Essay, novel, investigation? At the end of the 630 pages of this book beautifully constructed and written, it is the side of novel reading them makes me look. Autobiographical novel by Emmanuel Carrère, historical novel about St. Luke, the adventure novel about the first century of Christianity and its contemporary posterity, and more novel about so narrow gate through which men can consider acceding to the Kingdom: "... and it will lead you where you do not want to go."
On the merits, the book of Carrère énervera in turn believers and nonbelievers role, as much as it will delight a few pages later. Ultimately it will fascinate by its evident sincerity, his ardent desire for faithfulness and reverence for what is love. It is not a plea or a thesis. The author, in his introspection and investigation, dissects without disenchanting, demystifies without hurting says or informs with all the precautions inspired perfect intellectual honesty. He also speaks fondly of those - godmother, friends, women or people refocused incidentally - that we accompany him in his Odyssey (another favorite references of Carrère with Buddhism).
The author illustrates with many tasty and funny comparisons, although perhaps a little too often inspired by the history of communism, that make its powerful imagery and text. It also appears that Carrère admire all the more Saint Luke that seems to understand the point of power, freedom and humility, imagine what he does not know him and identify with him. And this is where "The Kingdom" is particularly endearing, sailing between two surveys, one on Luke to write his Gospel, which in turn allows to decipher the genesis of the "Kingdom" by Carrère himself. The question is not, however, whether rightly or not Carrère when Jacques attributes the letter to Luke or when his search leads him, after many others, to the famous source Q, the 250 verses which, when read literally resonate the sound of the voice of Jesus, his phrasing so special and its unique teachings. What matters is why he borrowed this way and for what purpose.
By restoring perfectly what we can know from the first century AD. AD, through its heroes, but also through Latin authors like Martial, Jews as Josephus and Greek, the author gives a particularly vivid dimension to its text. We believe it and this is the effect of a carefully prepared script. The scheduling of the book and its "script" impressed by his maturity, culminating in the epilogue to a remarkable simplicity. "The Kingdom" manages to stay in this perspective the vision of one man, the emanation of his perception of things, drawn from the observation of a simple smile as in consulting books of too full library scholars texts. Between these two sources, the author seems to have finally made his choice, but paradoxical logic. Any investigation of another is above all a quest for self.
