I’m currently reading Lamb by Christopher Moore. It’s the fictional (obviously) story of Biff, Christ’s childhood friend, and it describes the first 30 years of Jesus’ life.
It’s very funny and the story, although possibly blasphemous in a literal sense, isn’t offensive in my view.
The pair travels the world seeking out the Three Wise Men. I’m at the stage where they are in a Buddhist monastery somewhere in the Himalayas.
They head out with the abbot and some other monks on a winter retreat, stopping in a frozen shelter. Jesus and the monks start meditating and generate enough heat in their trance to stay warm. Biff doesn’t have the gift, so he improvises:
At first I arranged the monks in a large pile, trying to keep their elbows and knees out of the eyes and yarbles, out of respect and in the spirit of the infinitely compassionate Buddha and stuff. Although the warmth coming off them was impressive, I found that I could only keep one side of me warm at a time. Soon, by arranging my friends in a circle facing outward, and sitting in the middle, I was able to construct an envelope of comfort that kept the chill at bay. Ideally, I could have used a couple of more monks to stretch over the top of my hut to block the wind, but as the Buddha said, life is suffering and all, so I suffered. After I heated some tea on Number Seven monk’s head and tucked one of the cylinders of rice under Gaspar’s arm (the abbot and wise man) until it was warm, I was able to enjoy a pleasant repast and dropped off to sleep with a full belly.
There are plenty of classic one liners and examples of Jewish humor.
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Twitter: mgorey
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Lamb, is in my opinion, one of the most delightful books I have read in some time.the story of the two young boys coming to terms with what their future must hold for them is complelling reading. As a Catholic, I actually found the thought of Jesus having a friend like Biff and Maggie to be rather comforting.The humour is wonderfully crafted and it would be the easiest book I have read in some time. The story flows and Christopher Moore's writing style invites you in and keeps you there til the very end.I have read this book five times and imagine I will read it at least another 5!
Twitter: mgorey
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Thanks Josh, I agree with that. Having finished the book, I didn't come across anything I thought was in bad taste. Moore presents Jesus as both human and the Son of God with clever humor.
I look forward to reading more of his work.
I just finished reading "Lamb" and I gotta say… I've only read two of Christopher Moore's books so far (ordered a third one tho) and I can honestly say that I hate the endings. I guess it's just the way he likes to end things. When I read the first Moore book (A Dirty Job) I thought that it was just this once that Moore would end things in such an… unlikely manner. But "Lamb", the ending… honestly, did anyone suspect it to end that way? And yes, Moore did warn us that we wouldn't be able to predict what was coming. But I just gotta say, if the ending had been better, like say… Josh and Biff meeting again, the book would have been damn fantastic.
And the day Moore retires is the day my life will end, so, wherever you are, keep 'em coming.
Like Lizzie, I would have liked Biff to meet up with Josh in the end too. But after a little thought on the subject, if Josh had have turned up to see Biff, then that would have been the second coming, probably a good opening for another Moore classic.
I actually wrote to christopher Moore to congratulate him on Lamb and thank him for a wonderful story. I got a reply and have attached to a hard copy of the book.
I have three more of Moore's books. I must say, while they are enjoyable, Lamb is a stand out!!!
cheers