Review for The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ

From the first line the story had me thinking.
The book starts with 'This is the story of Jesus and his brother Christ, of how they were born, of how they lived and of how one of them died. The death of the other is not part of the story'

For those like me, with many years of listening to the Gospels, either at school in 'Divinity' lessons or in a church pew, the story of Jesus is well known. Through continual repetition and priests talking about Christ as 'History' rather than 'Story' with meaning, I have had the sense that Jesus was real and the biblical stories had some basis in fact.

By the device of Jesus having a brother Pullman tells the story of how a level of 'spin' can be used to add interest to the truth of history and end up with a whole that has far more meaning, and meaning that can endure by retelling and eventual documentation.

What did the story mean to you? Please comment.

This story for me is about how writers can add value to what might otherwise might be mundane events.

A lesson for those of us who read the newspaperswhich as they chronicle
the first drafts of history, showing how the spin can replace the description of the real event.

As Pullman says, 'This is a story' it is for the reader to decide what it means.