Lazarus (English and French Edition)

After being raised from the dead, Lazarus, separated by a haze from the rest of the world and unable to experience the physical sensations of existence, journeys to Jerusalem in an attempt to find Jesus the carpenter

Among the recorded miracles worked by Jesus in his public ministry is the resurrection from the grave of his friend Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary, at whose home the prophet received warm hospitality. What happened to Lazarus after he was awakened from the "great sleep" is not known, but is imaginatively reconstructed here in this provocative novel that takes us inside the house in Bethany where his "fleshless body and the smell of damp earth still on him" repulse Lazarus's young wife, Susannah. Soon Lazarus finds his "half-life" unbearable. He is caught between his own unwillingness to be a living witness to the power of the Nazarene and political pressures that pit him against the Roman establishment. Lazarus's quest for inner peace is a tortuous search reaching from the event on Calvary to the destruction of the great temple in Jerusalem where his faith is finally evoked. In an innovative embellishment of the simple biblical story, Absire uses spare, contemporary prose to paint a humanly vibrant backdrop from which a transcendent faith emerges.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

What is a miracle? The "miracle hater" is Eshkar, a Hebrew born into slavery in Egypt. He takes part in the great Exodus but separates himself from the other tribes when he sees that Moses's miracles cause only pain. In the desert Eshkar grows to manhood, cynical and alone. The same theme is evident in Absire's retelling of John's gospel story. After Jesus calls him from the tomb, Lazarus exists in a dim twilight, unable to love or work or rest, his gray corpselike body stinking of corruption and the grave. He goes in search of Jesus to demand the reason for his suffering but arrives at Golgotha too late. Both novels, though brief and overpriced, are far superior to the usual "biblical" fiction and would be good material for discussion groups. Maurice Taylor, Brunswick Cty. Lib., Southport, N.C.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.