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While the Bible may be the word of God, transcribed by divinely inspired men, it does not provide a full (or even partial) account of the life of Jesus Christ. Lucky for us that Christopher Moore presents a funny, lighthearted satire of the life of Christ--from his childhood days up to his crucifixion--in Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. This clever novel is surely blasphemy to some, but to others it's a coming-of-age story of the highest order.
Joshua (a.k.a. Jesus) knows he is unique and quite alone in his calling, but what exactly does his Father want of him? Taking liberties with ancient history, Moore works up an adventure tale as Biff and Joshua seek out the three wise men so that Joshua can better understand what he is supposed to do as Messiah. Biff, a capable sinner, tags along and gives Joshua ample opportunities to know the failings and weaknesses of being truly human. With a wit similar to Douglas Adams, Moore pulls no punches: a young Biff has the hots for Joshua's mom, Mary, which doesn't amuse Josh much: "Don't let anyone ever tell you that the Prince of Peace never struck anyone." And the origin of the Easter Bunny is explained as a drunken Jesus gushes his affection for bunnies, declaring, "Henceforth and from now on, I decree that whenever something bad happens to me, there shall be bunnies around."
One small problem with the narrative is that Biff and Joshua often do not have distinct voices. A larger difficulty is that as the tone becomes more somber with Joshua's life drawing to its inevitable close, the one-liners, though not as numerous, seem forced. True to form, Lamb keeps the story of Joshua light, even after its darkest moments. --Michael Ferch --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
A childhood pal of the savior is brought back from the dead to fill in the missing 30-year "gap" in the Gospels in Moore's latest, an over-the-top festival of sophomoric humor that stretches a very thin though entertaining conceit far past the breaking point. The action starts in modern America, specifically in a room at the Hyatt in St. Louis, where the angel who shepherds "Levi who is called Biff" has to put Christ's outrageous sidekick under de facto house arrest to get him to complete his task. Moore (Bloodsucking Fiends) gets style points for his wild imagination as Biff recalls his journey with Jesus dubbed Joshua here according to the Greek translation into and out of the clutches of Balthasar, then into a Buddhist monastery in China and finally off to India, where they dabble in the spiritual and erotic aspects of Hinduism. The author gets more serious in his climax, offering a relatively straightforward, heartfelt account of the Passion and Christ's final days that includes an intriguing spin on how the Resurrection might have happened. The Buddhist and Hindu subplots seem designed to point out the absurdity and excesses of religious customs, but none of the characters are especially memorable, and eventually both plot and characters give way to Biff's nightclub patter. As imaginative as some of this material is, the sacrilegious aspects are far less offensive than Moore's inability to rein in his relentless desire to titillate, and his penchant for ribald, frat-boy humor becomes more annoying as the book progresses. Moore has tapped into organized religion for laughs before, but this isn't one of his better efforts. Agent, Nick Ellison. Author tour.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Three great books,
By Expert on having a good time (Upper Maine) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (Paperback)
Of the three books I've recently read, Christopher Moore's "Lamb" was one of the best. I also enjoyed McCrae's "Katzenjammer" and the Tom Robbins novel "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues." If you haven't read any of these book, do so now as you will love them, that is, if you like to laugh.Warning: Those who find their beliefs sacred and are easily offended will not warm to Moore's account of the untold part of Jesus's life. Yet this is a lighthearted book about Christ and his growing up period. If I may, this is the coming of age equivalent of Catcher in the Rye, only about Jesus. This book fills in the thirty year period that we know nothing about--Jesus's life in that period. It just may not fill it in the way you'd expect. There are a couple of subplots in this novel, dealing with Budhism and Hinduism, and this is a novel of the absurd. If you're looking for reality here, go someplace else. I recommend this novel along with Tom Robbin's "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" and McCrae's "Katzenjammer" which are two other "absurdist" novels that will keep you smiling. Great fun and not a wasted word in sight.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life, lizards and longings,
By Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (Paperback)
A beautifully conceived and rendered story of what one man's youth might have wrought. True or not, the narrative of Joshua of Nazareth is one of the world's most influential in history. Moore proposes that the "lost years" of Joshua's early life would have been recorded but for an unexpected event. The chronicler died suddenly. Resurrected in modern times, Levi bar Alphaeus, or "Biff" from the sound of his mother clouting him, is commanded to create the fifth Gospel. Sequestered in a St Louis hotel room with an angel who, shall we say, lacks "street smarts", Biff recounts the life he and Joshua spent as boys and young men.Joshua, in his early years, discovers strange powers. We meet him resurrecting the lizards his brother kills. It's a strange ability, although Biff accepts it more readily than does Joshua himself. As the years pass, Joshua becomes increasingly aware of his divine origins. He's frustrated by his inability to understand why he has this role. There are limitations he cannot understand - "no women!". Biff struggles to take up the slack in that aspect as they begin a pilgrimage. Joshua wants to find the "wise men" who visited the manger at his birth. They spend almost two decades in Afghanistan, Tibet and India studying. Along the way, we learn that many thinkers have developed the idea of the "Golden Rule". Loving your neighbour is the aim many philosophers wish to impart - if they could but understand how. Biff thinks he knows how - love as many women as willingly cross his path. He loves Joshua's mother as only a "neighbour kid" knows how. His real love, however, is "Maggie". Through all his liaisons in far lands, Levi's longing for Mary of Magdalene never fades away. That her own love is reserved for Joshua is an impediment, but cannot quench his continuing ardour. Even daily lessons in the Kama Sutra aren't sufficient to drive Maggie from his mind. Joshua, comfortable in the awareness of Maggie's love, remains celibate - with a twist only Moore could devise. Don't enter this story thinking that because you know the ending, you're not going to encounter anything new. How valid, even stripping this tale of the fantastic, could Moore's narrative be? His own statement at end of the book exposes the historical void in Joshua's history. Challengers to Christianity's divine roots have long questioned how a manifestation of a deity could disappear for a generation. How unique is Joshua's philosophy of global forgiveness? Could he indeed have learned these tenets outside Roman Palestine? Biff reveals [again!] throughout this book the forces Joshua had to contend with in bringing a new teaching to a community overburdened with a legalist religious tradition. Moore has done a superb job in presenting a human being invested with divine powers. It's not a sinecure. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
5.0 out of 5 stars
Refreshing and Funny,
By Mark Hill (St-Hubert, Quebec Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (Paperback)
It took me a long time to discover Moore, but I'm glad I did. From start to finish this is an easy read with plenty of humour and life.
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