2nd Review for "Mel Gibson's Passion" Book (Garber)

Back in May, I linked to Mark Goodacre's review of a new book about The Passion of the Christ - "Mel Gibson's Passion: The Film, the Controversy, and Its Implications" edited by Zev Garber. Mark has now posted a link to another review of the same volume by Timothy D. Finlay. Both reviews now sit alongside one another on the Review of Biblical Literature website.

Together, these reviews are testament to the diverse range of approached there are to critiquing a book, particularly a 'dual-substance' work such as this. Mark's review treats the book as a single volume and deals with the various authors' collective faults. Finlay, on the other hand, takes the time to write a brief précis of each individual contribution. Finlay is more positive than Mark, although that is perhaps because summarising all 18 essays only leaves a little space for critical reflection.

Mark has offered some comments on the differences between his review and Finlays:

The review of Mel Gibson's Passion sits alongside my much more negative review of the same book. I received an email from the editor of the collection not long after my review was published suggesting that I did not give the reader a sense of the essayists' articles. My response is that I attempted to characterize the collection as a whole, drawing attention to the common themes and general thrust of the book, at the same time as pointing to the book's difficulties. Finlay's review therefore compliments mine to the extent that he provides a brief summary of each of the essays individually.

The two reviews work well together, although I, personally, find Mark's more interesting to read. And I can't say that Finlay's review makes me any keener to look at Garber's book for myself.