The Fire Gospel.(Brief article)(Book review)

In Faber's novel, a Canadian linguist is visiting an Iraqi museum when the place blows up. A bas-relief cracks open, revealing nine papyrus scrolls, which turn out to be the Gospel of Malchus, a man mentioned only once in the New Testament, when his ear is cut off by Peter in Gethsemane. Unlike other recently discovered early Christian testimonies, this one is not of an especially lofty character: Malchus seems as interested in his own troubles ("My innards make noises when all else is ...