Everyone is an Adolescent Sometime! “Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal”
Written: Sep 07 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: incredibly funny and engaging novel. Moore's humor is a treat!
Cons: this book will offend some. Lots of adolescent humor and colorful language.
The Bottom Line: I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. If poking fun at religion is offensive to you, skip this and try one of Moore's other novels.
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| theworm's Full Review: Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Child... |
Usually when I go book shopping, I look for something contemporary and thought- provoking. Recently when I walked into a local bookstore, I bumped into a table of “buy two get one free” books. Always ready for a bargain, I scanned the titles - nothing that I recognized, but several novels by Christopher Moore. Each had a title more outrageous than the last.
Initially, when I picked up “Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal”, I was afraid to buy the book. Obviously it was a humorous book, but when it comes to religion, one person’s humor is another person’s sacrilege. Scanning the first few pages of the novel was enough to convince me that Moore’s humor is smart, so off I went to the check out line.
“Lamb” is a fictional tale of Jesus’ childhood as recounted by his best friend Biff. Little is known of Jesus’ life as a young child and an adolescent, and this novel tries to fill in the blanks in a most humorous fashion. I don’t think that the novel is disrespectful to Judaism or to Christianity, but it most certainly pokes fun at religion and dogma. I can imagine that some religious people will find the humor distasteful and childish. Certainly this book will offend some.
I chose to read this book like I would any other novel. It’s fiction. The fact that it uses Jesus and his life as a launching board into the absurd should not detract from Moore’s incredible sense of humor and attention to detail. This is the story of a young boy. Like most young boys he goes through stages of rebellion. Young Jesus, called Josh in the novel, can be naughty. He uses colorful language. He is curious about sex. Josh is a boy, and while presented to us as the son of God, he remains a normal human boy who struggles with trying to fit in while following the call of greatness.
Moore is incredibly funny, but the attention to biblical detail that he works into his story is sheer genius! Many times I found myself laughing out loud, and reading passages to my husband who would laugh and say “I have to read that book!” While Moore tries to stay true to history and/or bible stories, he peppers his novels with adventures and plot lines that are purely of his imagination. He weaves bible stories with fantasy in a truly artful way. I could share some of the humor from the novel, but I think it is best to allow the reader to enjoy them in context.
There were parts of the book that dragged a bit, but Moore’s short chapters kept the novel moving. I did not particularly like Moore’s storyline leading up to the crucifixion, and to Josh/Jesus persecution, but if I accept the rest of the book as fiction, I must accept the writer’s handling of those events.
This novel is not perfect. It leaves a few unanswered questions and may leave the reader wanting a bit more. Despite that, it kept my attention and entertained me from cover to cover. As a work of humorous fiction, this book is amongst the best, if not the best, that I have read. Truly a laugh out loud rip-roaring good read!
If the thought of poking fun at the life of Jesus offends you, you may opt not to read this novel, but I would suggest you try another of Moore’s novels. He is a gifted humorist, and I plan on adding his other novels to my reading list.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
theworm
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Location: South Florida
Reviews written: 103
Trusted by: 58 members
About Me:
"You get endless second chances to take it one chance at a time" -Kenny Loggins
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