Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal: 09/25/06

All of Christopher Moore's books take place in the same universe so that characters can appear in very different types of stories. In this book, the cross-over character is a demon named Catch. Raziel later shows up in Pine Cove in The Stupidest Angel but I haven't read that book yet so stayed tuned for a post later this week or early next week when I have finally read the book.

Given that all of the characters exist in the same universe, one would expect to either like all of the books or none of the books. In my case, I've so far liked all of the books, though some more than others. So far my least favorite two books have been Bloodsucking Fiends because San Francisco didn't seem right (but later did in A Dirty Job) and now Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal because seventeen years of experimenting with different religions is boring.

I realize that the point of the book is what did Christ do during those years that aren't included in the New Testament but having now suffered through Biff's version, I can see why. I tried to stay interested through the bit with Balthasar but after he and Catch were sorted out things go down hill fast. At least the last hundred pages go back to the best part of the book, namely Joshua and Biff interacting with other characters from the New Testament. One saving grace of the book is the epilogue. I'm happy to see that Biff got his reunion.

Here is my BookCrossing review:

I normally love Christopher Moore's books but I found Lamb a chore to read. The story was at its best when Biff and Joshua were with the folks mentioned in the New Testament but the middle third where they go in search of the "divine spark" aka "holy ghost" in the far east, the story stops being interesting. It just seems to degrade into one bawdy joke after another. The only bright bit of this interlude is the appearance of Catch (the demon introduced in Practical Demonkeeping.

Comments (2)
Steps: 3500

Comment #1: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 21:39:52

Cass

Lamb was my second forray into Christopher Moore's work (after Fool) and I think there may have been an added benefit in listening to the audio. The narrator is fantastic and makes Biff a lot more charming than he might have been otherwise.

Comment #2: Friday, November 20, 2009 at 10:35:13

Pussreboots

It's been three years since I read the book but I remember liking Biff in the book. The middle bit with their travels to the far east though stretched on too long for my tastes. It didn't seem as tight as the beginning and end.