Glory (Paperback)

Giuseppe Berto

ISBN 10: 197883957X / ISBN 13: 9781978839571

Published by Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick NJ, 2024

About this Item

Paperback. Glory (La gloria) is Giuseppe Berto's testamentary novel. The first-person narration of the Gospel in the voice of Judas Iscariot constitutes Berto's closing argument in a life-long debate with Christianity. His interpretation of the gospel story is certainly unconventional, even oppositional. Rather than a rejection of the Christian faith in which he was raised and educated, however, Berto fashions an alternative account to the four canonical gospels that ultimately constructs a competing view of the human condition and of humanity's prospects for redemption. In Berto's parodic rendition of the Christian gospel, Judas, after a lifetime of tormented interrogation, decides to embrace the ambiguity of the human condition, which is, as he describes it, a liminal existence played out over a long and trying transition of unknown and unknowable duration, between the original paradise of the Garden of Eden and the final redemption at the end of days-a period otherwise known as history.?????This book was translated thanks to a grant awarded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. In Glory, Judas Iscariot finally tells his side of the story. From his perspective, Jesus is the betrayer, while Judas himself brought humanity a chance at redemption. Through Judas's searing tortured monologues, this late masterpiece from one of Italy's greatest writers investigates deep questions about the nature of faith, rebellion, fate, and free will. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781978839571

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Glory (Paperback)
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick NJ
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 197883957X
• ISBN 13: 9781978839571
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Christ’s nemesis Judas Iscariot remains a shadowy figure in the four canonical gospels, which give contradictory reasons for why this rogue disciple betrays Christ. But how would Judas himself explain his motives? 
 
In Glory, Italian modernist Giuseppe Berto’s final novel, Judas finally tells his side of the story. From his perspective, Jesus is the betrayer, a would-be political activist and social reformer who fails to live up to his promises. And by fulfilling his predestined role in the drama of Christ’s death and resurrection, Judas himself is partly responsible for humanity’s salvation, enabling them to be redeemed by Christ’s sacrifice. As the novel probes into the psychological motivations behind his rejection of Jesus’ authority, Judas emerges as a compelling conflicted character, a man who seeks to have agency even when he knows his actions are being scripted by a higher power. Through Judas’s searing tortured monologues, this late masterpiece from one of Italy’s greatest writers investigates deep questions about the nature of faith, rebellion, fate, and free will. 

 

 

About the Author

GIUSEPPE BERTO (1914–1978) was born in a small town in Veneto, Italy, and went on to author numerous screenplays, short stories, and novels, including The Sky Is Red, written during his time as a P. O. W. in Texas. A controversial author in postwar Italy, Berto was nevertheless the recipient of the Viareggio Prize and the Campiello Prize, and his work has drawn more critical attention in recent years. He is the author of Oh, Serafina! (Rutgers University Press). 

GREGORY CONTI has over twenty-five published translations, including works by Emilio Lussu, Rosetta Loy, and Paolo Rumiz. His most recent translations include novels by Giuseppe Berto (Oh, Serafina!: A Fable of Ecology, Lunacy, and Love, Rutgers University Press, 2023) and  Edoardo Nesi (My Shadow is Yours). He has lived in Perugia, Italy, since 1985.

ALESSANDRO VETTORI is a professor of Italian and comparative literature at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. He is the author of several books, including ​Giuseppe Berto: La passione della scrittura (Marsilio Editore, 2013), and is a coeditor of the Other Voices of Italy series at Rutgers University Press.