Continuing the extraordinary series of nonfiction novels that Emmanuel Carrère has produced since the beginning of the century, The Kingdom tells the story of early Christianity in the decades after the death of Jesus, as Paul and the apostles spread “the most subversive message in the world’s history”. As ever with Carrère, this is an unabashedly personal take on the world-historic narrative. Its brilliant opening section raises the stakes with an account of the author’s fervent, temporary conversion to Christianity decades ago. An astonished question drives the book: how could a tiny Middle Eastern sect that preached shocking ideas have undermined the Roman empire and attained lasting global power? There are typically exhibitionistic digressions on such subjects as whether the Virgin Mary ever masturbated, and the resonances between web-porn and early Flemish painting. While it lacks the force of Carrère’s magnificent Limonov, and though the interventionist approach can be irksome, The Kingdom is full of riches, impassioned and fanatically honest.

• The Kingdom by Emmanuel Carrère is published by Allen Lane (£20). To order a copy for £17, go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99