The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, Philip Pullman's first adult novel, is a creative retelling of the New Testament. In Pullman's version, the Virgin Mary is seduced by an "angelic" — but very real — young man, and bears twin sons: the kindly charismatic teacher, Jesus, and his cunning and calculating brother, Christ — who ultimately masterminds the rise of the institutional Church. Is The Good Man Jesus an imaginative retelling, or is Pullman (an outspoken atheist) out to incite the wrath of Catholics?
Pullman's novel is an honest look at faith: Hardcore Catholics "looking to find grounds for offense" will find it, says William Underhill at Newsweek, but Pullman's "fair-minded" reinterpretation sheds useful light on the "pernicious" aspects of the organized Church. "Pullman's honesty is hard to hate."
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