Behold the Man

by Michael Moorcock

One of Moorcock's earlier works, I picked this novel up primarily because of its brevity (I was looking for a quick read) and, almost just as importantly, its intriguing premise.

Behold the Man is all about Karl Glogauer's life-long search for God and Christ, and his sense of disconnection from the rest of the world. The style is rather disjointed and fluctuates between tenses and perspectives (first-person versus third-person), and the story is told in non-chronological fragments. This is actually a very good technique; it puts an additional emphasis on the continual mental turmoil of the anti-hero (because calling him a protagonist doesn't really ring true) and keeps the reader on their toes.

Oh, I didn't mention the time-travel element yet, did I? That's where the science fiction comes in, of course - and, really, the 'here and now' part of the story all happens in the far past. In the first century, to be exact. The flashbacks to Glogauer's past are the buildup to what finally drives him to travel back in time in the first place. His search for Christ completely consumes him, and lo and behold, the man suddenly finds himself stranded in a strange land with the messiah nowhere to be found.

Are you interested yet? You should be. This is a rather bleak read, but that's what makes it so very delicious.

I have a few more words to say, but they're mostly about the ending. Nothing that would act as a spoiler, but if you want to be absolutely certain, I suggest you take your leave now and come read the rest of this review when you've digested the book.


The ending was so unexpected, so short, and so bleak that I found myself merely blinking at the last lines for a full minute, unable to truly comprehend that this was all Moorcock would give me. As someone who likes resolution, I almost find myself refusing to accept those last two sentences; as a masochist and someone who delights in the freedom of speculation, however... I love it.

Not to mention my own uncertain relationship with any sort of religion, especially - as the dominating one in the (Western) world - Christianity.


/ [Linderel]

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