Review – Iscariot

Tosca Lee in her new book, “Iscariot” published by Howard Books gives us a A Novel of Judas.

From the back cover:  The story you thought you knew.

“They will say that I betrayed Him, that I reduced His price to thirty silver shekels.  That I turned against my master.  They do not know me.”

Judas Iscariot.  History has called him many things:  Thief.  Liar.  Traitor.  Reviled throughout history and infamous for his suicide, he is the man whose very name is synonymous with betrayal.

And the only disciple that Jesus called “friend”.

From the acclaimed bestselling author of Havah: The Story of Eve, “Iscariot” is a compelling portrait of Biblical history’s most maligned character–from his tumultuous childhood to his emergence as the man known to the world as the betrayer of Jesus. But even more, it is an extraordinary view into the life of Jesus that forces us to reexamine everything we thought we knew about the most famous—and infamous—religious icons in history.

Told in first person narration “Iscariot” takes us from when Judas was six years old all the way to when he commits suicide after betraying Jesus to the Pharisees.  I was fascinated with the idea that Ms. Lee had written a whole book about the betrayer of Jesus and could not even imagine what she could find to write about that would even interest us.  Now I know.  Ms. Lee has presented an extremely thoughtful story that shows why Jesus picked this man to be one of the original twelve disciples.  Not only that he was also the treasurer for the group.  He was valued and trusted not only by Jesus but by the other eleven as well.  Once we put aside our revulsion on what he did then this book becomes a fascination story that gives us history that is not presented in the Bible, mostly because these events were known a the time of the writing of the Bible.  Ms. Lee has given us a wonderfully engaging story.