 |
| 'Behold the Man' by Michael Moorcock (published by Gollancz, 1999) |
On the face of it, I rather liked this story. It's about myth and myth making, how the mundane can become the magical and, above all, how belief in something better or higher than ourselves could be something we need as human beings. In particular, it examines the conflict between Atheism and the need to believe on a personal level. These are issues which are as pertinent today as they were in the 1960s, perhaps more so as Atheism goes from strength to strength, apparently ignoring why people feel the need to believe in the first place.
The book did annoy me a bit though and not through any fault of the author. The blurb on the back pretty much told you the whole plot, which was a shame because it may have been easier to relate to Karl as a character if we shared his journey with him. It made me feel a bit like I was waiting for Karl to catch up with me rather than taking in the story properly, so I think I will be re-reading it just to make sure I've not missed anything.
That said, a word of warning - there's a lot of sex in this book considering its size! It's a shortcut to tell you about Karl's moral framework and highlight how confused he is (we see him as obsessive teenager, feckless lover, wandering lothario and indifferent bisexual), but it's not everyone's cup of tea. It was probably incredibly shocking when the book was first published in 1969, but times have changed and most of us can tell the difference between what's there to shock and what's there to make a point.
On the whole, 'Behold the Man' is an engaging curiosity which will probably remain a relevant read for a while to come.
Now, what next..!
