Christ as Son and Brother: Jesus in Christos Tsiolkas’ Damascus

Christos Tsiolkas’ Damascus is a work of historical fiction that brings the early Christian movement to life in ways that resonate with contemporary Australia. Central to this project is Tsiolkas’ portrayal of the fervour, shape, and diversity of early convictions about Christ. By drawing attention to the motif of Jesus as ‘son and brother’ and to the novel’s contrast between the perspectives of the apostles Paul and Thomas, the chapter argues that the eschatological convictions of Tsiolkas’ imagined Paul, focused on Jesus’ death, resurrection, and return, prompt consideration of the possibility of political and social change. In ways that are consistent with Tsiolkas’ earlier fiction and that evoke the work of Patrick White, Damascus creates ‘an imaginary world that resonates with the reality the reader inhabits’.