From Publishers Weekly
His prodigious output in all literary genres has made Price one of the preeminent men of letters in America. He has, for more than 20 years, studied Koine (common-language) Greek and, while teaching at Duke University, led seminars on the Gospels of Mark and John. Both experiences inform this three-part collection of two "plain translations" of the New Testament texts and an original modern Gospel. In his version, Price uses Mark's chronology and metaphoric details to paint a picture of Jesus as the Son of God who is aware of His mission of blood redemption. The introductions to each section convey Price's enthusiasm for the life of Jesus, insights gleaned from his long study of the scriptures and some of the challenges he faced in bringing these ancient texts to life for contemporary readers. The author's unalloyed love of story and literary invention come across vividly in these crisp translations. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
In A Palpable God (1978), novelist Price (The Promise of Rest, LJ 4/1/95) elegantly translated 30 Bible stories of the encounter between God and humankind. Now, Price has turned his poetic powers to the translation of the gospels of Mark and John and even writes his own gospel. While Price introduces his translation of the canonical gospels with a thorough exploration of the history of criticism of each, his translations are literal, though not wooden, renderings of the Greek manuscripts. For example, in Price's eloquent reading of John 3:16-"For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so all who trusted in him might not be lost but have eternal life"-the verse loses much of the antagonism and exclusivism of traditional translations. These beautiful renderings of the biblical stories that have so influenced the pitch and cadence of his own writing are Price's gifts of gratitude. Highly recommended.Henry Carrigan Jr., Westerville P.L., OhioCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The New York Times Book Review, Robert Alter
... the stylistic integrity of the tale is finely respected.


From Booklist
Esteemed novelist Price's abiding interest in the Bible as literature bears luscious fruit in his translations of the Gospels of Mark and John and in his own apocryphal gospel. His translations are the result of years of study of the form of classical Greek in which the Gospels were originally written and are underscored by Price's perception that "Jesus of Nazareth was a man above all else, merciful and welcoming." His prefaces to the translations overshadow the translated texts themselves. Each preface is a beautifully expressed commentary on what the reader is told in Mark and John and what is left out, the identities of Mark and John, how these two individuals knew what they knew of Jesus' life and career, where they wrote their accounts, and the particular nature of Jesus and God as represented in each narrative. Although there is so much to appreciate in these commentaries and in the translated texts, the best part of the book--the icing on the cake--is left to last: Price's own joyously written account of Jesus' life, based on all four Gospels, other early documents pertaining to Jesus, and Price's copious reading of the products of others' scholarly research. Not all admirers of Price's fiction will want to read his latest book; on the other hand, for readers unfamiliar with him but interested in biblical literature, it will provide an excellent introduction to his storytelling brilliance. Brad Hooper


From Kirkus Reviews
Price, a prolific man of letters (A Whole New Life, 1994; The Promise of Rest, 1995, etc.), offers us a fine new translation of the Gospels according to Mark and John, and Price's own account of the life of Jesus, along with four lengthy introductory essays in which he explains his purpose and method. Forget that you ever read a Gospel or heard of Jesus. Read the texts afresh, in a new and relatively literal translation, and listen. This, Price explains, rather than yet another liturgical or ``official'' version, is his hope for his readers. He tells us that his starting point is literary: he sees the Gospels as stories that have exerted an unequaled pull on human minds. His translations are deliberately conservative, in that they stick closely to the original Greek and avoid paraphrase. The Word in John's Prologue ``became flesh and tented among us''; to sin is to ``go wrong''; to have faith is ``to trust.'' Price's English has a rugged, plain quality, lacking either archaism or an affected use of modern idiom, except for contractions: e.g. ``So they're no longer two but one. Thus what God yoked man must not divide.'' Price heightens the stark quality of his prose by a very sparing use of punctuation, arguing that the ancient manuscripts have none at all, although he is clearly motivated by his belief that minimal punctuation makes for a ``clean'' style and elicits attentive reading. His attempt to compose a Gospel of his own is a harmony of the canonical four with additions from unorthodox apocryphal sources. In the essays preceding each section, Price tells us a little about what the Gospels mean to him and how he approaches them. He displays a good working knowledge of Greek and a grasp of the complexities of current New Testament scholarship, much of which, in his capacity as a seasoned critic, he finds absurdly agnostic. Both linguistically and spiritually stimulating. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In Three Gospels, Reynolds Price returns to the central story on which he has concentrated through thirty years of study, teaching, and translation - the fourfold account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, an observant Jew who taught, healed, and died obscurely in a small province of the Roman empire during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius Caesar. Bypassing the Gospels of Matthew and Luke as secondary, Price revises his earlier translation of the breakneck and vivid Gospel of Mark (the oldest gospel); he provides a literal but startlingly eloquent translation of the Gospel of John (the gospel derived from apparent eyewitness); and he adds an entirely new gospel of his own, "An Honest Account of a Memorable Life." This new gospel, like the whole of the volume, is grounded meticulously in the earliest known historical and theological evidence; and it aims to render the highest possible contemporary justice to the acts and teachings of Jesus. To introduce his translations - closer to the original Greek than perhaps any other translations - Price has provided richly informative prefaces that probe the strategies and the inexplicable originality of the two prime gospel writers; and in a preface to his own gospel, he offers insight into his reasons for creating a modern gospel and his own restrained methods for proceeding.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

His prodigious output in all literary genres has made Price one of the preeminent men of letters in America. He has, for more than 20 years, studied Koine (common-language) Greek and, while teaching at Duke University, led seminars on the Gospels of Mark and John. Both experiences inform this three-part collection of two "plain translations" of the New Testament texts and an original modern Gospel. In his version, Price uses Mark's chronology and metaphoric details to paint a picture of Jesus as the Son of God who is aware of His mission of blood redemption. The introductions to each section convey Price's enthusiasm for the life of Jesus, insights gleaned from his long study of the scriptures and some of the challenges he faced in bringing these ancient texts to life for contemporary readers. The author's unalloyed love of story and literary invention come across vividly in these crisp translations. (May)

Library Journal

In A Palpable God (1978), novelist Price (The Promise of Rest, LJ 4/1/95) elegantly translated 30 Bible stories of the encounter between God and humankind. Now, Price has turned his poetic powers to the translation of the gospels of Mark and John and even writes his own gospel. While Price introduces his translation of the canonical gospels with a thorough exploration of the history of criticism of each, his translations are literal, though not wooden, renderings of the Greek manuscripts. For example, in Price's eloquent reading of John 3:16-"For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so all who trusted in him might not be lost but have eternal life"-the verse loses much of the antagonism and exclusivism of traditional translations. These beautiful renderings of the biblical stories that have so influenced the pitch and cadence of his own writing are Price's gifts of gratitude. Highly recommended.-Henry Carrigan Jr., Westerville P.L., Ohio

Kirkus Reviews

Price, a prolific man of letters (A Whole New Life, 1994; The Promise of Rest, 1995, etc.), offers us a fine new translation of the Gospels according to Mark and John, and Price's own account of the life of Jesus, along with four lengthy introductory essays in which he explains his purpose and method.

Forget that you ever read a Gospel or heard of Jesus. Read the texts afresh, in a new and relatively literal translation, and listen. This, Price explains, rather than yet another liturgical or "official" version, is his hope for his readers. He tells us that his starting point is literary: he sees the Gospels as stories that have exerted an unequaled pull on human minds. His translations are deliberately conservative, in that they stick closely to the original Greek and avoid paraphrase. The Word in John's Prologue "became flesh and tented among us"; to sin is to "go wrong"; to have faith is "to trust." Price's English has a rugged, plain quality, lacking either archaism or an affected use of modern idiom, except for contractions: e.g. "So they're no longer two but one. Thus what God yoked man must not divide." Price heightens the stark quality of his prose by a very sparing use of punctuation, arguing that the ancient manuscripts have none at all, although he is clearly motivated by his belief that minimal punctuation makes for a "clean" style and elicits attentive reading. His attempt to compose a Gospel of his own is a harmony of the canonical four with additions from unorthodox apocryphal sources. In the essays preceding each section, Price tells us a little about what the Gospels mean to him and how he approaches them. He displays a good working knowledge of Greek and a grasp of the complexities of current New Testament scholarship, much of which, in his capacity as a seasoned critic, he finds absurdly agnostic.

Both linguistically and spiritually stimulating.