From the international best-selling author of The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon comes a dazzling new work of historical fiction. In the New Testament, we are told that Jesus resurrected a beloved friend named Lazarus from the dead. Missing from the Gospel is a description of how Jesus accomplished this miracle and if he had a special purpose for saving his companion.
Acclaimed and best-selling historical novelist Richard Zimler takes up the tale, and through the eyes of the troubled Lazarus, recreates the story of the Passion. Returned to life, Lazarus has difficulties regaining his previous identity and confidence. His experience of death has left him fragile and disoriented. Worse still, he has seen nothing of any afterlife.
As Lazarus turns more and more to Jesus for guidance and answers, watching as his friend's mystical powers grow, along with his cult, he finds that their lives are now politically and, therefore, dangerously entwined.
In an often surprising and subtle portrayal, Zimler places Jesus in his historical context of ancient Jewish practise and traditions; at once a charismatic Rabbi and political activist, who used his knowledge of a transcendent reality - the Kingdom of Heaven - to bring justice and compassion to his time and place.
Through Lazarus, Zimler makes the familiar story new and finds fresh meaning and poignancy in the Passion and Crucifixion.