In the Province of Saints: A Novel

Book Description

An unforgettable first novel about a young boy growing up in rural Ireland, in the shadow of a dark secret.

Customer Reviews:

Truth and Beauty.......2006-05-07

As the New York Times and The Washington Post suggest, this is, indeed, a beautiful, heartbreaking tale in which the lives of real people in difficult circumstances are explored. This may, truly, be depressing to readers who have never had to endure hardship or poverty or experience violence in their lives but O'Malley has a need to explore people whose lives aren't as comfortable as ours, people who endure and succeed despite the hard choices that they must make-this seems such an integral and necessary function of the human condition and of living and O'Malley captures this fully. Perhaps those readers (I'm amazed by the reviewer who critiques the book without even finishing it?) who have never had to experience hardship or never been witness to it are merely more complacent than some of us and desire fictions that offer a safe, alternative perspective to this reality. That is entirely their choice. Myself, I eagerly await O'Malley's next work!

Semantics.......2006-04-20

A number of reader reviews have used the word "heartbreaking" to describe this book. I have not finished reading it yet, but I'm not sure about "heartbreaking": I'm finding it downright depressing. The writing is magnificent: O'Malley's powers of description are formidable - darkly poetic and even magisterial. But the gloom is relentless. In the hope that it will begin to soar as it reaches its resolution I'll persevere.

Chuig an mé mhuinta scafóideach .......2006-03-16

In the Province of Saints is an exquisitely written book that reveals the real Ireland that many of us Irish experienced in the years before the Celtic Tiger. It's too bad that the reviewer, Seaghaan Mar, cannot see past his petty prejudices to truly read and appreciate this beautifully crafted book. Perhaps he was reading a book other than this one? It is clear from his comments that he has no real understanding of the Irish or of our experiences (hardly folklore). O'Malley's characters are rich and fully realized, and every moment of rural life is captured with such precision and authenticity that one feels the author's love and respect for these people. There is darkness here and the hardships are those that many Irish have experienced, but this does nothing to dim this distinct vision nor does it lessen the worth and meaning of such hardships. O'Malley writes without a shred of self-pity or sentimentality and this is a testament to his maturity, and that in the very dark yet very real moments of these character's lives O'Malley casts light, tenderness, and hope. He shows us all the darkness so that we may see the light, something every person (Irish or otherwise) can understand. With In the Province of Saints, O'Malley reveals his authority and command as a writer, a writer mature beyond his years, and already, it seems, masterful in the form. No wonder Booklist has chosen this book as one of the ten best first books of 2005 and the New York Public Library has picked it as one of the best twenty five books from last year, in their Books to Remember for 2005.

I look forward to reading more from this promising writer.

Yerra, Be-Jaysus, not another one of the lot.......2006-03-09

Another dreadful sceal on mBealoideas e seo (a story from the folklore this is)about the horrors of Loife in Oul' Oireland, the bogs, mud, eternal rain, crucified mothers, drunken, good-fer-nothin' Da's, poverty so crushing it could be called Gaelic, emotional poverty so deep it's a wonder everyone doesn't commit suicide. Except they are Catholic, with all of those penitential burdens. They just run off--to Sasana, Boston. This story needs Myles na gCopalin to do it justice. Are any people as deeply self-deprecating as the Irish? Are they soon to be done with this penitential flogging of themselves in books and go back to ascending Croagh Patrick barefoot? My relatives came out of County Galway, Irish speaking, long ago and had as much good as bad to say about the Old Country. I wish this guy, who can write, at least in short bursts, would lend his story-telling more balance.
That said, he has promise when he matures.

A brilliant story, richly told.......2005-12-14

Thomas O'Malley's In the Province of Saints is a novel to savor. It tells the story of Michael McDonagh, a young boy in a poor, broken family rural Ireland in the late 1970s, from the time he is 9 or 10 until he is 13 or 14. The novel is told in heartbreakingly beautiful prose that is completely absorbing; as a reader, you will feel you are there, in Michael's skin, watching the clouds brood on the horizon and smelling the pigs in the yard.

The novel concerns Michael's confrontation and struggle with, and ultimately his understanding of his father's repeated abandonment of his mother and his family, first through his philandering and later through his departure for America; his mother's growing illness and imminent death; Michael's own sexuality; and finally, his sense of responsibility for his family and for himself. This is a world in which right and wrong, historically spelled out by the church, social hierarchy and the family, are ostensibly black and white. But in the late 20th Century, it is a world in which right and wrong are often reversed, and in which survival and even salvation depend upon violating traditional boundaries. Thus, we see, time and again, a cycle of transgression, punishment, penitence and redemption that Michael, his father, other members of his family and those around him not only endure but embrace both to get along day to day and to grow beyond their circumstances. For example, we see Michael at the age of 9 or 10, stealing eggs and bread from the neighbors because the family is in arrears with the dairy man. His mother discovers his wrong, and slaps his face in punishment, but the boy stands fast, and despite her rebuke, the mother keeps the stolen food. The scene is rich in moral ambiguity and the struggle of both characters to find what is right. Much later in the novel, this transgression is echoed by Michael's blatant vandalism of a neighbor's shed -- payback for the neighbor's exaction of penitence from Michael's father. The spiral goes on, with Michael eventually witnessing the ultimate transgression by others, which places him in the position of deciding whether to step into the role of judge and mete out punishment or to take another path.

The story is both compelling and moving. One of O'Malley's many great accomplishments in this novel is a portrayal of a land and characters that is panoramic in scope -- with respect to both the exterior and interior landscapes. Likewise, young Michael's growth from a boy to a young man is meticulously, yet subtly drawn, even down to the language, which early on seems deliberately (and rightly) hesitant and tentative, but which becomes bolder and more forceful as Michael matures.

This is a novel that will engage you completely, that will absorb you with the richness of its language and that will endear you to its noble, fallible characters.

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In the Province of Saints: A Novel
Thomas O'Malley
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OU1XGG

Book Description

In her hands, the young wit’ch Elena holds the awesome energies of blood magick, and the destiny of Alasea. For the fate of that fabulous kingdom hinges on her recovery of the Blood Diary. Only by mastering the secrets recorded in its pages can Elena defeat the evil magicks of the Dark Lord. But the Diary lies hidden in A’loa Glen–the fabled city that belongs to Shorkan, chief lieutenant of the Dark Lord, and his fearsome army.

With the help of her allies, including the ocean-dwelling Sy-wen and her great dragon, Elena prepares a desperate invasion of A’loa Glen. At her side stands the one-armed warrior Er’ril, who knows how to unlock the wards that surround the Blood Diary. But unknown to Elena, Er’ril is the brother of the dreaded Shorkan. Will he continue to act as her protector, or will he choose to betray her?

Customer Reviews:

Not a huge book reader...couldn't put this down........2006-09-19

First off, ignore my grammar, spelling, and puncuation (see spelled that wrong) im typing this fast.

first off, LOVED the characters. loved the idea that i could root for not just the main, but the other 10 or so characters that come with it. the idea, the darkness and mild humor, the way that the battle could just be imagined. the idea behind the entire series, i couldnt put them down. i just wanted MORE. after reading all of them i felt like i was cheated. i wanted this to be a wheel of time series with 10+ books. but all good things must come to an end, and i enjoyed this ending but agian, i felt very sad. not cheated, just sad that it was over. so now im looking forward to another series, and i will recommend this series to ANYONE who enjoys a good semi PG-13 or maybe PG-15 since there is a few 'demons' who are like, topless and naked or whatever plus a few references to sex. over all, i wish i could read these again they were just as fun as reading harry potter but without the teenager twists.

the story of the blood diary.......2005-02-02

The third book of the banned and the banished series picks up where we left off in book two. Again, the action is almost non-stop, cover to cover. Enough plot twists are thrown in to keep the story engaging.

But with this third book a pattern has emerged. Small skirmishes with evil beings throughout the first half all leading up to the larger battle of the novel which climaxes at the end and leads us to the next book. It's getting a bit formulaic to read, although I breezed through this installment as easily as I did the first two.

Some of the plot twists seem ingenious and others seem trite and predictable. Once again we are introduced to more characters, some good, some bad. Some bad characters in previous novels end up being good, and some good characters end up being bad. I'm looking forward to the next novel in the series if for no other reason than to see how it all comes together.

Our heros are split into two groups during the course of this novel and I'm curious about the paths they will take. We are also given more pieces to the puzzle of the Dark Lord and a more complete image is slowly being revealed.

I'm still caught up in the story, with Clemens doing an excellent job of keeping my interest and attention despite the odd faltering of overwhelming cliches or characters dying and being resurrected.

I have the last two of the series in my library and look forward to finishing them.

action filled series.......2004-01-06

I've enjoyed the two previous books in this series and looked forward to reading the third. For the most part the characters are interesting and diverse. My only complaint was that the author could drag on a fight scene forever. A short encounter can go on for thirty pages with discriptions and flashbacks. These "action" scenes can be a tension grabber, but when a reader has to read and read and read and read just to find out who the attactor is, well, you kind of just loose interest. I kept finding myself flipping to a few pages ahead to see when it would end. Normally I would give three stars for an author with this problem, but because the two previous books were for the most part much better, I gave her an extra star for previous good writing.

Looking for More.......2001-11-30

James Clemens continues to evolve in his writing style with each new release of this series. I have now read the first 3 books twice, and enjoyed them even more the second time. The author's ability to spin a tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat is astounding.

I believe Mr. Clemens has a long career ahead of him as a Sci-fi/Fantasy writer.

A peak in a won'derful fan'tasy ser'ies!.......2001-08-06

Starting with "Wit'ch Fire," James Clemens introduced the character of Elena. A young woman born a wit'ch (a woman with the abilties of great magicks), she is of a mixed prophecy - either the savior of the world, or its death.

That was the beginning of the "Banned and the Banished," series. Since then, Clemens has rounded out the cast of his books with wonderfully drawn characters: rich in elemental magics that don't overpower their characters and personalities.

In this third book in the series, Elena's group of friends and protectors is mostly scattered, and one of them, as told in book two, "Wit'ch Storm," has been corrupted by the Dark Heart. A very worthy read, the new characters complement the old, and we gain much more depth in the entire cast, not just Elena. Particularly, we delve more into Kast, Sy-wen, and Joach. This third book was definitely worth the wait, as the quality of fantasy writing has stepped up a notch.

A climax of sorts, this is still not the end of the series. While part of me wonders if Clemens can keep up the pace and the exceptional writing, I'm willing to wager on it and look forward to the fourth book.

The only quibble is, as always, those stupid apostrophies. Wit'ch. D'warf. El'vin. Eb'onstone. Gosh they're annoying. It seemed, however, that they're not as prevalent as before, and mostly just repeats of the ones we've seen previously. Perhaps Clemens has realized that they're really distracting.

Don't skip this book. If you've not read Clemens before, treat yourself to the whole series. He puts Robert Jordan to shame, and mirrors the deep characterizations of George R.R. Martin.

'Nathan

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WIT'CH WAR

Manufacturer: DEL REY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0739411977

Product Description

VOLUME 3 OF THE BANNED AND THE BANISHED.

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Wit'ch War (Banned & the Banished)
James Clemens
Manufacturer: Orbit
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Binding: Paperback

WIT'CH WAR (BANNED AND THE BANISHED, NO 3)

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WIT'CH WAR (BANNED AND THE BANISHED, NO 3)
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THE BANNED AND THE BANISHED: Book (1) One: Wit'ch Fire; Book (2) Two: Wit'ch Storm; Book (3) Three: Wit'ch War; Book (4) Four: Wit'ch Gate

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THE BANNED AND THE BANISHED: Book (1) One: Wit'ch Fire; Book (2) Two: Wit'ch Storm; Book (3) Three: Wit'ch War; Book (4) Four: Wit'ch Gate
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Wit'ch War: Book Three of the Banned and the Banished (Banned & the Banished (Paperback))

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Wit'ch War: Book Three of the Banned and the Banished (Banned & the Banished (Paperback))
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Manufacturer: Tandem Library
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Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

Terrific.......2007-09-04

This is a terrific, terrific series, for those who like gay fantasy. It is pretty explicit, and/but the sex is part of the plot. I think the author passed away, so there won't be any more. I gave away one of my books in the series and immediately bought it again.

interesting concept.......2003-04-12

I have not read the 3rd book in series, but have it on order. I enjoyed the first two books, so am looking forward to 3rd. The storyline and the erotic nature of the story are so intertwined, you could not enjoy one without the other. One thing I would like to ask is, could there be an exploration of the female side of the Lyceum? I think that might be interesting.

Synopsis.......1999-12-27

"Initiation into a secret of mages, randy youths, whose intimate knowledge of pleasure and enchantment could open portals to a higher reality, had strained Ander's body and dazzled his senses. But mastering the ecstasy required to perform magic was only half the challenge. Fighting a tyrant's scheme to seize the vast power concealed in the magical realm had nearly cost his life. . .
Conjuring the Flesh continues the adventure begun in the highly acclaimed Apprenticed to Pleasure, telling a tale of love, magic, danger and graphic sensuality. Embark on an adventure you'll never forget!" 192 pp. - Leyland Publications

excellent.......1999-06-29

I am a straight women. anyway I happened on to Apprenticed to Pleasure. I have never seen gay erotica written in such a way before, I had to go out and pick up this book. All I could say is if he continues to write a series on these mages and such, i'm hooked. The characters where great, and it's based on love, not just the sex. It's well written, and always keeps you wanting more. I hated to see it end.

A book worth reading, and I rarely make recommendations........1999-04-08

This installment, like the first, has a very quick pace. It's a fast read, I hated closing it each night and had to force myself to stretch it out over a week or I would have finished it in one sitting, it was that good. Fox continues to expose the depths of each character. You never have opportunity to get bored. I'm hoping for another installment SOON!

Book Description

From a prominent scholar, a provocative argument that the Biblical characters of Jesus and David should be viewed not as historical figures, but as embodiments of Babylonian, Egyptian, and Near Eastern traditions.

Since the eighteenth century, scholars and historians studying the texts of the Bible have attempted to distill historical facts and biography from the mythology and miracles described there. That trend continues into the present day, as scholars such as those of the "Jesus Seminar" dissect the Gospels and other early Christian writings to separate the "Jesus of history" from the "Christ of faith." But with The Messiah Myth, noted Biblical scholar Thomas L. Thompson argues that the quest for the historical Jesus is beside the point, since the Jesus of the Gospels never existed.

Like King David before him, says Thompson, the Jesus of the Bible is an amalgamation of themes from Near Eastern mythology and traditions of kingship and divinity. The theme of a messiah-a divinely appointed king who restores the world to perfection-is typical of Egyptian and Babylonian royal ideology dating back to the Bronze Age. In Thompson's view, the contemporary audience for whom the Old and New Testament were written would naturally have interpreted David and Jesus not as historical figures, but as metaphors embodying long-established messianic traditions. Challenging widely held assumptions about the sources of the Bible and the quest for the historical Jesus, The Messiah Myth is sure to spark interest and heated debate.

Customer Reviews:

Less Than Convincing, But Still Useful to Some Readers.......2006-07-30

If you wish to read four hundred pages of detailed, well worked out, and adventurous exegisis of the Old Testatment as it applies to David and Jesus as myth fulfilling figures or fantasies, this should be your cup of tea. However, with an occassional tip of the hat to other ancient Near Eastern literary sources, this is what Thompson's book boils down to. Even in his essay on "The Myth of the Dying and Rising God" where one would expect a world of pagan material, Thompson's concerns are almost exclusively centered on the exegisis of OT material.

It is at this interface between OT material and the prior mythic traditions and literature of the Near East where Thompson is at his weakest. Considering his academic specialty, this is no surprise. However, his sub-title, "The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David," does not read Old Testament roots. Therefore, his project is a questionable success at best for the open minded. To his credit, he never actually indicates that it his intention to disprove a historical grounding of the figures of David and Jesus. This book should be read as massive cautionary to reading too much history into the Bible.

Other than general cranky dismissals of academics that do not agree with him, Thompson launches forth assuming that you, the reader, agree with his methodology and are up to assessing the validity of his exegisis. To fully assess and appreciate this work, the reader must be nearly as accomplished in OT exegetics as Thompson. That is a tall order. No alternative readings are supplied. Moments of crystal clarity are rare. Expect to put in a great deal of work for what you get. And what you get out of this book is directly dependent on the level of knowledge you bring to the task.

Interestingly, as would be expected, when dealing with the New Testament, Thompson spends twice as much ink on Matthew as he does on either Mark or Luke. Material on the Gospel of John is almost entirely missing. That Matthew the most "Jewish" of the gospels is most dependent on the OT should come as no great surprise. Also, in Thompson's scheme of things, the author of this gospel would have had to be as erudite as Thompson with subtle fully formed intentions regarding the use of myth and symbol. Was this the intention of the author of this particular "good news?" With a literacy rate of three percent or less in the Ancient World, this is an exceedingly problematic intent for the author of the gospel. We are better off for having this book. The only question is, will you be better informed after reading it? This book is very heavy intellectual lifting.

Very interesting.......2006-03-29

Thomas L Thompson, biblical scholar of the 'minimalist' school, here turns his attention the commonality of tropes in the stories of Jesus and David as Messiahs. Never clearly defining Jesus as never existing, he, nevertheless, raises some pertinant criticisms of the quest for a historical Jesus, arguing that the gospels are a coherent whole; that Jesus' teachings cannot be separated from the miracles etc to construct a scholars' historical version of the man from Galilee.

Thompson underpins this critique by highlighting the dependence of texts on each other for tropes and metaphors; his treatment of the temple cleansing is very enlightening, how his saying conflates Isaiah and Jeremiah to contrast and show who the true pure of Israel are. He also demonstrates that the use of 'OT' texts by the gospel writers are not just for prophetic proofs of Jesus' messiahship, but to construct a theology consistent with both Judaism and other Near Eastern thought.

Very insightful, and a useful book to reference whether for or against Thompson's argument.

Fresh and thought provoking.......2006-01-13

Thomas L. Thompson's "The Messiah Myth: The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David" deals with one of the most important and least discussed topics in New Testament studies: did a "historical Jesus" ever exist? Most "historical Jesus" scholars assume, without making the case for, the existence of Jesus, and that with the proper methodology and critical analysis of the gospels, we can find the authentic voice of Jesus. Most arguments for "Jesus as a myth" have been based on lack of reliable historical evidence and skepticism of the gospels, due to the fact that they were written with theological, not historical concerns in mind. Thompson takes these similar arguments but proves them from a compartive study between the Bible and other Near Eastern literature, showing that the New Testament is just another extension of an already existing discourse in the Near East.

Thompson argues that the New Testament is a work of literature that is concerned with theological discourse, and not history. Furthermore, there is little that is unique about the sayings, motifs, plotlines, morals, and literary styles. They can all be found in the Hebrew Bible, which in turn can be traced back to ancient Near Eastern literature. The dominant of these motifs is the Near Eastern concept of a "messiah" or king that acts as god's agent to liberate and bring peace and order to his people. This appears everywhere from inscriptions by Egyptian and Babylonian kings to the Psalms to the New Testament.

While there were many moments where I became highly convinced of Thompson's thesis, I still found several flaws to warrant a four star rating. A. Thompson tends to be way too skeptical. He even denies the synpotic problem and the borrowing of material between the gospel writers, without making a sensible case for it. He believes that most of the inscriptions of Near Eastern Kings are mythological propaganda and have little to do with history, without making the case. He even early on declares that Paul is just a name used by an author(s) of 1 Thessalonians. B. When demonstrating the roots of a "saying" of Jesus, in the texts, Thompson tends to loose his way and go off on another chain of themes that have nothing to do with the first. At points, he completely departs from Jesus and David and goes through an unrelated theme/character to either person. This can get very confusing and frustrating. C. I wish the inscriptions in the back were the actual texts and not just the summaries. They would have made Thompson's case stronger.

With that said, "Messiah Myth" is a fresh and thought provoking analysis of the historicity of Jesus, and a delight to read through the stories of the Hebrew Bible and Near East again.

Turgid and clueless.......2005-08-22

I picked this up as a $0.95 proof copy, because Freke & Gandy reference Prof. Thompson extensively in the chapter on Christianity in their new book, The Laughing Jesus: Religious Lies and Gnostic Wisdom. I'm glad I only paid $0.95, however, and will be donating this to the Housing Works charity bookstore soon. It shares two traits with most academic writing: it's atrociously written, and almost willfully obtuse about the deeper implications of its subject.

As for the writing: apart from the usual dreary academic prose, Thompson at no time bothers to formulate what his thesis is, or tell you how what he's analyzing supports it. Instead, one example after another from the New or Old Testament is selected, apparently at random, discussed a bit, and then dropped. So I am not at all sure if I have succeeded in "getting" his point, and so other reviewers may take me to task for "missing it." Tough; life is short, and I can't waste all my time on this book.

As far as I can tell, the thesis is that the writings of the OT and NT are literature, and need to be analyzed as such, not used as clues to determine the existence and nature of some historical figure. Thus (with my attempts to straighten out the syntax in brackets):

"It is especially difficult to determine whether we are in fact dealing with the story of a particular man's life, [in other words] a biography illustrating values we hold because of him. We may [instead] be dealing with a narrative figure, whose function is to illustrate universal or eternal values." [p. 136]

Thus while Schweitzer found a "historical Jesus" who was a failed apocalyptic prophet, the scholars of the Jesus Seminar (Crossan, Borg, etc.) have tried to locate "original" sayings from which they deduce some kind of Cynic philosopher or Galilean peasant. But both miss the point: "Jesus" is a fictional character, part of a story designed to illustrate and promote certain moral and political values, which was written by drawing on a host of literary themes present in Hebrew culture (the good king, who restores his kingdom of justice, which will last forever, etc.).

While Thompson is right so far, he fails to bring in the role of the Caesar Cult in framing the Jesus story; Jesus as a pro-underclass alternative to the triumphant Roman Caesar. More importantly, there isn't a trace of awareness of entheogens, mystery religions, and other experiential elements that permeated all Hellenistic culture. Like most (all?) scholars, Thompson seems to think the ancients were like him: sitting around reading and writing bad prose, and occasionally daring to take a swig of watered down "wine". Freke and Gandy, while not perfect, at least have a clue here.

Thus, I would suggest that if you want to follow up on Thompson from reading Freke & Gandy, just stick with them. (...)

Pace the the valediction of earlier reviewer, who had set himself the thankless task of actually trying to make sense of this book's argument page by page, I would suggest that the onus of proof is on those who claim someone *is* historical, especially if the account they offer of his life reads like "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"

Pros: Jesus is "myth-only" and his story is rooted in OT themes of kings and rulership;

Cons: Unreadable prose, academic cluelessness; lack of any input from, or awareness of, entheogens, altered state experience, mysteries, or even the Caesar Cult.

Excellent Insights into OT Textual World .......2005-04-24

The Historical Jesus Quest is really composed of two quests. One involves sifting through the texts and developing methodologies for dealing with the data. The other involves situating the figure of Jesus in the proper historical context.

The battle over the proper context for Jesus has been one of least-recognized but most profound of the various struggles among New Testament exegetes. After WWII exegetes began to strongly emphasize the Jewishness of Jesus. Laudably, this was partly in response to the "Aryan Jesus" of 19th century scholarship, that eventually found its apotheosis in Nazi doctrines. However, it was also in response to the arguments of scholars from the schools of myth and comparative religions, who had argued in the period prior to the Second World War that Jesus resembled similar figures of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. By reinforcing the Jewishness of Jesus and delinking him from the surrounding cultures, New Testament scholars sought to protect him from the assaults of the comparative religions school.

At first glance it is easy to mistake Thomas L. Thompson's The Messiah Myth for a revival of this school. Don't. The Messiah Myth does not attempt, as the comparative religions school did, to seek out parallels to Jesus and then link Jesus to them. Rather, Thompson attempts to recover the Greater Context: an enormous toolkit of ideas, themes, and observations that dominate the literature of the Near East, and find expression in all of its major texts, including the Bible, and in all of its major heroes, including Jesus and David.

Despite the subtitle The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David, Thompson's book does not focus strongly on Jesus. The vast majority of the work consists of exploring the Old Testament and other Near Eastern texts to show that they all make use of the same complex of tropes in composing their various stories. This complex of tropes includes reversals (of rich and poor, the powerful and the peasantry, the weak and the strong), descent-ascent motifs, messiah as priest, king, and warrior motifs, and similar structures and idea familiar to readers of the Tanakh and the Christian writings. Thompson thus does not seek to show that Jesus is a myth by close analysis of the stories about him, like G.A Wells and other mythicists have done. Instead, he offers a rich new context against which the figure of Jesus can be evaluated.

Thompson opens the book with a chapter entitled "Historicizing the figure of Jesus" that is apparently intended as a critique of the various Historical Jesus figures that New Testament scholarship has produced. He observes:

* "A wary reader does well to recognize the wish fulfillment of Schweitzer's figure of Jesus. His mistaken prophet is historical primarily because he does not mirror the Christianity of Schweitzer's time. But the assumption that this mistaken prophet of the apocalypse is a figure appropriate to first century Judaism is itself without evidence. The prophetic figure Mark presented, and the assumed expectations associated with his coming, belong to the surface of Mark's text. Schweitzer did not consider why Mark presented such a figure or such expectations. Nor did he consider whether the life of such a person and the expectations of his coming in fact belonged to the historical reality of first century Jews in Palestine, or whether both expectations and figure were literary tropes. Then the figure of the messiah might express Judaism's highest values within Mark's story does not imply that either the figure or expectations about him were to be found in early first-century historical Palestine."(p6-7)

The opening chapter serves notice: the historical Jesus is an assumption, rather than a discovery, of scholarship. "Dating sayings common to Q and Thomas as an "earliest level" of sayings and suggesting a time between 30 and 60 CE for their origin is a conclusion drawn from the assumption that there was an oral tradition derived from a historical Jesus' teaching."(p11) From whence, then, stems this figure

* "As we will see in the following chapters, the most central sayings in the gospels were spoken by many figures of ancient literature. That they are "sayings of Jesus" is to be credited to the author who put them in his mouth. Many sayings the [Jesus] seminar identifies as "certainly authentic" are well-known and can be dated centuries earlier than the New Testament. The very project of the Jesus Seminar is anchored in wishful thinking. Evidence for the prehistory of these sayings is so abundant and well attested that we can trace a continuous literary tradition over millennia."(p11)

Having sounded the eschatological alarm, Thompson slowly bids the Gospels goodbye, and enters the world of the Old Testament. In the second chapter, "The Figure of the Prophet", there is much back-and-forth between the Gospel stories and the Old Testament, but by the time we get to chapter four, "The Song for a Poor Man", the Gospels have been left behind, and we plunge into a world of international texts from antiquity, each full of themes the echo, extend, comment on, and interact with, the recurring tropes that make up the Tanakh.

Thompson builds his reading of the texts by searching out themes common throughout the Near East, collecting texts from many places. Writing on the Good King, he says:

* "Some of our stories serve as memorials to the king, while others are dedications of a cult place. Thirteen of the twenty-one inscriptions are presented in autobiographical form, where the king plays the role of author as well as subject. Eight present the story of the king in the third person. The Idrimi stele (no. 13), which is engraved on a statue of the king, presents its first-person form by locating the closing lines in a cartoon balloon coming out of the king's mouth. In spite of the autobiographical form, some of these inscriptions are likely posthumous."(p157)

The themes he builds function as tropes, recurring themes that appear in texts all over the Near East.

For example, in the Near East there is a common trope: a "utopian, comprehensive, and transcendent" peace that is the goal of every king's rule. Thompson identifies this peace in many different texts (including in an appendix), including tales about Idrimi, Nabonidus, and Esarhaddon, as well as David.

At his best when building his collection of tropes, The Messiah Myth falters whenever it comes near the Gospels, giving the impression that Thompson is wielding a hammer in whose presence everything attempts to turn into nails. After establishing the existence of a trope referring to the children and the kingdom, Thompson then turns to the Gospel versions:

* "Of the six occurrences of the trope Crossan calls "kingdom and children" sayings, four are classified as independent and two dependent. Only the authority of scholarly tradition of the primacy of Mark supports the judgment that the very close variations of the saying "Let the children come to me and do not hinder them; for to such belong the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 19:14) and "Let the children come to me and do not hinder them; for to such belong the kingdom of God" (Lk 18:16) are dependent on the similar saying in Mark: "Let the little children come to me; do not prevent them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God" (Mk 10:14). This saying, nearly identical in all three gospels, clearly offers a common trope, but the primacy of Mark's version, including the phrase "kingdom of God" he shares with Luke, does not stand on its own merits. The assumption that Mark is the source for the versions of Matthew and Luke is unprovable. Similarly, that the saying in Mark is the most likely original can be shown to be without merit."(p76)

While it is quite true that any sayings tradition is ultimately an assumption of scholars, that is not the case with the relationship between the Synoptic Gospels, where scholars possess all three of the relevant texts. Thompson either does not understand, or does not care to understand, the complexities of the Synoptic problem and the way that it has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of most scholars that the first gospel written was Mark. Right or wrong, the priority of Mark is a conclusion, not an assumption.

This dismissal of modern scholarly understandings means that The Messiah Myth interacts largely with the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, when the most historically important Gospel is that of Mark. Thompson apparently regards these writings as largely independent, and locates their similarities in the use of common tropes rather than literary dependence. This position is indefensible, and does nothing for the book's credibility.

Nevertheless, for those of us interested in the New Testament and in the Bible in general, there are innumerable insights and understandings. Thompson writes with an assurance and erudition that commands our attention, and manages to suppress any pesky doubts that might arise when we observe his cavalier attitude toward New Testament scholarship. Using the insights he develops from the tropes he collects, Thompson is often able to correct scholarly misapprehensions:

* "Like the 'kingdom of God,' the metaphor of my father's kingdom is not apocalyptic in the sense that it implies expectations of the end of the world as Schweitzer thought. It is rather a utopian and idealistic metaphor for a world of justice. In ancient Near Eastern and biblical literature, it is related to the figure of the savior-king who, by reestablishing divine rule, returns creation to the original order."(p198)

Because Thompson functions at the level of tropes, larger themes that govern the structure of texts, there is actually little here that is useful against the figure of Jesus as a historical figure. Despite his complaints about New Testament scholarship Thompson himself provides no answers to the questions he raises. Showing that tropes are part and parcel of ancient texts simply undermines Thompson's own implicit argument against a historical Jesus, for many of the texts that Thompson uses to support his case are either about, or from, historical figures. Hence it is easy to argue that the Gospel writers simply cast their historical figure in the standard Near Eastern format, and dismiss Thompson with a wave of the broader theme. Mythicism will never advance until it begins to churn out detailed, verse-by-verse readings of the relevant texts that show precisely how they are built out of literary convention, pre-existent sayings, Old Testament passages, themes, and concepts, and literary tropes and broader mythic themes. For that purpose Thompson will provide useful insight, but no decisive view.

Despite the title, those who come to this book seeking arguments against Jesus historicism will be disappointed. But readers who pick this volume in search of new understandings of old texts will not leave the table hungry. There Thompson pours out a cornucopia which this reviewer's New Testament-oriented interests cannot hope to adequately capture. I highly recommend The Messiah Myth to anyone with a general interest in ancient Near Eastern mythology and story, including the Bible texts. For them, The Messiah Myth will be bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, and a ferryboat to the boatless.

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