Friday, April 22, 2005
Live From Golgotha
This was the first Gore Vidal I ever read and I decided to reread it because I don’t really think I got it this complicated little book the first time through.
The basic story is that the New Testament gospels are being erased by a time traveling computer hacker. The executives at NBC, who also have time traveling abilities, go to Saint Timothy (friend and reluctant lover of Saint Paul) and ask him to write his own gospel so the Christian story is not lost as well as host the upcoming primetime broadcast of the crucifixion (take that Mel Gibson).
On the surface it is a blasphemous blast against Christianity’s soft underbelly (imagine a lusty tap-dancing con man Paul with a penchant for buggery), but it is also, in the skillful hands of Vidal, becomes a satire of mass media and American society. Bottom line if you don’t mind having your sacred cows tickled and you like your satire savage but genteel this book just might be for you.
The basic story is that the New Testament gospels are being erased by a time traveling computer hacker. The executives at NBC, who also have time traveling abilities, go to Saint Timothy (friend and reluctant lover of Saint Paul) and ask him to write his own gospel so the Christian story is not lost as well as host the upcoming primetime broadcast of the crucifixion (take that Mel Gibson).
On the surface it is a blasphemous blast against Christianity’s soft underbelly (imagine a lusty tap-dancing con man Paul with a penchant for buggery), but it is also, in the skillful hands of Vidal, becomes a satire of mass media and American society. Bottom line if you don’t mind having your sacred cows tickled and you like your satire savage but genteel this book just might be for you.
# posted by Tom Smith @ 11:54 AM 
