Jan 16 2009
The Fire Gospel by Michel Faber
Cover of The Fire Gospel
Sometimes my powers of observation seem riddiculously weak. When I first grabbed it off the library display and started reading it I didn’t even make the connection between The Fire Gospel and the myth of Prometheus. The word gospel was foremost in my mind and I guess I focused on the religious aspect rather than on the more abstract elements. Yes, I know “fire” gospel. What can I say? I am not very quick sometimes.
That said, Michael Faber, author of The Crimson Petal and the White, brings a satirical take on Prometheus to this latest Cannongate Myth volume. And one that is entertaining, and quite funny at times, but that never quite gets off the ground.
But let’s set things up first.
Prometheus, via wikipedia:
In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals for their use. Zeus then punished him for his crime by having him bound to a rock while an eagle ate his liver every day only to have it grow back to be eaten again the next day.
Faber’s twist:
Theo Griepenkerl is a modest academic with an Olympian ego. When he visits a looted museum in Iraq, looking for treasures he can ship back to Canada, he finds nine papyrus scrolls that have lain hidden for two thousand years. Once translated from Aramaic, these prove to be a fifth Gospel, written by an eye-witness of Jesus Christ’s last days. But when Theo decides to share this sensational discovery with the world, he fails to imagine the impact the new Gospel will have on Christians, Arabs, homicidal maniacs and Amazon customers. Like Prometheus’s gift of fire, it has incendiary consequences.
Sounds like fertile ground for a fresh take, right. But I think this is one of those books that doesn’t quite know what it is or what it is trying to do. More after the jump.
