Michael Senft of Relentless Reading (And Writing About It!) provides a retro review of Michael Moorcock’s legendary and controversial novella “Behold the Man,” which was reprinted in The Very Best of Michael Moorcock.

And writing like this prompts plenty of questions from the reader. Glogauer is not a religious person, instead he struggles to find existential meaning in Jung and balance that with the diverse faiths he was exposed to as a child. He also struggles with homosexuality and a bit of a masochistic messiah complex — in short, he’s a psychologist’s dream.

There is also a question of what is truth within Behold the Man. Glogauer is determined to recreate the truth behind the gospels, yet the events described never happen in his world. Where do the stories come from? Is Glogauer the true messiah, or is this another archetype he is simply reenacting? If it is believed as the truth by millions throughout the ages, is it really a lie?

An intriguing and thought-provoking examination of faith, myth and Truth.

Read the rest of Senft’s review at Relentless Reading (And Writing About It!).

For more about The Very Best of Michael Moorcock, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Ann Monn