The good man Jesus and the scoundrel Christ

You have to approach this book with an open mind. It's a total retelling of the Gospels and is entirely subversive. What is interesting is how it raises questions about the truth of the Gospels, and ends with a critique of the church. This is not surprising given Pullman's leanings, but it's certainly interesting to see how he uses the idea that recorded history is always never the truth as a plot device. Not a book for the conservative Christian. It's probably better that you first read the Gospels to get the most out of it.