The story Of Jesus's forty days in the wilderness is surely among the most celebrated and widely diffused narratives in western culture. Why, then, would Jim Crace choose to retell it in strictly naturalistic, non-miracu...The story Of Jesus's forty days in the wilderness is surely among the most celebrated and widely diffused narratives in western culture. Why, then, would Jim Crace choose to retell it in strictly naturalistic, non-miraculous terms? The obvious answer would be that the godless novelist is trying to debunk divinity -- to take the entire new testament down a notch.