Author: Christopher Quarles

Title: Book of III

Genre: Religion / Philosophy

This enigmatic volume presents the reader with a new way to interpret the Bible, Revelations, and the Two Witnesses who are supposed to appear at the end of the world. It offers itself as the code to understanding God’s Word and how “the III” interact with humanity, discussing the rapture, God’s law, and Islam alongside claims of who Jesus is and why God allows evil things to happen to good people.

The author makes a variety of bold claims, though his exact stance on what the purpose of the book is seems to vary, especially as the last Coda suggests that this is a work of art and not necessarily the divinely-inspired revelation discussed throughout the rest of the pages, leaving readers the opportunity to thoughtfully examine what they’ve read and make their own opinions about it.

The book is punctuated with a story about a Japanese couple who encounter Christ, either through the witness of someone they know or by reading “The Book of III,” and this narrative helps move the book forward, adding to the symbolic and non-literal nature of the volume while illustrating the author’s point and how one could be united with God, having his mind and being Jesus on earth, in a way that perhaps the Biblical Jesus never was and yet is through his followers.

The book is divided up into something the author calls “curtumns,” though these divisions can take place in the middle of sentences. This could be intentional, the author arranging it to show that no one curtumn truly stands by itself, but it could add to the difficulty of navigating the text. There are moments where the author seems to repeat himself, saying that readers will need to encounter these claims over and over to believe them and understand them, but this can make the book feel a bit tedious, and the author’s typically longer sentence structure can add to this feeling.

The author seems aware that his book presents a remarkable vision, and he shares his own personal history and doubts to show that he doesn’t take his task of sharing such information with his readers lightly. He suggests that the book is for everyone, though he acknowledges that not everyone will respond to it and seems to feel that this represents the choosing of God.

The book could use further editing polish, as one section is duplicated exactly, word-for-word right after itself, and the punctuation and grammar could be brought to a more standardized level. The author frequently uses obscure words or phrasing, and while this can align this work more with the ancient writings of prophets of old, it can also make it harder to understand just what he is trying to say, obscuring what is already a complex message.

Readers looking for a mentally—and spiritually—challenging work will enjoy this book as it stretches their current perceptions and offers a chance to analyze what one believes. The writing is rigorous and surprisingly free from judgment as the author slowly unveils more and more information and “decoding”, giving readers a chance to be immersed in the revelation and truly embrace their relationship with “the III,” however they envision such a relationship to look like.

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