#22. BEHOLD THE MAN By Michael Moorcock

Published : 1969
Pages : 124
Overall Mark : 8/10

Meet Karl Glogauer, time traveller and unlikely Messiah. When he finds himself in Palestine in the year 29AD he is shocked to meet the man known as Jesus Christ - a drooling idiot, hiding in the shadows of the carpenter's shop in Nazareth. But if he is not capable of fulfilling his historical role, then who will take his place?

MICHAEL MOORCOCK (1939-)
Born in London in 1939, he published his first novel in 1961. As editor of the magazine New Worlds he has been a hugely influential figure in British SF. He has published more than 80 books, including The Condition Of Muzak, which won the Guardian Fiction Prize, and Mother London, which was shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize. He lives in Texas.

VERDICT
This is such a tongue in cheek idea, yet Moorcock approaches it in a deadly serious manner. I'm surprised the Church didn't get ahold of this and ban it, but I guess the innocuous title kept it below the radar, unlike the Satanic Verses. The very idea that Jesus was a jibbering idiot might offend some, but this novella, which can easily be read in one sitting, is a must read that proves that even a nobody can do something wonderful with their lives.