Barabbas

Barabbas is the acquitted; the man whose life was exchanged for that of Jesus of Nazareth, crucified upon the hill of Golgotha. Barabbas is a man condemned to have no god. "Christos Iesus" is carved on the disk suspended from his neck, but he cannot affirm his faith. He cannot pray. He can only say, "I want to believe." "Its power is the power of a parable, with the same timeless echo." -- The New York Times "As a parable, Barabbas is open to many interpretations. As a picture of a human soul, with or without parable, it is moving and convincing." -- Time "Swift, sparing, limpid, and hauntingly intense." -- Atlantic Monthly Par Lagerkvist was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1951. Translated from the Swedish by Alan Blair