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   Summary and Book Reviews

Lamb: Summary and book reviews of Lamb by Christopher Moore, plus links to an excerpt from Lamb and a biography of Christopher Moore.

Lamb

Lamb
The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
by Christopher Moore
Hardcover: Feb 2002,
408 pages.
Paperback: Feb 2003,
256 pages.

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Critics' Opinion:   good
Readers' Rating:  Five Stars
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BOOK SUMMARY

The birth of Jesus has been well chronicled, as have his glorious teachings, acts, and divine sacrifice after his thirtieth birthday. But no one knows about the early life of the Son of God, the missing years -- except Biff.

Ever since the day when he came upon six-year-old Joshua of Nazareth resurrecting lizards in the village square, Levi bar Alphaeus, called "Biff," had the distinction of being the Messiah's best bud. That's why the angel Raziel has resurrected Biff from the dust of Jerusalem and brought him to America to write a new gospel, one that tells the real, untold story. Meanwhile, Raziel will order pizza, watch the WWF on TV, and aspire to become Spider-Man.

Verily, the story Biff has to tell is a miraculous one, filled with remarkable journeys, magic, healings, kung-fu, corpse reanimations, demons, and hot babes -- whose considerable charms fall to Biff to sample, since Josh is forbidden the pleasures of the flesh. (There are worse things than having a best friend who is chaste and a chick magnet!) And, of course, there is danger at every turn, since a young man struggling to understand his godhood, who is incapable of violence or telling anything less than the truth, is certain to piss some people off. Luckily Biff is a whiz at lying and cheating -- which helps get his divine pal and him out of more than one jam. And while Josh's great deeds and mission of peace will ultimately change the world, Biff is no slouch himself, blessing humanity with enduring contributions of his own, like sarcasm and café latte. Even the considerable wiles and devotion of the Savior's pal may not be enough to divert Joshua from his tragic destiny. But there's no one who loves Josh more -- except maybe "Maggie," Mary of Magdala -- and Biff isn't about to let his extraordinary pal suffer and ascend without a fight.

Lamb is the crowning achievement of Christopher Moore's storied career: fresh, wild, audacious, divinely hilarious, yet heartfelt, poignant, and alive, with a surprising reverence. Let there be rejoicing unto the world! Christopher Moore is come -- to bring truth, light, and big yuks to fans old and new with the Greatest Story Never Told!

BOOK REVIEWS

Media Reviews

Average  Kirkus Reviews
The style is a bizarre mix of serious and sometimes brutal historical fiction laced with black humor, wordplay, in-jokes, and sharp one-liners worthy of a good stand-up comedian. Sometimes it all works well, and sometimes the jokes seem strained. Interesting, original, not for every taste.

Average  Publishers Weekly
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.

Good  Booklist - John Green
Although many will find something offensive in this novel, which pokes fun at every major religious tradition that existed in the first century, they will find it simply impossible not to laugh.

Good  Philadelphia Inquirer
Moore’s storytelling style is reminiscent of Vonnegut and Douglas Adams.

Very Good  Rocky Mountain News
An instant classic...terrific, funny and poignant.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Mariner
Good as it gets
This is probably the fist book that has ever made me laugh out loud to the point of tears. I couldn't get enough of it. I honestly feel sorry for those people here that call his jokes "strained" or "frat boy". They should stop...   Read More

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Meg
what a book
I don't know where to got that kind of sense of humor, keep it up I have read the book 4 times already.

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