The Last Temptation of Christ.

KAZANTZAKIS, Nikos; Translated by Peter A. Bien.

Item Number: 108761

London: Bruno Cassirer, 1960.

First British edition of this historical novel, basis for the 1988 Academy nominated film. Octavo, original boards. Translated from the original Greek by Peter A. Bien. Signed by the translator on the front free endpaper as follows, “Life on earth means: the sprouting of wings.” Peter Bien Riparius, N.Y. August 15, 2015.” Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Walter Ritchie.

Hailed as a masterpiece by critics worldwide, The Last Temptation of Christ is a monumental reinterpretation of the Gospels that brilliantly fleshes out Christ’s Passion. This literary rendering of the life of Jesus Christ has courted controversy since its publication by depicting a Christ far more human than the one seen in the Bible. He is a figure who is gloriously divine but earthy and human, a man like any other—subject to fear, doubt, and pain. “A searing, soaring, shocking novel: (Time). Basis for the 1988 film directed by Martin Scorsese starring Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, Andre Gregory, Harry Dean Stanton and David Bowie.