Customer Reviews

The Robe

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What a great find, I remember loving the movie when I was a young girl. This was a wonderful way to tell the story of Jesus, after the crucifiction and through the eyes of the people he had lived with and taught and healed, and a good reminder of what the Christian religion is truly about.

Marcellus and Demetrius were wonderful heros, I adored Diana, hated the evil Roman Emporers and thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself into the life and times of that era. I noticed some other reviewers claimed there were historical inaccuracies in the book which distracted them from enjoying it as much as I did. Not knowing enough about the various rulers of those times I can't comment on that, except that since the book was written in 1945 perhaps the known history was different than what is available now.

The book is quickest in pace at the beginning and the end, with a large slower period in the middle while Marcellus travels through Israel learning about the life of Jesus. However, I enjoyed the slower pace and reminder of the many wonderful things that happened at this time.

All in all a great read and highly recommended, with the caveat that if you are an agnostic or of non-christian faiths you might not appreciate it as well. Also a good choice for a younger teen reader, as you won't find the abundant gratuitous sex that you find in more current novels.

The Robe probably has transcended its original scope of reconstructing the life of Jesus and his stamping on the mind of many about the coming of his new kingdom. Douglas has not only added new touch and sentiment to the story of Jesus, but also invigorated the historical period a skein of unforgettable characters whose lives were touched and thus inevitably changed their lives by Jesus' teaching.

It might be difficult to conceive that Marcellus Gallio, son of a prestigious Senator and a Tribune; Diana, the granddaughter of the Emperor Tiberias; and Demetrius, the Greek slave from Corinth, to believe Jesus' miracles and his resurrection. Lloyd Douglas has written truly a religious classic, one whose appeal is not limited to a particular time or a particular place, through the delineation of the characters' own struggle to cross that arbitrary line beyond which the credibility should go. .

Marcellus was a Roman soldier who by a fortuity executed Jesus' crucifixion and subsequently won Jesus' robe as a gambling prize. The robe symbolized his crime, the crime of recklessly crucifying an innocent man who exhausted him life in advocating love, kindness, and goodwill. The memory of the crucifixion, had been an interminable torture that plunged Marcellus into a deep melancholy. Demetrius could never tell when his master was hit by a capricious seizure that sent sweat streaming his face.

The robe miraculously healed the inconsolable Marcellus as he touched it. From there Marcellus set off on a quest to seek the truth about the robe and the Nazarene who claimed to own his kingdom somewhere not in the world. Testimony about Jesus' miraculous power, which to a large extent agrees with my nostalgic memories from the bible, had been cumulative and that it had been coming at Marcellus from all directions. Jesus' teachings and the marks he left on those whose lives changed had penetrated Marcellus' skeptical mind and descended in him a sense of duty and mission. He had killed this man who had spent his life doing kind things for needy people, and the only way he could square up for it was to spend his life like Jesus did.

It dawned on Marcellus that a thorough understanding of Jesus and his teachings required faith and surrender rather than a recondite knowledge. This point bespeaks the minds of modern-day Christians who involuntarily proceed to push the intrusive concept away no matter how convincing the evidences of supernatural power in the miracles are. His slave Demetrius, who had been inebriated by Jesus long before his master, had such an indomitable faith in the truth of Jesus' resurrection though his master had vaunted his frustration and indignation over him.

Quest for the robe also accents the beauty of a master-slave relationship. Demetrius' life had become so inextricably related to the life of Marcellus that his freedom, if it was offered him, indeed by the Senator as he was to take Marcellus to Athens, might cost him more in companionship than it was worth in liberty of action. When offered his freedom, Demetrius magnanimously denied it at the peril of his master's recovery. The witty slave also directed to have Marcellus disguised as a fabric connoisseur in order to penetrate inconspicuously into Galilee to capture wind of the savior. It was not surprising to see that the whole quest for the robe made the master-slave relationship difficult to sustain.

Ancient Rome against which the book sets accents the significance and validity of men's faith. The quest for the mysterious truth allowed Marcellus to take on a different perspective with the world, especially Rome with which he felt so out of place. He began to despise its injustice, to pity its tragic unhappiness, and to shun the avarice of the influential ones. Marcellus felt his own obligation to associate with a movement that the Government had outlawed, had labeled seditionists, and unflinchingly preached the word to everyone. He embarked on the defense of a good cause Jesus started and had yet to finish.

2004 (10)

The first time I read this book, I was about 12 years old and really loved it. At the time I was a regular church goer. Today, many years later, my religious views have become much weaker and I am no longer a regular church goer. However. I still love this book. It is the story of a young Roman and his slave who search for the truth about Christ. The hero, Marcellus had been ordered to crucify Christ and had felt that
he had crucified an innocent man. He and his slave gradually
come to believe in Christ and have to suffer because of it.
This book is extremely well written and difficult to put down.
I highly recommend it regardless of your religious beliefs. It will teach you a great deal about the Christian movement and
about life in the 1st century. My only qualm about the book is
that Mr. Douglas does take some liberties with history. For
instance,Julia had been exiled before Tiberius became emperor and her son Gaius was long dead.

I enjoyed this book immensely and recommend it. The book was overall well written and had a well developed plot. I would recommend this book to people, like myself, of faith. The Robe, being based on and around the time of Jesus' birth, life and death, provided me insight into what might have happened during this time period. Although, the book doesn't give in-depth details of the actual events surrounding Jesus' life and death, it provides an interpretation of the events from both a believer and non-believers point of view.

This is a very, very good book. It does two things at once. It teaches people about historical evnets, and it also is a story about people who go through trials trying to find answers their looking for. It's a good book for someone who likes their history, but who also enjoys a touch of romance. I feel that this is a good learning and teaching tool.

Douglas has two characters living in Rome in the reign of Tiberius: a "Prince Gaius" and Caligula, the future emperor. At first I was puzzled as to who this Gaius was, or why Douglas felt the need to introduce such a fictional character - - until I realized that he obviously wasn't aware that they are the same person! Caligula ("little boot") was Gaius's nickname. My impression is that Douglas read the main ancient sources, Tacitus's "Annals" and Suetonius's "Lives of the Caesars". Tacitus refers to Caligula as "Gaius" throughout, but the the part of his work dealing with his reign is lost. So Douglas apparently did not realize that the "Gaius" playing a crucial role in the last years of Tiberius's reign was the same person as the later emperor Caligula.

Sorry, but if Douglas can't get right something as basic as *that*, then I really can't take seriously any of his claims of having conducted a serious historical research.

From this point of view, the movie is actually much better.

Indeed this is, without a doubt, one of the best books ever written. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make your heart sing, it will strengthen your faith and give you the encouragement that life is really worth living--and even giving up--if you know the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone I have lent this book to cannot believe how good it is, and they say, "No wonder Becca says it is one of her favorites!" because it's now one of theirs too!

I found The Robe to be the most wonderful book about not only the life of Christ, but the surrounding people and how His miracles changed them. Marcellus is a young Tribune who runs across the story of Jesus, and meets several people who have been affected by His life. Marcellus searches for the truth and must soon make a life-changing decision. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to see Christ's miracles through a new perspective, or just simply what it was like to live as a Christian around 32 A.D. Wonderful insight into the past and VERY dramatic ending!

I read this book recently. The Robe inspired me to serve my fellow man and to be a true Christian. Lloyd C. Douglas tells the tale of a Roman soldier who becomes the owner of Jesus Christ's robe, the robe changes his life. Douglas is a very gifted writer, so many charictors, so many plots...
GOOD BOOK!

Admittedly, I am not in any shape or form a Christian; I am an atheist. Reader of this review please bear that in mind as to not be mislead. (I am assuming the reader knows the general plot).

'The Robe' is an unequaled expression (discounting only Kipling's 'If') of what a hero is (whether Christian or not); to adhere to this unambiguous warning of Jesus: "Those who try to gain their life will lose it, and those who try to lose their life will gain it."
Prior to his metamorphosis Marcellus was presented as an honorable but sometimes tactless man, such as the burtst of ill-timed joviality lands him in a dead-end job(literally). We read on about his noncondescending, kind regard for his slave Demetry and his fearless will to bring discipline to a chaotic environment.
But it is after his conversion that we see the full three-dimensionality of Marcellus. His compulsion to travel and seek out fellow believers where ever they may be was like hearing about lost dog in search of home. What made this all the more beuatiful was that his motivation was tried to be rationalized. You can't rationalize desire. It's just there and we must accept it. Marcellus had the God given motivation to be among other believers so that he may learn, not for any kind of moral exhibitionism.
He leaves his Father's home and cleaves onto the church with all his life. Amazingly, it was with little effort that he did this. Through the long journey's and the confrontations we find a man unshaken by what the world has to offer. His focus on Jesus prevents his being distracted to worldy concerns.
Particlularly observant was the remark bout Herod willing to cheat any impoverished man out of his humlest belongings yet willing to suck up to any Roman surperior. Not that the book was meant to be used as an historical reference, but as statement that a man can only be what he believes. Herod, holding other crooks and cheats to be his ideal, becomes nothing more than a cantakorous old man living only to prey on his next victim; Marcellus seems to achieved some type of Nirvana in is quest for christ. It is a pleasure to shre it with him, even for a few hundred pages.