Final Testament of the Holy Bible [Hardcover]

The Rabbis say that all the signs are there from the birth of Ben Zion Avrohom that he is the Messiah. That's a lot of anyone to cope with and, like Jesus, there's much of Ben's early life that is untold here. When he is involved in an horrific accident on a building site that he miraculously survives, albeit with terrible scaring, the prophecies appear to be true. He develops a form of epilepsy during which he appears to speak to God. He is fluent in ancient languages despite never learning them, knows all the Holy books by heart and yet distains all forms of religion, instead spreading his message of love to all who meet him in modern day New York.

As a rule, I believe a book should be judged solely on it's own merits without reference to the person who wrote it. Yet the publishers fill the cover blurb with statements about Frey himself. He has, we are told himself been called a "saviour. A revolutionary, A genius" as well as "a liar. A cheat, A con man". To a British reader, the furore surrounding Frey seems a bit overblown but the fact remains that he comes with a lot of "baggage". Since the publishers concentrate on this, it is perhaps on, this occasion, worth considering the background to the book.

In the UK we don't place such faith in the supreme being and judge of all that is good. By that, of course, I mean Oprah! In 2003 Frey wrote an `autobiography'. It was very good. Oprah loved it. Then it was revealed that some of the `facts' were at least a little stretched. Oprah got mad. Publishers dropped Frey and he became something of a pariah, branded a liar and who knows what else. The fact that Frey is a gifted and interesting writer was worth nothing it seemed. That's the gist of the background. Presumably taking the line that "you may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb" Frey here turns his focus on the lamb that is the Holy Lamb of God and has a pop at religious beliefs in general. Again, in the UK, we are less subject to the Christian Right power, but even so, Frey is no longer afraid of controversy although perhaps the conceit that he knows what it is to suffer for his art like Jesus did is a little nauseating.

So, is the book any good? Well, in parts, yes it is. However, let me qualify that slightly by saying that at least some of strong religious beliefs will find something to offend them here, if not in the story itself, which features a Messiah who practices free love with both men and women, then in the layout which is all justified hard left to look, well, like a Bible or other Holy book. The Good Friday publishing date adds fuel to the fire. He also pretty much distains all religious belief, although he tends to focus on Christianity and avoids Islam, perhaps on legal advice? If that's likely to offend, then my advice would be to avoid it. Then there's the fairly fruity language that pervades passages - Matthew (yes chapters are named after the characters who speak them, including Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Ruth, ... well you get the idea) is particularly given to the f-word.

I approached the book expecting to either love or hate it but in fact, I never hated it and indeed I started off by loving it. The different narrators for each chapter to tell the story is carried off with aplomb and I remain of the view that Frey is a talented writer. Personally, I was never offended by the central argument, but that will depend on your own belief system. But what I did find, which was unexpected, was that by around half way through, it actually started to bore me. Judith's chapter, an over-weight and unloved woman who becomes a follower, and which in fact has one of the largest page counts, was by far the least interesting.

The reason for this is that his Messiah, Ben's solution is that we should all just love one another and, if possible have sex with one another and then it will all be OK or if not, at least we'll have had a good time in the process. That's hardly a new position (no pun intended) to take. The 1960s anyone? John Lennon? It ends up as being little more than a hippy manifesto and apart from the fact that he appears to glow, has strange epileptic episodes and survived a bad accident, there's little to suggest why people would listen to Gentle Ben.

I loved the idea of each chapter told from different people's perspectives (we never get Ben's). But there's too much of a whole at the centre in the form of Ben. Yes, fans of Richard Dawkins may well appreciate the denouncing of organised religion but Ben doesn't suggest anything terribly radical or inspiring as an alternative. All he has are some liberal beliefs, which to be fair to Frey, might be more controversial in the US than in the UK.

The publisher's concentration on the so-called traits of the man (Frey) are what we tend to focus on rather than the message. I suspect it's all part of the point. Frey is nothing if not highly intelligent and he has a strong sense of self and understanding of the power of publicity. It's tempting to quote Monty Python at this point and say that "he's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy", but while Frey is clearly having fun with his naughty image, the fact remains that he is a genuinely innovative and talented writer. I just wished he had more to say.

While I was a sobbing mess at My Friend Leonard, and a huge fan of Frey's work - I, too, was chomping at the bit to get his new novel. There is no denying this man, Frey, is a superbly talented writer. While his newest novel may not be for everyone, it is still well-written, gripping at times, entertaining and ultimately thought-provoking. If this is your first Frey, do start and read his novels in order, beginning with "A Million Little Pieces". Then and only then can you appreciate the phenomenal writing of Frey. Well done James.

I couldn't wait for this book to come out, considering that Frey's "Bright Shiny Morning (P.S.)" is one of my very few all-time favorite books. I ordered both the $50 leather-bound book and the $10 Kindle edition because I wanted to have the story with me wherever I went; to read it whenever I wanted; to savor it whenever I needed.

Well, it didn't quite pan out that way.

My anticipation was met with a colossal disappointment at the third-rate writing (absolutely uncharacteristic of Frey's, by the way,) embarrassingly indulgent themes, underdeveloped characters (another very odd thing coming from Frey) and overtly preachy agenda. I thought the idea behind the book was brilliant (i.e. love conquers all and organized religion is the source of all evil) but the execution was painfully lacking.

The story is about Ben Zion Avrohom, whom Frey goes to explain, is "also known as Ben Jones, also known as the Prophet, also known as the Son, also known as the Messiah, also known as the Lord God."

Throughout the book, "Ben Jones" reminded me a lot of Jim Jones of Jonestown. It was very disturbing. But I digress...

The book is divided into 16 small chapters, each of which is the story of Ben told from the perspective of a distinct character that meets Ben and is changed by him. There are 12 characters, analogues to the 12 apostles in the Bible, and one of them narrates three chapters.

Amongst the colorful (yet sadly austere and underdeveloped,) narrating characters are a Dominican prostitute, a construction supervisor, an ER surgeon, Ben's sister, Ben's mother, a born-again homosexual Christian evangelical, a rabbi, a derelict, an FBI agent, an evangelical pastor, a priest, an obese white woman from upstate NY, and a Black Public Defender. There is also a recurring character that doesn't narrate and that is Ben's brother, Jacob.

Ben himself didn't have a chapter, although I'm sure there was plenty of writing materials in NYC, where he hung out.

Anyway ...

Through the eyes of this eclectic group of people we get to learn what Ben thinks of government, religion, money, the Gods, Jesus, race, sex, homosexuality, all sexuality, abortion, death, Heaven, Hell, guns, drugs, and of course, the Holy Bible and the Words of God.

It sounds all great in theory, but the way it was written was, in a way, insulting. Not in a blasphemous sort of way, but in an intellectual sort of way. Maybe Frey wanted to book to be so banal to poke fun at the Holy Bible? I'll never know. All I know is it didn't work for me.

The long and short of it is this: God wants us to live and act on all our desires and needs and "love" and engage in orgies because in the end ... LOVE IS RELIGION.

I think Frey should have focused more on his writing and his characters rather than the design of the book, which by the way is beautiful. If you're a James Frey fan, you will either love this book or really hate it. If you don't know who James Frey is or haven't read any of his books, run for your life. Read "Bright Shiny Morning (P.S.)" instead.

If you do decide to get the book, get the eBook edition first just to make sure you like it. If you love it, buy the leather-bound, Bible look-alike edition. Great for collectors.

I'll give the book this, though. It had the most appropriate title. Because very much like the Bible (old and new), The Koran and all the other "holy" books, it is a waste of paper and ink and a crime against the environment.

I guess "skip it" would be my recommendation.

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