I just finished Christopher Moore's LAMB: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. Veeery interesting. It's a witty fictional tale about the missing years of Christ's life from his birth in a manger to his reappearance as a 30 year old, narrated by his best friend Levi, also known as Biff.The story is full of sarcasm, irony and LOL twists on biblical references. But a funny thing happens about 1/3 of the way in: the humour begins to ride a current of resounding depth. The comedy, present in practically every paragraph, serves to unmask an certain insightfulness as the son of God learns about humankind, God's will and his own tragic legacy. Biff is the perfect foil for the serious-minded Messiah, yet in some ways, because he is allowed to succumb to the wordly pleasures his best friend is denied, becomes the smarter, more savvy of the two.
I highly recommend this book, but be warned; it will make you laugh,... and think!
My confession? I just went through my bookshelf looking for the shortest, easiest read I could find! Though LAMB was only 430 odd pages (give or take), the printing was really small and it was the large kind of paperback (can't remember the correct name for those,... anyone??), and even though it was packaged as a comedy, I didn't find it 'light' reading. I mean, come-on... we all know how THAT story ends, don't we? Hardly a HEA!! (Well, for some, I guess it could be looked at that way...)
So now I seek a breezy bit of fluff that won't take anymore than 5-6 hours to a feel-good finish.
