vintage religion: sholem asch

"Not the power to remember, but its very opposite, the power to forget, is a necessary condition of our existence..." -- Sholem Asch's The Nazarene

photo courtesy of etsy seller sadieolive

I came across a copy of The Nazarene (1939) and The Apostle (1943), two separate works by the Polish-born American-Jewish novelist Sholem Asch, for sale on Etsy ($18).  I'd completely forgotten about reading The Nazarene back in the early 90s. I'd like to read it again. Here is a review by a reader, Winston Crisp, posted on Amazon. He said it better than I could:

"Just as the reading of Josephus's 'Works' illumined my understanding of, and appreciation for, the Old Testament and the Jewish heritage of my Christian faith, so did reading 'The Nazarene' inform my understanding of 1st century Jewish life, culture, mores and religious practice. Seldom have I felt so utterly absorbed in the world of an author's creation (A possible exception being 'City of Joy'). I'm having a harder time convincing myself Mr. Asch wasn't a first-hand witness to the events he describes than I would convincing myself he was. For 600-odd glorious pages, I was there amidst all the political and spiritual tumult of the times and the confusion and emotional chaos of those grappling with the life and words of Yeshua of Nazareth, both from within and without the Messianic camp. In 'The Nazarene' I didn't read a book, I had a spiritual experience that - once I've had a chance to distill and absorb it - will profoundly affect the way in which I believe and, therefore, live and exercise my faith. I wish there were ten stars."

I am certain that my father not only read this book, but at one time owned a copy. It may be somewhere in a storage unit north of Oklahoma City. This is a book my dad and I had would have enjoyed discussing, and for all I know we did, I just don't remember it. My father and I began a long discussion about literature and poetry in the fall of 1984, when I discovered he disliked Beowulf as much as me.