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{{Short description|1969 novel by Michael Moorcock}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
{{Infobox book<!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name = Behold the Man
| name = Behold the Man
| image = Behold the man.jpg
| image = Behold the man (Moorcock novel - cover art).jpg
| caption = Dust-jacket from the first edition
| caption = Dust-jacket from the hardback first edition.
| author = [[Michael Moorcock]]
| author = [[Michael Moorcock]]
| illustrator =
| illustrator =
| cover_artist = Gabi Nasemann
| cover_artist = Gabi Nasemann
| country = United Kingdom
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| language = English
| genre = [[Science fiction novel]]
| genre = [[Science fiction]]<br>[[Existentialism]]
| publisher = Allison & Busby
| publisher = [[Allison & Busby]]
| series = ''Karl Glogauer''
| release_date = 1969
| release_date = {{start date and age|1969}}
| media_type = Print (hardback & paperback)
| media_type = Print (hardback & paperback)
| pages = 144 pp
| isbn = 0-85031-004-0
| pages = 144
| isbn = 0-85031-004-0
| dewey= 823/.9/14
| dewey = 823/.9/14
| congress= PZ4.M8185 Be PR6063.O59
| congress = PZ4.M8185 Be PR6063.O59
| oclc= 47258
| oclc = 47258
| followed_by = [[Breakfast in the Ruins]]
}}
}}
'''''Behold the Man''''' (1969) is a science fiction novel by [[Michael Moorcock]]. It originally appeared as a novella in a 1966 issue of ''[[New Worlds (magazine)|New Worlds]]''; later, Moorcock produced an expanded version which was first published in 1969 by [[Allison & Busby]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eclipse.co.uk/sweetdespise/moorcock/bib/novels/btm.html|title=Michael Moorcock Bibliography: Behold the Man|author=Ian Davey|accessdate=24 May 2006}}</ref> The title derives from the [[Gospel of John]], Chapter 19, Verse 5: "Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And [[Pontius Pilate|Pilate]] said to them [[Ecce homo|Behold the Man]]."
'''''Behold the Man''''' is a [[Existentialism|existentialist]] [[science fiction]] novel by British writer [[Michael Moorcock]]. It originally appeared as a [[novella]] in a 1966 issue of ''[[New Worlds (magazine)|New Worlds]]'' magazine; later, Moorcock produced an expanded version that was first published in 1969 by [[Allison & Busby]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eclipse.co.uk/sweetdespise/moorcock/bib/novels/btm.html|title=Michael Moorcock Bibliography: Behold the Man|author=Ian Davey|access-date=24 May 2006}}</ref> (one of the first books published by the company).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.firstandfine.com/product/moorcock-michael-1969-behold-the-man-uk-signed-and-inscribed-first-edition-association-copy/|title=Moorcock, Michael (1969) 'Behold the Man', UK signed and inscribed first edition association copy|website=First and Fine|access-date=21 January 2023}}</ref> The title derives from [[John 19]], Verse 5, in the [[New Testament]]: "Then Jesus came out, wearing the [[crown of thorns]] and the purple robe. And [[Pontius Pilate|Pilate]] said to them [[Ecce homo|Behold the Man]]".


In the novel, Moorcock weaves an [[Existentialism|existentialist]] tale about [[Karl Glogauer]], a man who travels from the year 1970 in a [[Time travel|time machine]] to 28 AD, where he hopes to meet the historical [[Jesus Christ|Jesus of Nazareth]].
In the novel, Moorcock weaves an [[Existentialism|existentialist]] tale about Karl Glogauer, a man who travels from the year 1970 in a time machine to 28 AD, where he hopes to meet the historical [[Jesus Christ|Jesus of Nazareth]]. A sequel, ''[[Breakfast in the Ruins]]'', was published in 1972.


== Plot summary ==
== Plot summary ==
The story begins with Karl's violent arrival in the Holy Land of AD 28, where his time machine, a womb-like, fluid-filled sphere, cracks open and becomes useless. By interpolating numerous memories and flashbacks, Moorcock tells the parallel story of Karl's troubled past in 20th century London, and tries to explain why he's willing to risk everything to meet Jesus. We learn that Karl has chronic problems with women, homosexual tendencies, an interest in the ideas of [[Carl Jung|Jung]], and many [[neurosis|neuroses]], including a [[messiah complex]].
The story begins with Karl's violent arrival in the [[Holy Land]] of AD 28, where his time machine, a womb-like, fluid-filled sphere, cracks open and becomes useless. In numerous interpolated memories and flashbacks, Moorcock tells the parallel story of Karl's troubled past in 20th century London, to explain why he is willing to risk everything to meet Jesus. Karl has chronic problems with women, homosexual tendencies, an interest in the ideas of [[Carl Jung|Jung]], and many [[neurosis|neuroses]], including a [[messiah complex]].


Karl, badly injured during his journey, crawls halfway out of the time machine, then faints. [[John the Baptist]] and a group of [[Essenes]] find him there, and take him back to their community, where they care for him for some time. Since the Essenes witnessed his miraculous arrival in the time machine, John decides Karl must be a [[magus]], and asks him to help lead a revolt against the occupying [[Ancient Rome|Romans]]. When he asks Karl to baptise him, however, the latter panics and flees into the desert, where he wanders alone, hallucinating from heat and thirst.
Karl, badly injured during his journey, crawls halfway out of the time machine, then faints. [[John the Baptist]] and a group of [[Essenes]] find him there, and take him back to their community, where they care for him for some time. Since the Essenes witnessed his miraculous arrival in the time machine, John decides Karl must be a [[magus]], and asks him to help lead a revolt against the occupying [[Ancient Rome|Romans]]. When he asks Karl to baptise him, however, the latter panics and flees into the desert, where he wanders alone, hallucinating from heat and thirst.


He then makes his way to [[Nazareth]] in search of Jesus. When he finds [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]] and [[Saint Joseph|Joseph]], Mary turns out to be little more than a whore, and Joseph, a bitter old man, sneers openly at her claim to have been impregnated by an angel. Worse, their child Jesus is a profoundly [[Intellectual disability|intellectually disabled]] [[hunchback]] who incessantly repeats the only word he knows: ''Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.'' Karl, however, is so deeply committed to the idea of a real, historical Jesus that, at this point, he himself begins to step into the role, gathering followers, repeating what [[parable]]s he can recall, and using psychological tricks to simulate miracles. When there's no food, he shows the people how to pretend to eat to take their minds off their hunger; when he encounters illness caused by [[hysteria]], he cures it. Gradually, it becomes known that his name is Jesus of Nazareth.
He then makes his way to [[Nazareth]] in search of Jesus. When he finds [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]] and [[Saint Joseph|Joseph]], Mary turns out to be little more than a whore, and Joseph, a bitter old man, sneers openly at her claim to have been impregnated by an angel. Worse, their child Jesus is a profoundly [[Intellectual disability|intellectually disabled]] [[hunchback]] who incessantly repeats the only word he knows: ''Jesus, Jesus, Jesus''. Karl, however, is so deeply committed to the idea of a real, historical Jesus that, at this point, he himself begins to step into the role, gathering followers - carefully choosing ones whose names are identical with those attested in the Gospels, repeating what [[parable]]s he can recall, and using psychological tricks to simulate miracles. When there's no food, he shows the people how to pretend to eat to take their minds off their hunger; when he encounters illness caused by [[hysteria]], he cures it. Gradually, it becomes known that his name is Jesus of Nazareth.


In the end, determined to live the story of Jesus to its decidedly bitter end, he orders a puzzled [[Judas Iscariot|Judas]] to betray him to the Romans, and [[crucifixion|dies on the cross]]. His last, agonised words, however, are not ''Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani'', but the phonetically similar English ''it's a lie ... it's a lie ... it's a lie ...''
In the end, determined to live the story of Jesus to its decidedly bitter end, he orders a puzzled [[Judas Iscariot|Judas]] to betray him to the Romans, and [[crucifixion|dies on the cross]]. His last, agonized words, however, are not ''[[Sayings of Jesus on the cross#4. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?|Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani]]'', but the phonetically similar English "''it's a lie ... it's a lie ... it's a lie ...''"


After Karl's death on the cross, the body is stolen by a doctor who believed the body had magical properties, leading to rumours that he did not die. The doctor is disappointed when the body begins to rot as any normal human would.
After Karl's death on the cross, the body is stolen by a doctor who believed the body had magical properties, leading to rumours that he did not die. The doctor is disappointed when the body begins to rot as any normal human would.


== References to other Moorcock works ==
== References in other Moorcock works ==
[[Karl Glogauer]], in a slightly different incarnation, is the lead character in ''[[Breakfast in the Ruins]]''. In ''[[The Dancers at the End of Time]]'', a similar time machine is used, which reveals that if a time traveller dies in the past, he is violently thrust back to the future, thus explaining Glogauer's reappearance. Moorcock refers to this phenomenon as the "Morphail Effect" in ''[[The Dancers at the End of Time]]''
Karl Glogauer, in a slightly different incarnation, is the lead character in Moorcock's 1972 novel ''[[Breakfast in the Ruins]]'' - in the course of which he experiences no less than 17 additional incarnations, at various key moments of 20th-century history. In his series ''[[The Dancers at the End of Time]]'', a similar time machine is used, which reveals that if a time traveller dies in the past, he is violently thrust back to the future, thus explaining Glogauer's reappearance. Moorcock refers to this phenomenon as the "Morphail Effect" in ''The Dancers at the End of Time''.


[[Image:New worlds 166.jpg|thumb|The issue of ''[[New Worlds (magazine)|New Worlds]]'' containing the original novella]]
[[Image:New worlds 166.jpg|thumb|The issue of ''[[New Worlds (magazine)|New Worlds]]'' containing the original novella.]]


==Awards and nominations==
==Awards and nominations==
''Behold the Man'', in its short form, won the [[Nebula Award]] for best novella in 1967.<ref>http://www.sfwa.org/archive/awards/archive/pastwin.htm</ref>
''Behold the Man'', in its short form, won the [[Nebula Award for Best Novella]] in 1967.<ref>[http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-award-winners-1965-2000/ "Nebula Award Winners: 1965 – 2011"], SFWA.</ref>

== Selected editions ==
* [[Allison & Busby]], London, UK, hardback, 1969, {{ISBN|0-85031-004-0}}
* Mayflower, UK, paperback, 1970, {{ISBN|0-583-11787-2}}
* [[Avon (publisher)#Early history (1941–1971)|Avon]], US, paperback, 1970; reprinted 1972 reprint
* [[Fontana Books|Fontana]], UK, paperback, 1980, {{ISBN|0-00-615344-5}}
* [[Grafton (publisher)|Grafton]], UK, paperback, 1986, {{ISBN|0-583-11787-2}}


==Footnotes ==
==Footnotes ==
Line 47: Line 57:


==References==
==References==
*{{cite web|title=Moorcock's Miscellany|url=http://www.multiverse.org/imagehive/v/bookcovers/books/mikebooks/btm/|access-date=14 December 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071105115647/http://www.multiverse.org/imagehive/v/bookcovers/books/mikebooks/btm/|archive-date=5 November 2007|df=dmy}}
*{{cite web
*{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Moorcock's Miscellany
| work =
| publisher =
| date =
| url = http://www.multiverse.org/imagehive/v/bookcovers/books/mikebooks/btm/
| format =
| doi =
| accessdate = 14 December 2007 }}
*{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Internet Speculative Fiction Database
| title = Internet Speculative Fiction Database
| work =
| publisher =
| date =
| url = http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?BHLDTHMNPG1969
| url = http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?BHLDTHMNPG1969
| access-date = 14 December 2007 }}
| format =
| doi =
| accessdate = 14 December 2007 }}


== External links ==
== External links ==
*{{isfdb title|id=7879|title=Behold the Man}}
*{{ISFDB title|id=7879|title=Behold the Man}}

{{Michael Moorcock}}
{{Michael Moorcock}}
{{Nebula Award Best Novella 1965-1980}}
{{Nebula Award Best Novella 1965-1980}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Behold The Man}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Behold The Man}}
[[Category:Novels by Michael Moorcock]]
[[Category:Novels by Michael Moorcock]]
[[Category:1966 novels]]
[[Category:1966 British novels]]
[[Category:1969 novels]]
[[Category:1969 British novels]]
[[Category:1966 science fiction novels]]
[[Category:1969 science fiction novels]]
[[Category:Allison and Busby books]]
[[Category:British science fiction novels]]
[[Category:British science fiction novels]]
[[Category:1960s science fiction novels]]
[[Category:Fiction about Christianity]]
[[Category:Novelistic portrayals of Jesus]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of John the Baptist]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of John the Baptist]]
[[Category:Time travel novels]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Mary, mother of Jesus]]
[[Category:Works originally published in New Worlds (magazine)]]
[[Category:Nebula Award for Best Novella-winning works]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Mary (mother of Jesus)]]
[[Category:Religion in fiction]]
[[Category:Religion in science fiction]]
[[Category:Existentialist novels]]
[[Category:Existentialist novels]]
[[Category:Nebula Award for Best Novella–winning works]]
[[Category:Novelistic portrayals of Jesus]]
[[Category:Novels about time travel]]
[[Category:Religion in science fiction]]
[[Category:Works originally published in New Worlds (magazine)]]

Latest revision as of 22:16, 30 October 2024

Behold the Man
Dust-jacket from the hardback first edition.
AuthorMichael Moorcock
Cover artistGabi Nasemann
LanguageEnglish
SeriesKarl Glogauer
GenreScience fiction
Existentialism
PublisherAllison & Busby
Publication date
1969; 55 years ago (1969)
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages144
ISBN0-85031-004-0
OCLC47258
823/.9/14
LC ClassPZ4.M8185 Be PR6063.O59
Followed byBreakfast in the Ruins 

Behold the Man is a existentialist science fiction novel by British writer Michael Moorcock. It originally appeared as a novella in a 1966 issue of New Worlds magazine; later, Moorcock produced an expanded version that was first published in 1969 by Allison & Busby[1] (one of the first books published by the company).[2] The title derives from John 19, Verse 5, in the New Testament: "Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them Behold the Man".

In the novel, Moorcock weaves an existentialist tale about Karl Glogauer, a man who travels from the year 1970 in a time machine to 28 AD, where he hopes to meet the historical Jesus of Nazareth. A sequel, Breakfast in the Ruins, was published in 1972.

Plot summary

[edit]

The story begins with Karl's violent arrival in the Holy Land of AD 28, where his time machine, a womb-like, fluid-filled sphere, cracks open and becomes useless. In numerous interpolated memories and flashbacks, Moorcock tells the parallel story of Karl's troubled past in 20th century London, to explain why he is willing to risk everything to meet Jesus. Karl has chronic problems with women, homosexual tendencies, an interest in the ideas of Jung, and many neuroses, including a messiah complex.

Karl, badly injured during his journey, crawls halfway out of the time machine, then faints. John the Baptist and a group of Essenes find him there, and take him back to their community, where they care for him for some time. Since the Essenes witnessed his miraculous arrival in the time machine, John decides Karl must be a magus, and asks him to help lead a revolt against the occupying Romans. When he asks Karl to baptise him, however, the latter panics and flees into the desert, where he wanders alone, hallucinating from heat and thirst.

He then makes his way to Nazareth in search of Jesus. When he finds Mary and Joseph, Mary turns out to be little more than a whore, and Joseph, a bitter old man, sneers openly at her claim to have been impregnated by an angel. Worse, their child Jesus is a profoundly intellectually disabled hunchback who incessantly repeats the only word he knows: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Karl, however, is so deeply committed to the idea of a real, historical Jesus that, at this point, he himself begins to step into the role, gathering followers - carefully choosing ones whose names are identical with those attested in the Gospels, repeating what parables he can recall, and using psychological tricks to simulate miracles. When there's no food, he shows the people how to pretend to eat to take their minds off their hunger; when he encounters illness caused by hysteria, he cures it. Gradually, it becomes known that his name is Jesus of Nazareth.

In the end, determined to live the story of Jesus to its decidedly bitter end, he orders a puzzled Judas to betray him to the Romans, and dies on the cross. His last, agonized words, however, are not Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani, but the phonetically similar English "it's a lie ... it's a lie ... it's a lie ..."

After Karl's death on the cross, the body is stolen by a doctor who believed the body had magical properties, leading to rumours that he did not die. The doctor is disappointed when the body begins to rot as any normal human would.

References in other Moorcock works

[edit]

Karl Glogauer, in a slightly different incarnation, is the lead character in Moorcock's 1972 novel Breakfast in the Ruins - in the course of which he experiences no less than 17 additional incarnations, at various key moments of 20th-century history. In his series The Dancers at the End of Time, a similar time machine is used, which reveals that if a time traveller dies in the past, he is violently thrust back to the future, thus explaining Glogauer's reappearance. Moorcock refers to this phenomenon as the "Morphail Effect" in The Dancers at the End of Time.

The issue of New Worlds containing the original novella.

Awards and nominations

[edit]

Behold the Man, in its short form, won the Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1967.[3]

Selected editions

[edit]

Footnotes

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]