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Title: Skip this one
Review: A previous review says that the book doesn't fulfill the promise of the early chapters, I read the first twelve and am already dissapointed. Some reviewers have said the book is worthwhile for pointing out the gospels are probably not news reports but have some fictional elements. "Big deal!"...any observant person can figure this out. Mailer's portrayal looks to be as biased as any other biographer has been, except he's gaudy enough to write it as autobiography. The Jesus here is a boring, flat character. I wanted to discover a compelling leader, I met someone a good deal less interesting and powerful than some of my friends. Mailer could have done so much more with this book. The only redeeming quality is his portrayal of Satan and some of the other characters who get less attention in other writings. Nothing could be worse, or less true, than a Jesus no one was interested in or concerned about, which was how reading this book made me feel.
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