned as the Fire Gospel.
Theo is funny, in an I'm-laughing-and-rolling-my-eyes-AT-him-not-with-him sort of way; he is a character that allows you to feel a slight touch of pity since he is rather a loser, while also inclining you to slap him about the head since he is indeed quite a loser. On the book world end, I enjoyed the very familiar scenes of book store readings and signings, the badgering of publishers and bilking of authors, the wry attempt to wring something of literary quality from pap.
This could be a fun and escapist read, yet Faber still offers that thread of mythic touchstone that I have come to cherish from this series - the modern day Promethean fire trapped within the binding of a book. Faber's epilogue contains a germ of what the whole Canongate Myth series is truly about: when he states on the final page 213, 'we speak of things that cannot be spoken. We seek to store understandings in our gross flesh...we try our best to tell a story,' he underscores what each contemporary author is striving toward with their accounts of mythic story. It is a beautiful and inspiring thing, this attempt to store the ineffable qualities within ourselves and our stories.
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as told by Malchus, not touched by the mythic alterations and connections of the later accepted Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Sealed away, revealed by an Iraqi bomb and a happenstance of place and opportunity, Mr. Griepenkerl discovers in the belly of a two thousand year-old goddess statue (symbolism much?) an Aramaic scroll, preserved from oxygen and eyes, offering the witnessed account of Jesus' very human, very messy, death. In a fit of scholarly euphoria (and egregious ethical behavior), Theo snatches the scroll, smuggles it to Canada, translates the Aramaic, marvels at the whigny and torrid writing, pursues publishing, engages the junkets and book tour, gets threatened and harassed and other nasty things, all while delivering, without even a slight pondering as to the religious ramifications of the text he has discovered, an incendiary Fifth Gospel, soon to be heralded and maligned as the Fire Gospel.
Theo is funny, in an I'm-laughing-and-rolling-my-eyes-AT-him-not-with-him sort of way; he is a character that allows you to feel a slight touch of pity since he is rather a loser, while also inclining you to slap him about the head since he is indeed quite a loser. On the book world end, I enjoyed the very familiar scenes of book store readings and signings, the badgering of publishers and bilking of authors, the wry attempt to wring something of literary quality from pap.
This could be a fun and escapist read, yet Faber still offers that thread of mythic touchstone that I have come to cherish from this series - the modern day Promethean fire trapped within the binding of a book. Faber's epilogue contains a germ of what the whole Canongate Myth series is truly about: when he states on the final page 213, 'we speak of things that cannot be spoken. We seek to store understandings in our gross flesh...we try our best to tell a story,' he underscores what each contemporary author is striving toward with their accounts of mythic story. It is a beautiful and inspiring thing, this attempt to store the ineffable qualities within ourselves and our stories.
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LibraryThing member spacecommuter
Before I get to my review, I have a question: is the author's name pronounced "Mee-Shell Fay-Bar"? Or maybe "Meh-shell Fah-Bear"?
I ask because most of The Fire Gospel is about a cultured and intellectual Canadian author being subject to the primitive enunciations of American readers at various book
Who are you calling a lower-class American, Mr. Faybur?
Two pages later: "'I guess I'm not used to guns, he said. "'This is Maryland,' she said. 'Everybody's got one here."
As a former resident of the Great Blue State of Maryland, I find that diffiKULT to believe.
There are at least 4 other examples (page 153, 163, 173 and a passage about Americans pronouncing herbal as "erbil" that I forgot to flag), and all coming from a writer who uses "kerb" to describe the edge of a sidewalk.
Now the story: the arrogant and self-absorbed author stole the 9 Aaramaic scrolls that make up the new Gospel from the already-looted museum in Iraq just as Promethus stole fire from the gods. And they both gave their incendiary loot to humans, and paid dearly for it.
Faber is not a writer of dystopias or science fiction, so he doesn't really flesh out the impact his new gospel actually had on the world, though you can tell from a long segment where the author reads reviews of his book on Amazon that a lot of people are heartbroken and pissed off. The Gospel Faber creates is a very potent one, dovetailing with what I've heard about the new book "Jesus, Interrupted" by Bart D. Ehrman. The Gospel of Malchus suggests that that Jesus was a man - mortal and finite, but a powerful leader who inspired deep love and sacrifice from early Christians. The fact that he is not divine, did not rise from the dead, did not perform miracles, seems to suck the wind out of Christian faith even though it doesn't contradict a single one of Christ's teachings. People can't be good, turn the other cheek, or care for the sickest and poorest among them if they can't believe that Jesus walked on water. If His teachings don't have supernatural heft, it just sinks to the level of earnest advice, I suppose.
It's just a great idea to explore - do we need a supernatural Jesus to compel is to follow His teachings? Do we need the capital H to believe everything he stood for was right?
And the other point - that Theo, the author, actually is a narcissistic snob who couldn't care less about the meaning of the scrolls, just that he needs to make a buck on them before someone else does - is actually very important to the story. If you really cared about the well-being of the world, you wouldn't dump this shocking news on people without a lot of care and thought. Prometheus just handed out the fire to people - giving them the capacity for tremendous growth and tremendous damage. There's actually a whiff of contempt and carelessness in turning the world upside down like that, which is something I never thought about until I read this book.
I'd put this third in the Canongate Myth series - behind Jeanette Winterson's extraordinary myth of Atlas and Hercules, and Margaret Atwood's retelling of the Odyssey from Penelope's perspective. And if I sound cranky in this review, it's mostly just that Faber turned in a 213-page book instead of a 900-pager that could have kept me happy for DAYS.
I ask because most of The Fire Gospel is about a cultured and intellectual Canadian author being subject to the primitive enunciations of American readers at various book
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signings around the country. Of a woman in Baltimore who had just explained that getting into the Inner Harbor's Barnes and Noble in her wheelchair was too difficult: "She pronounced the final syllable with a definite 'kult' emphasis, the way lower-class Americans often do.Who are you calling a lower-class American, Mr. Faybur?
Two pages later: "'I guess I'm not used to guns, he said. "'This is Maryland,' she said. 'Everybody's got one here."
As a former resident of the Great Blue State of Maryland, I find that diffiKULT to believe.
There are at least 4 other examples (page 153, 163, 173 and a passage about Americans pronouncing herbal as "erbil" that I forgot to flag), and all coming from a writer who uses "kerb" to describe the edge of a sidewalk.
Now the story: the arrogant and self-absorbed author stole the 9 Aaramaic scrolls that make up the new Gospel from the already-looted museum in Iraq just as Promethus stole fire from the gods. And they both gave their incendiary loot to humans, and paid dearly for it.
Faber is not a writer of dystopias or science fiction, so he doesn't really flesh out the impact his new gospel actually had on the world, though you can tell from a long segment where the author reads reviews of his book on Amazon that a lot of people are heartbroken and pissed off. The Gospel Faber creates is a very potent one, dovetailing with what I've heard about the new book "Jesus, Interrupted" by Bart D. Ehrman. The Gospel of Malchus suggests that that Jesus was a man - mortal and finite, but a powerful leader who inspired deep love and sacrifice from early Christians. The fact that he is not divine, did not rise from the dead, did not perform miracles, seems to suck the wind out of Christian faith even though it doesn't contradict a single one of Christ's teachings. People can't be good, turn the other cheek, or care for the sickest and poorest among them if they can't believe that Jesus walked on water. If His teachings don't have supernatural heft, it just sinks to the level of earnest advice, I suppose.
It's just a great idea to explore - do we need a supernatural Jesus to compel is to follow His teachings? Do we need the capital H to believe everything he stood for was right?
And the other point - that Theo, the author, actually is a narcissistic snob who couldn't care less about the meaning of the scrolls, just that he needs to make a buck on them before someone else does - is actually very important to the story. If you really cared about the well-being of the world, you wouldn't dump this shocking news on people without a lot of care and thought. Prometheus just handed out the fire to people - giving them the capacity for tremendous growth and tremendous damage. There's actually a whiff of contempt and carelessness in turning the world upside down like that, which is something I never thought about until I read this book.
I'd put this third in the Canongate Myth series - behind Jeanette Winterson's extraordinary myth of Atlas and Hercules, and Margaret Atwood's retelling of the Odyssey from Penelope's perspective. And if I sound cranky in this review, it's mostly just that Faber turned in a 213-page book instead of a 900-pager that could have kept me happy for DAYS.
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LibraryThing member hazelk
I enjoyed this satire and particularly the section on Theo's Amazon reviews. I could imagine in real life authors compulsively and perhaps almost furtively scrolling through customer write-ups and being alternately dismayed, heartened and perplexed.
It was a nice take on Da Vinci type books and the
It did tail off towards the end but otherwise a good read.
It was a nice take on Da Vinci type books and the
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book trade and good to see Michael Faber writing something in a completely different genre to usual.It did tail off towards the end but otherwise a good read.
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LibraryThing member the_awesome_opossum
The Fire Gospel is a retelling of the myth of Prometheus. An arrogant Aramaic scholar named Theo Griepenkerl finds a first-century Christian text that tells of Jesus' ignominous death and leaves modern Christians in shock and turmoil. Theo finds himself widely hated and persecuted for spreading
I liked this book a lot, and I wish that it would've been longer and more thoughtful. It comes in at just over 200 pages, and it's action-packed enough that not much attention gets paid to the issues that the book really raises. The Promethean arrogance is two-fold: in biblical scholarship for reducing a sacred text to something to be picked apart and doubted, and in the fundamentalist backlash for being unyielding to uncomfortable truths. A lot could have been done with this premise that wasn't done, and if Faber had given it the space and length it deserved, this could have been a great book and not just a really good one.
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such a demoralizing and dangerous text.I liked this book a lot, and I wish that it would've been longer and more thoughtful. It comes in at just over 200 pages, and it's action-packed enough that not much attention gets paid to the issues that the book really raises. The Promethean arrogance is two-fold: in biblical scholarship for reducing a sacred text to something to be picked apart and doubted, and in the fundamentalist backlash for being unyielding to uncomfortable truths. A lot could have been done with this premise that wasn't done, and if Faber had given it the space and length it deserved, this could have been a great book and not just a really good one.
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LibraryThing member abigail.ann
‘The Fire Gospel’ tells the intriguing story of events following Theo’s discovery of Malchus’ Gospel in war-torn Iraq. Little does he know what he’s letting himself in for when he publishes this controversial ‘Fifth Gospel’ and how it will affect his life. Michel Faber leads us
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through Theo’s journey from academia to surviving as a famous author. I found the subject matter of this book interesting and thought provoking. However, the story seemed to jump rather abruptly at certain points, missing out sections of narrative that I felt could have improved the book as a whole. I also found it hard to empathise with the characters. Worth persisting with if you are interested in the possibility of alternate gospels, and also enjoy reading fiction. Show Less
LibraryThing member michaeldwebb
I'm pretty sure I probably missed the point of this book, but I enjoyed it anyway, taking it on face value. It's a very short story of someone who finds scrolls giving a first hand account of Jesus, including the crucification, which change how Christianity would be viewed. Very Dan Brown? No, not
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really. The main problem is that this book is very short. Everything is set up nicely, and then it ends. Would love to see this fleshed out as a full length novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member soylentgreen23
The Fire Gospel works as a novella; but surely it would also have worked as something meatier too. The story concerns an academic who, whilst visiting Iraq, stumbles across papyrus scrolls written by a man who was actually present at the crucifixion. The documents call into question the godly
Theo, the academic, secures a publishing deal for the scrolls, along with his account of how he found them - though this was included in his book to pad out the 30-odd pages of Aramaic and make something more publishable. We then follow, in a short series of tableaus, the events that Theo lives through as a consequence of his decision to publish.
The questions Faber raises are enjoyably contemplated, such as what happens to the faithful when their faith is legitimately question, but I think I would have preferred something more all-encompassing - more of the order of 'Bonfire of the Vanities' for religion.
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nature of Christ.Theo, the academic, secures a publishing deal for the scrolls, along with his account of how he found them - though this was included in his book to pad out the 30-odd pages of Aramaic and make something more publishable. We then follow, in a short series of tableaus, the events that Theo lives through as a consequence of his decision to publish.
The questions Faber raises are enjoyably contemplated, such as what happens to the faithful when their faith is legitimately question, but I think I would have preferred something more all-encompassing - more of the order of 'Bonfire of the Vanities' for religion.
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LibraryThing member Moriquen
I'm not a big fan of this book, but it did manage to stir some emotions in me. The writing itself wasn't really that great nor was it told in a manner that was extremely gripping. (For instance: the chapter with the Amazon reviews, I thought, was very boring.)
However the topic did interest me.
However the topic did interest me.
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(Even though it wasn't really what I expected.) And I do believe that 'The Fire Gospel' would stir exactly these sentiments in most of the worlds population. Sad but very true I believe. Show Less
LibraryThing member imyril
Faber's entry into the Canongate Myth cycle is nominally Prometheus (punished to an eternity of pain by the gods for revealing the secret of fire to humankind), translated as the trials and tribulations of cocky Canadian academic Theo who discovers a new gospel in war-torn Mosul. The contentious
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text is as dry and self-absorbed as Theo himself, who never pauses to consider the religious and political impact a new (and rather less divine) account of the crucifixion and resurrection might have. His explosive translation of the gospel proves unpopular pretty much all-round, and unfortunately for Theo, the gods are perfectly happy to let over-zealous humankind punish his hubris for them. Accomplished and darkly comic - Faber is on form here and having fun with his topic, if arguably having a double-pot attempt at both Prometheus and the Bible. I particularly enjoyed his satirical pot shot at the place of Amazon reviews in determining an author's self-worth. Show Less
LibraryThing member TanyaTomato
Michel Faber's works are so disparate in scope it's hard to believe it's the same author. I applaud his abilities, but I just don't want to bother finishing this one.
LibraryThing member nordie
This is a short book, at 210 pages (Ironically - perhaps knowingly - matching the book's internal publisher who states that "The Fifth Gospel .... with wide margins and large spacing").
Theo is an academic, a translator of Aramaic, who believes - rightly or wrongly - that he's the best in the West,
Theo goes from zero to a sensation in the matter of weeks, and the effect of the book on the general population has unpredictable results. The scrolls found in the Mosul Museum, once translated, tell the story of Jesus from a first hand witness and it's not what people expected or hoped for. Jesus was a man, who was crucified, and died on a cross having emptied his bowels and bladder down the cross. He didnt die surrounded by his apostles, just with a number of lesser known women who turned up each day. He wasnt buried in a stone covered grave, and wasnt resurrected on the third day. The scribe of the scrolls was a gossip and a spy, who didnt really follow Jesus and was a sick, boring man when he wrote his story.
Theo goes on a promotional tour, and becomes almost Christ like (if you believe Malachi) in what happens: his word and fame spreads out of control; his Amazon reviews and unbelievable (and as badly spelt as you would think); people are prepared to kill others and themselves over what they believe the message is; and Theo finds himself captured, tied up, covered in crap and forced to denounce his work before being shot and let outside to die; thankfully he gets on his way to the hospital where it seems he dies, only to be brought back to life.
Not a laugh out loud book, but one that passes a day in reading and has some decent analogies
Theo is an academic, a translator of Aramaic, who believes - rightly or wrongly - that he's the best in the West,
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and probably the East too. He is remarkably un-self-aware, whilst also self-centred, so does not care for the curator of the Mosul museum, even after the man gets himself blown up whilst escorting Theo round the damaged museum. He doesnt really care that (rather why) his girlfriend has dumped him before he even returns to Canada. He cant understand why all the major publishers wont touch his translation, but gets angry when a small publishing house offers him *only* 250,000 dollars to publish what is, in effect, stolen goods. All he cares about is the translation of the 9 scrolls he found hidden in the belly of a pregnant woman statue.Theo goes from zero to a sensation in the matter of weeks, and the effect of the book on the general population has unpredictable results. The scrolls found in the Mosul Museum, once translated, tell the story of Jesus from a first hand witness and it's not what people expected or hoped for. Jesus was a man, who was crucified, and died on a cross having emptied his bowels and bladder down the cross. He didnt die surrounded by his apostles, just with a number of lesser known women who turned up each day. He wasnt buried in a stone covered grave, and wasnt resurrected on the third day. The scribe of the scrolls was a gossip and a spy, who didnt really follow Jesus and was a sick, boring man when he wrote his story.
Theo goes on a promotional tour, and becomes almost Christ like (if you believe Malachi) in what happens: his word and fame spreads out of control; his Amazon reviews and unbelievable (and as badly spelt as you would think); people are prepared to kill others and themselves over what they believe the message is; and Theo finds himself captured, tied up, covered in crap and forced to denounce his work before being shot and let outside to die; thankfully he gets on his way to the hospital where it seems he dies, only to be brought back to life.
Not a laugh out loud book, but one that passes a day in reading and has some decent analogies
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LibraryThing member Cecilturtle
Theo, upon finding a fifth Gospel, becomes an overnight sensation. He is beloved, he is hated, but more than that he is an ordinary man propelled into extraordinary circumstances. Theo's pragmatic and plebeian concerns make the book funny, cringey and completely relatable. The ending, where Theo is
This is a little masterpiece that shows how our faith and beliefs shape our worlds.
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confronted with the consequences of his actions, is marvellous: part redemption, part sorrow, part relief, it is the crystallization of what makes humanity beautiful after the worst has been described.This is a little masterpiece that shows how our faith and beliefs shape our worlds.
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Awards
Meilleur livre étranger (Novel — 1977)
Language
Original publication date
2009-08
2010 (Denmark)
Physical description
208 p.; 7.7 inches
ISBN
1847672787 / 9781847672780
Local notes
Theo Griepenkerl is a modest academic with an Olympian ego. When he visits a looted museum in Iraq, looking for treasures he can ship back to Canada, he finds nine papyrus scrolls that have lain hidden for two thousand years. Once translated from Aramaic, these prove to be a fifth Gospel, written by an eye-witness of Jesus Christ's last days. But when Theo decides to share this sensational discovery with the world, he fails to imagine the impact the new Gospel will have on Christians, Arabs, homicidal maniacs and Amazon customers. Like Prometheus's gift of fire, it has incendiary consequences.