- Opening pages
- Chapter I
- Chapter XI

A NOVEL THAT ELUCIDATES
THE GNOSTIC WORLDVIEW
IN A CLEAR AND COMPELLING NARRATIVE


      This is the tale of the Gnostic Christ, based on the ancient sources. In a compelling narrative, L. Caruana seamlessly weaves over 1500 sayings from the Nag Hammadi texts to recount The Hidden Passion of the Gnostic savior.
      Wandering round Galilee, increasingly hailed as the Messiah of the Five Seals, the Gnostic savior preaches divine awakening through compassion. But he must still contend with Judas, his dark twin, and Magdalene, his promised bride. At once earthly and spiritual, the Nazarene's love for these two is finally transfigured into a higher, hidden passion.
      Each page of this novel rings with the authentic message of the lost gospels. By combining numerous narrative fragments from the Nag Hammadi texts, The Hidden Passion makes the Gnostic Gospels come alive!
      Complete with a map, diagram and glossary, this novel elucidates the Gnostic worldview in an eloquent, engaging narrative...
THE AUTHOR

      L. Caruana is an artist and writer living in Paris. He holds a Philosophy degree in Hermeneutics (the study of Biblical Interpretation) and is the author of Enter Through the Image: The Ancient Image-Language of Myth, Art and Dreams, also published by Recluse.
      From his studio in the Bastille quarter, he edits The Visionary Revue while exhibiting his works throughout Europe.
      See LCaruana.com and VisionaryRevue.com
SPECIAL FEATURES
      - Preface and Afterword by the author
      - Map of Palestine at the time of Christ
      - Diagram of the Gnostic Cosmos
      - Glossary of Gnostic Terms


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A GLOSSARY OF GNOSTIC TERMS


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- Paperback
- 447 pages
- First edition
- Recluse Publishing 2007
- Size: 5.5" x 8" x 1"
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- ISBN 10 - 0-9782637-0-7
- ISBN 13 - 978-0-9782637-0-6
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       ...ON AIR - A LIVELY PODCAST ON THE HIDDEN PASSION!
       AEON BYTE, the weekly Gnostic radio show, conducted an in depth interview with author L. Caruan on his new novel, The Hidden Passion.
       Click directly on interview for a 10 minute excerpt.
       To download the entire podcast, select Program 95 at The Digital Shop of TheGodAboveGod.com. (Select What would the Ministry of the Gnostic Jesus look like? under 'Gnosticism Proper').


       ...Read the Reviews from Amazon.com

A WONDERFUL SURPRISE
- By Jesse H. Gross (Missoula, MT) - December 3, 2009

I have to say that this book is a work of genius. Mr. Caruana did an unbelievable amount of research to pull this story off in such a magnificent manner.

I am always suspect of authors who write on gnosticism, as it is often times merely a cover for their new age or feminist agenda. However, this book is none of that. It goes strait to the heart of gnosticism.

Mr. Caruana weaves a truly beautiful tale of Christ and the disciples around the texts of the Nag Hammadi Library. The character development and use of visionary sequences displays a true depth of understanding of the gnostic gospels and the communities from which they came.

This is a book which should be read at least twice by someone who is interested in the subject. Once before they read the Nag Hammadi Library as an introduction to the material, and at least once after so the reader may appreciate the material even more.


OF GNOSTIC NOVELS
- Benjamin D. Steele (Iowa City, IA) - February 18, 2009

I've checked out other novels supposedly based on Gnosticism. They never seem worth reading. Many writers about Gnosticism have idiosyncratic agendas, trying to project their own ideas back onto an ancient religion.

I took a chance on this book and have been more than satisfied. He is a good writer and I feel he gets at the heart of Gnosticism. I really appreciate that he quotes so thoroughly from Gnostic texts and brings those quotes alive with his storytelling.

I've found it very difficult to get into many of the Gnostic scriptures. Much of the meaning has been lost to the past, but there is a core message to Gnosticism that can still be understood even now. I've been reading this book while referencing the texts he quotes. It gives a deeper experience to both the novel and the Gnostic texts.

I think even someone who hadn't read any Gnostic texts could still enjoy this book. I suspect this might even be a good introduction to Gnosticism. It's certainly more accessible than many of the scholarly books on the subject. Anyways, it's an entertaining story... as long as you don't mind thinking deeply about heretical ideas.

This book isn't the easiest to review. In certain ways, it has some similarities to other novels even though the technique of stringing direct quotes together with narrative is inventive. He writes about this technique in his Preface. He was forced to use short quotes because of copyright laws. I was shocked that one isn't allowed to freely quote ancient scripture. What has become of the world!?! With appropriate irony, the author says: "If Matthew and Luke were to publish their gospels today, Mark would surely sue them for copyright violation..."

Anywho, let me mention the similar novels that come to my mind.

The obvious comparison is the novel The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis. The similarity is that Jesus doesn't immediately realize the role he is to play. I like this way of portraying Jesus because it makes him more human and hence more real.

The other novel I'm reminded of is Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. The relationship between Siddhartha and his friend Govinda is somewhat like that between Jesus and Judas in this novel. The relationship serves the purpose of showing divergent paths as alternative choices.