I just got done reading The Breath of God, by Jeffery Small.
It's a fascinating look at the idea that Jesus traveled in India during his late teens and into his 20's. I love the idea that Saint Issa (Jesus) studied Buddhism, Hinduism, etc., which in turn would lead to his teachings - founding Christianity.
It's well written - unfortunately as a novel, rather than as a non-fiction. As such it is constrained by the rules that govern the novel, the need to have a dramatic story line, the main character(s) in peril, the bad guy(s) being truly evil, etc. But it's written well enough that the drama doesn't obscure the main idea, and that is the strength of the book.
I read it downloaded to my Kindle app on my laptop. I was amused to note that a number of passages in the book, those that convey essential Buddhist tenets, are highlighted. Not sure if this was by the author, by the publisher, or someone else along the supply chain. But this, in my view, only seemed to emphasize the books strength, its ability to convey the spiritual nature of the main character's quest.
In the story, the main characters, Grant and Kristin. During the story Grant is transformed from secular researcher in comparative religions, to a spiritual path (read, Buddhist). Kristin is transformed from a rather cynical journalist into a similar spiritual path.
The novel does have a fair amount of sex and violence (more violence than sex) in it, which somewhat detracts from the main message. Unfortunately, that's necessary in the current world of the novelist. In a novel, you have to have good guys and bad guys, the very polarity of good and evil that Buddhism seeks to transcend. Yet, I thought that this story handled that problem very well.
Unfortunately, the bad guys in this story are mainstream Christians, of which I am one (well, sort of). It does portray fundamentalists, especially, in a rather negative light.
I've read other books, especially by Evangelical Christian authors who do the exact same thing in reverse, portraying eastern spiritual believers in a negative light, with a negative agenda, while the solitary heroic Christian good guy has to save the day. (Strangely, Christian novels have very little sex in them. Go figure.)
The main message of the book, that spirituality is the intent of religion, and that an overburden of ritual and rules gets in the way of the way of the relationship between God and each of us. Ultimately, as Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is within". Each of us has the God-spark of life, the Atman, within. It is a little spark of soul, a little piece of the Holy Spirit within each of us. By focusing on that, living in the present moment, focusing on what's happening now, rather than on the past or the future, we can be truly happy.
I won't give away the end of the novel, except to say that it has a bit of a surprise ending. That surprise ending ties the book together in a unique and unexpected way. To understand that statement, you will simply have to read the book.
What I most truly loved about the book was the way it conveyed the teachings through the action of the characters. And that, it does well.
