As a teenager I read and loved Lloyd Douglas's books about Jesus, The Robe and The Big Fisherman. When I say these books are about Jesus I mean they were set in Jesus' day, and he appears in them. The Robe centres on the commander of the soldiers who are on duty at his crucifixion, while The Big Fisherman takes its title from the apostle Peter who is its main character. Douglas, a devout Christian, did not attempt to portray Jesus in much detail. Even in the story of Peter he is a distant, mysterious figure, unimpressive at first sight but profoundly affecting on closer encounter. What motivates Jesus, what his inner thoughts are, what struggles he undergoes, remain a mystery. Jesus in these stories is not a person, he is a presence, known almost exclusively by his influence on others. Jim Crace, whose other novels have been mentioned in this blog before, has no such reserve. As far as I know he doesn't follow any Christian faith and if he does this novel does
'Contemplating the teeming life of the shore, we have an uneasy sense of the communication of some universal truth that lies just beyond our grasp.' - Rachel Carson