Holy Biff! Jesus' Life as a Frat Guy
Written: Sep 25 '03 (Updated Feb 11 '05)
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Pros: Hilarious look at Jesus' lost years of youth.
Cons: If you are a hard-core fanatic, you'll probably be offended.
The Bottom Line: Takes the missing stories of Christ's youth and - from the viewpoint of his best friend - concocts a fanciful and highly amusing fairy tale out of it.
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| martytdx's Full Review: Christopher Moore - Lamb: The Gospel According to ... |
Man, that Jesus guy was a riot when he was a kid. That one time where he met the Yeti - wow, THAT was a roll-on-the-floor laugher if I ever heard one. And the way Biff tells the story, it's-
What? You've never heard the story of Jesus and the Yeti? Who's Biff? You don't KNOW the stories of Jesus' youth? Well, you must not have read Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Jesus' Childhood Pal - and you are missing quite a funny part of Jesus' life.
Seriously, Lamb, written by Christopher Moore, is one of the funniest books that I have read in quite a while. Granted as a recovering Catholic, I might be a little easier to tickle than some, but as soon as I saw the synopsis of this book, I knew that I had to have it. Moore, author of other books such as Practical Demonkeeping and Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story, is a master of satirical storytelling. He takes what is a fairly "hands-off" topic and manages to mimic and even improve on The Simpsons, Mel Brooks' History of the World, Pt. I and Dennis Miller's own satires of this holy man's life (times that are never touched on in the Bible itself).
THE STORY
The story is told by Levi-who-is-called-Biff, Jesus' best friend while they were growing up. It seems that the time has come for "the rest of the story" to be told by the only man who was there from the beginning, resurrected by the archangel Raziel to write his own gospel in a hotel room.
Joshua, as Biff calls him, wasn't always the savior type - he had to grow out of role-playing Moses first. From the time they were kids, Biff tells us of the adventures and misadventures that the two boys encountered while growing up in Nazareth.
"It was late summer and we were playing in a wheat field outside of town when Joshua found a nest of vipers.
'A nest of vipers,' Joshua shouted. The wheat was so tall I couldn't see where he was calling from.
'A pox on your family', I replied.
'No, there's a nest of vipers over here. Really.'
'Oh, I thought you were taunting me. Sorry, a pox off of your family.'
'Come see.'
I crashed through the wheat to find Joshua standing by a pile of stones a farmer had used to mark the boundary of his file. I screamed and backpedaled so quickly that I lost my balance and fell. A knot of snakes writhed at Joshua's feet, skating over his sandals and wrapping themselves around his ankles. 'Joshua, get away from there.'
They won't hurt me. It says so in Isaiah.'
'Just in case they haven't read the Prophets...'"
As they grow older, Josh’s desire to find out who he really is leads the duo out of Nazareth and into the wide world and all of its wonders. Along the way, you get to read such stories as:
Josh and the Yeti
Josh versus the Demon Called Catch
Josh and Biff Meet Buddha
Josh and the Bacon Epiphany and
Josh versus the Indian Gods
I don’t want to give too much away, as the way the story is told, as well as the topics and situations created are as much of the humor as the jokes themselves. Moore is brilliant in creating an imperfect foil to Joshua’s character. As Josh moves from Nazareth to the deserts and on to the Orient in search of the original 3 wise men who has sought him out, he struggles with what it means to be “The Messiah”. Along the way, he – and sometimes Biff – learn valuable lessons that become part of his final message. Whereas Joshua is all good at heart, if there is sin to be had, Biff is always there to keep Joshua pure. Along the way, he discovers much about himself, transcendentalism, harlots and the message Joshua wants to spread to the masses. The two characters play off each other brilliantly, like a Mad About You script gone holier-than-thou.
Moore’s wit and dry humor are the perfect combination for this look at a time that no one really knows about. He extrapolates things that have been hinted at, hypothesizes some original and possible scenarios – and then makes up the rest. As he states in the afterward:
"The book you've just read is a story. I made it up. It is not designed to change anyone's beliefs or worldview, unless after reading it you've decided to be kinder to your fellow humans (which is okay), or you decide you really would like to try to teach yoga to an elephant, in which case, please get videotape.
"I researched Lamb, I really did, but there is no doubt I could have spent decades researching and still managed to be innaccurate. (It's a talent, what can I say?) While I've made some attempt to paint an accurate picture of the world in which Christ lived, I changed things for my own convenience, and sometimes, obviously, there was no way of knowing what conditions really existed in the years 1 through 33."
He doesn’t apologize for the fact that Joshua and Biff aren’t perfect (well, at least Biff wasn’t), and then chooses to give Joshua the temptations and experiences to get a more worldly view – including in respect to religion. Some of the best parts are when he mixes real event and scenarios and puts Josh in them (sort of a biblical Forrest Gump. Joshua becomes a monk, Joshua in India, Joshua on an elephant – all are silly on the face of it – but at the same time amuse because who really knows – and is it SO outlandish to think that he might have explored outside of Judea?
Some of the material can be a little brash and crude. Biff’s pre-occupation with sex offers many hysterical moments, but might be a bit much for some (nothing more graphic than you might find in Monty Python, but when it comes to mixing sex and Jesus, some people are a little squeamish). Similarly, those who aren’t willing to open their minds and accept this as satire possibly won’t enjoy it (I mean, come ON – a yeti?!? How can you take it seriously?)
But through it all, Biff gives us a view of Joshua and his life never shown in the Official Guide to Christ (AKA the New Testament). The blend of factual fiction, hypotheses and pure creativity give His life and times a hilarious slant – all the way to the end.
Lamb is not to be - and was never meant to be - taken seriously. It was written to put a humorous slant on a subject that many people gloss over in an otherwise well-documented and famous life. It is satire, and like most great satire mixes that which is known with just enough fantasy and humor as to make it bigger than real life. Moore's ability to create such a humorous work on the missing years of Jesus/Joshua is brilliant - one of the best of its kind in recent memory.
I haven't read any of his other works, but after reading Lamb, I'll be picking them up soon. Look here for THOSE reviews in the near future. In the meantime, go - I mean RUN - and pick up a copy of this book. Regardless of your religious views, there is a lot that you can learn from Joshua, Biff and that elephant who learned yoga.
[ • related CHRISTOPHER MOORE • ]
Island of the Sequined Love Nun »
A hopeless geek trapped in a cool guy's body goes on a journey of self-discovery, and finds cannibals, talking bats and a Sky Priestess along the way.
Practical Demonkeeping »
A man and his demon visit a small town in California, looking for some peace and a small struggle for the future of all mankind.
Fluke »
Nate Quinn runs into a whale with attitude and a penchant for pastrami on rye - and then things get bizarre.
Recommended:
Yes
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martytdx
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Member: Marty
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 482
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Doing what I can to try new places, restaurants, books and beers.
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