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    Thirst: A Novel
    Thirst: A Novel
    Thirst: A Novel
    Ebook91 pages1 hour

    Thirst: A Novel

    By Amélie Nothomb

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    The prize-winning author “entices lucky readers with a dissenting, potentially heretical, refreshingly fascinating interpretation” of Jesus’s life (Shelf Awareness).

    The Francophone Belgian author Amélie Nothomb has won high praise for her provocative and philosophical novels, including Fear and Trembling, which won the prestigious Prix du Roman. Now Nothomb presents a highly original reexamination of an all-too-familiar story.

    In a first-person voice as wry as it is wise, Nothomb narrates Jesus’s final days, from his trial to his crucifixion to the resurrection. Amid asides about his relationships with his mother and Judas, his love for Mary Magdalene, and his many miracles, we find a man struggling with his humanity and his exceptional nature, straddling the line between human and deity, the son of a formless, omnipotent creator in the fallible form of a man.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateApr 13, 2021
    ISBN9781609456610
    Thirst: A Novel
    Author

    Amélie Nothomb

    Amélie Nothomb nació en Kobe (Japón) en 1967. Proviene de una antigua familia de Bruselas, aunque pasó su infancia y adolescencia en Extremo Oriente, principalmente en China y Japón, donde su padre fue embajador; en la actualidad reside en París. Desde su primera novela, Higiene del asesino, se ha convertido en una de las autoras en lengua francesa más populares y con mayor proyección internacional. Anagrama ha publicado El sabotaje amoroso (Premios de la Vocation, Alain-Fournier y Chardonne), Estupor y temblores (Gran Premio de la Academia Francesa y Premio Internet, otorgado por los lectores internautas), Metafísica de los tubos (Premio Arcebispo Juan de San Clemente), Cosmética del enemigo, Diccionario de nombres propios, Antichrista, Biografía del hambre, Ácido sulfúrico, Diario de Golondrina, Ni de Eva ni de Adán (Premio de Flore), Ordeno y mando, Viaje de invierno, Una forma de vida, Matar al padre, Barba Azul, La nostalgia feliz, Pétronille, El crimen del conde Neville, Riquete el del Copete, Golpéate el corazón,Los nombres epicenos, Sed y Primera sangre (Premio Renaudot), hitos de «una frenética trayectoria prolífera de historias marcadas por la excentricidad, los sagaces y brillantes diálogos de guionista del Hollywood de los cuarenta y cincuenta, y un exquisito combinado de misterio, fantasía y absurdo siempre con una guinda de talento en su interior» (Javier Aparicio Maydeu, El País). En 2006 se le otorgó el Premio Cultural Leteo por el conjunto de su obra, y en 2008 el Gran Premio Jean Giono, asimismo por el conjunto de su obra.

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    • 4/5
      Soif - Amelie NothombAmelie Nothomb is a Belgian author who writes in the french language. Since her first novel was published in 1992 she has published a novel every year since then. It is almost a racing certainty that you will find one of her books in your local library. There were three on offer in mine and I chose Soif. There was nothing on the book covers to give a clue as to the subject matter apart from a quote:"Pour éprouver la soif il faut être vivant"It took me a few pages to realise that it was an interior monologue of Jesus Christ, just after his arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. He is hauled before Pontious Pilot and sentence to be crucified the next day. Jesus was rather hoping it would be later that day because now he would have to spend a night alone in his cell with the fear of the crucifixion the next day. Nothomb imagines his thoughts during that fearful night and the next day while the sentence is being carried out. It is the passion of Jesus that takes up much of this short novel, however it ends with his reflections following his resurrection.Nothomb imagines Jesus with the mind of an ordinary man, but a man who believes he is the son of God. He knows he will die in agony the next day and his first thoughts alone in his cell are whether he will be allowed the blessed peace of being able to sleep. Of course events in his life flash through his mind. He thinks of his mother and the man whom he refers to as Joseph, what good kind people they are, he thinks of how his life might have been if he was not an incarnation of the son of God. He thinks about his love affair with Mary Magdalene whom he calls Madeleine and the power of human love, but the next day is on his mind and he refuses the bowl of water offered to him. He believes that water is life giving and to deny himself a drink of the life giving liquid will prepare him for the agony of the next day.Northomb imagines his thoughts and observations as he struggles to carry his cross up to Golgotha. She presents his jagged thoughts alongside the pain of getting to the top of the hill. She does a good job of putting the reader into the mind of Jesus at the start of his agony. I felt the harrowing experience. The scene at the crucifixion site, the desolation, the numbing agony of Jesus is well described, as is the crucifixion itself. There are moments of kindness which makes Jesus think about humanity and stops his disdain for how he is being treated. This works very well. There are no deep psychological or religious insights, but the events are not lightly treated. There are themes and phrases running through the book that hold it all together. I think it is a moving experience. I am not so sure about the last few pages where Jesus is a disembodied spirit, however it is in keeping with the idea that the human body defines humanity: God as a bodiless spirit does not understand the human beings he has created. There is much to think about in this original story of the passion of Jesus. It is told with love and affection and I rate is as a 4 star read. I will certainly try other books by this author.

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    Thirst - Amélie Nothomb

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