Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal - Christopher Moore

Published: 2002
Pages: 506

 

I will never, ever, get to the end of my tbr list, because by the time I have finished reading a book I have uncovered five more to add. You know how it is. Because of this, it is not unusual for a book I am very excited to read to be forgotten in the depths of the pile, only to by pulled out by the passing word of a fellow book lover. This happened to me this week when Kyla mentioned that she was thoroughly enjoying her current read, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore.

“Hey! I wanted to read that. I have it around here somewhere!” I cried. And so I went digging and the pair of us settled down with our respective copies to enjoy and, when she’s done, discuss the book.

I had not read anything by Christopher Moore prior to Lamb, and, though intrigued by the concept of this book, knew little of it beyond its basic premise. And such, I was not prepared for just how humorous the novel would be – I believe that I alarmed more than a few people with my public outbursts of hilarity.

Lamb, as implied by the title, is narrated by the character Biff (or Levi, called Biff), the best friend of the young Christ. He is not, perhaps, the most obvious choose for the best friend of the messiah, being the self-acclaimed inventor of sarcasm and somewhat of a sex fiend, but his heart is good and his loyalty strong. It is through Bif’s eyes that we witness the youth and adolescence of Christ, from when the pair meet at the age of six, through their travels and learnings, the banding together of the apostles, right through to the crucifixion.

I think, perhaps, that I had just the right level of biblical knowledge to thoroughly enjoy this book – just enough to realise and understand all the references, but not enough to have grown up with a strong knowledge that would prevent me from picking up this somewhat cheeky tale in the first place. This is not, I would think, a book for everyone, and yet despite this, I would applaud Moore for walking that fine line between irreverence and respect – because for all the humour and sarcasm of the novel, I do consider it to be, at its core, respectful to the message of the bible.

I enjoyed Lamb immensely – for its humour, for its clever interweaving of stories, and for its respectful translation of the morals and lessons of the bible. As I said above, I’m sure this is not a book for everyone, and I would love to hear from those of you who have read this book and who may have a differing opinion. Come chat to me in the comments below.

Christmas Tales

Let it Snow John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle
published 2008; 352 pages

It was the night before Christmas.

Well to be precise, it was the afternoon before Christmas. But before I take you into the beating heart of the action, let’s get one thing out of the way. I know from experience that if it comes up later, it will distract you so much that you won’t be able to concentrate on anything else I tell you.

My name is Jubilee Dougal. Take a moment and let it sink in. (1)

This seems to be my month for short stories; Let it Snow is a collection of three interconnecting Christmas stories – novellas, actually. What I enjoyed most about the format of this book is that the small details from one story, interesting but inconsequential, become critical plot points in later stories.

Author John Green (Looking for Alaska), Maureen Johnson (13 Little Blue Envelopes), and Lauren Myracle (TTYL) set their stories during a blizzard in a small town. Their individual voices work well together – so much so that it wouldn’t take a lot to convince me that all three were written by the same author (a book like James Roy’s Town).

I’ll admit that I picked this book up simply because I’m a John Green fan (very much so), but the book as a whole was fabulous, and I’ll definitely be looking out for books by both Myracle and Johnson. All three authors weave together romance and humour in an entirely charming way. These are characters whom you might have known in your own youth. 4/5

Challenges

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Won-der Wo-maaan!

Wonder Woman: Love and
Murder Jodi Picoult, Terry Dodson, Drew Johnson and Paco Diaz 129 pages; published 2007

Over the course of my (self-confessed) nerdy life, I have found myself being compared to the “The Comic Book Guy” on more than one occasion – an amusing, if not entirely flattering comparison. Yet, despite my love of superheroes and whole-hearted desire to have a legitimate reason to wear a cape, comic books are my weak link in my geeky chain.

When I heard that Jodi Picoult had been asked to write the story for an edition of Wonder Woman, however, I was pretty excited. After getting a fifteen-minute primer from my decidedly more comic-book nerdier brother I was set to go. (And yes, I made sure I wore my WW jammies to match!)

The previous collection of comics left Wonder Woman in a sticky situation after taking the law in her own hands and killing the ‘bad guy’. In Love and Murder, Wonder Woman decides to leave this persona behind and become simply Diana Prince, leading a ‘normal’ life as a FBI agent.

However, as is often the case with superheroes trying to catch a break, her old life doesn’t seem prepared to let her go. With the fate of the Earth – not to mention the life of her poor, all-too-human partner – at stake, Diana must consider what is more important, and to what lengths she should go to save others.

I enjoyed reading this graphic novel. The story was engaging and suspenseful despite my limited knowledge of WW – though I was comforted by the appearance of more familiar superheroes – and the artistry was just beautiful. I was aware, while reading the book, that it was part of an ongoing story, but it was self-contained enough to stand alone. A good read for comic book fans – new and expert alike. 3.5/5

Lock and Key
Sarah Dessen
422 pages; published 2008

“And finally,” Jamie said as he pushed the door open, “we come to the main event. Your room.”

I was braced for pink. Ruffles or quilting, or maybe even appliqué. Which was probably kind of unfair, but then again, I didn’t know my sister anymore, much less her decorating style. With total strangers, it had been my policy to expect the worst. Usually they – and those you know best, for that matter – did not disappoint. (1)

When Ruby’s mother disappears she doesn’t exactly panic. Her mother’s been gone before, and always returned sooner or later. Besides, she’s nearly eighteen, plenty old enough to look after herself, right?

Perhaps not.

Coming to the attention of social services, the courts place the seventeen year old Ruby under the care of her elder sister Cora and her husband Jamie. It has been ten long years since she has seen her sister, and the last thing Ruby wants is to be dependant on anyone, let alone the emotionally distant Cora (whom she still blames for abandoning her so long ago) and the super cheery, extra-enthusiastic Jamie. Their impressive house in an exclusive neighbourhood is a far cry from the lifestyle she is used too – and she doesn’t intend to stick around too long.

However, her plans for escape don’t go precisely to plan and, before she knows it, Ruby is entangled in this new life. So used to being alone, Ruby is now surrounded by people she not only comes to depend on, but who depend on her – Nate, her oh-so-perfect swimmer neighbour; Harriet, her control-freak boss; and Roscoe, a dog with a multitude of issues. And with her mother now missing from her life, the only remaining link to her former world is the cold key to her old house hanging around her neck.

But her new life and those who inhabit it aren’t all as shiny and perfect as they might seem. There are now people to disappoint, people to support, and even people to protect… and perhaps, a unlikely as it may seen, it is Ruby who holds the key to unlocking happiness in all their lives.

I’ve seen reviews for Sarah Dessen books pop up here and there and I got the impression that she was quite a popular YA author. Lock and Key is the first of her books that I’ve read but based on this book I’d have to say that that the reputation was probably deserved.

I liked Ruby as a main character – I felt that she had the perfect blend of almost-eighteen-arrogance and battered little girl fragility. Her interactions with those around her as she makes the change from isolation to being part of a family were genuine and moving – even humorous in parts. 4/5

Purchase Lock and Key here.

Other Reviews

• The Book Nut
• Trisha at Trisha's Book Blog

The Importance of Being Jo

*NOTE: This post may contain spoilers for Little Women... but if you haven't already read it then that's just too sad to contemplate.

When I was eight years old my grandparents bought me a copy of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. I don’t remember receiving it – in fact I only know that I was eight because of the inscription in the front of the book – but I do remember reading and loving it. It became a quick favourite, the favourite, in fact, for I love it still, and read it each and every Christmas, preferably while sitting under the tree.

I’m sure this comes as no shock to anyone who reads my blog, as I've mentioned it already this year (here and here) and most definately comes to no surprise to anyone who knows me in person, as it is about this time that I go into my 'Little Women haze: reading, crying, and giggling happily. My house is usually filled with people who bounce between rolling their eyes at me and taunting me into telling them whether or not Beth is dead yet. Yes, they're that heartless and mean.

Because I'm certain that I'm not the only one who considers Little Women to be one of their favourites, I'm not actually going to review the book (I promise I'm not making a habit of this). Instead, I'd like to share something from the afterword of my new edition (written by Susan Straight).

Meg was lovely and mannered, and we saw her burned hair, her gloves, her mended dresses and pretty cheeks clearly, liking her immensely. Beth was saintly and devoted, her long fingers on the piano keys, her eyes always searching her sisters and mother even when her lips didn't move, and we loved her without reserve. Amy was pretty and pretentious, and we laughed at her mispronunciations, saw the lovely pickled limes lying in the snow, even understood how hard it must have been to follow those three with their places in the house firmly etched.

But even now, when many of us who read Little Women as children and teens are finally the age of Marmee, all the girls I've ever talked to wanted to be Jo [...] rough and galloping across snowy fields and tree-lined roads, wearing her writing cap in the attic, her fingers tinted blue with ink, her hair shorn awkwardly, Louisa May Alcott's legacy to millions of readers.

I have been thinking about this statement all week and, while looking forward to thinking it out here myself, I'd love to hear others thoughts on this. So! If you're inclined, I'd love it if you'd give it some thought yourself and let me know.

Growing up I always loved Beth as my favourite, and who wouldn't? Quiet, unassuming Beth; shy and homely, yet always ready with a smile and a kind word. I loved her gentle treatment of her poor Joanna, her devotion to all her sisters (her "wild, brave Jo" most of all), and her relationship with crotchety Mr. Laurence (the chapter where he gifts her with the piano remains my favourite even today).

I suppose I always fancied myself a bit of a Beth for, despite my faults (which Beth was not in possession of), I was a child who preferred to stay home, staying close to mother and family. This was definately a romanticism on my part, for a Beth I am not.

While I never was, and never became, the rough and tumble "wild girl" that so characterised Jo (I did, at least, maintain Beth's calm homeliness), I do remember actually thinking, as I came out my shell a little, that I was become more of a "Jo". As my bookish tendencies became more and more consuming and my hand turned to literary pursuits (though never with the dogged confidence or talent of Jo) I, with each consecutive reading of Little Women, longed to be more and more like the character I loved.

Her temper I would have happily left behind, but I admired her unfailing loyalty to friend and family. I respected her strongly held ideals and often think of her when I get on my own soapbox from time to time. I loved her generosity of spirit and openness of heart.

Throughout the years, and countless rereadings, Jo has shared much with me and, though she not know it, I with her. I have laughed with her, loved with her, and cried with her. And in return, she has cheered me, championed with me and comforted me. Most importantly she has lived with me. More so than any other character - a strong statement for a reader, I believe - Josephine March has touched and impacted me.

Despite my moments of wanting to be like her, I'm not sure if I ever wanted to BE her... but I certainly wanted to be her friend.

So come on, tell us, who did YOU want to be?

The Last Lecture

Randy Pausch

206 pages; published 2008

I wasn’t in a suit. I wore no tie. I wasn’t going to get up there in some professorial tweed jacket with leather elbow patches. Instead, I had chosen to give my lecture wearing the most appropriate childhood-dream garb I could find in my closet.

Granted, at first glanced I looked like the guy who’d take your order at a fast-food drive through. But actually, the logo on my short-sleeved polo shirt was an emblem of honor because it’s the one worn by Walt Disney Imagineers – the artists, writers and engineers who create theme-park fantasies. In 1995, I spent a six-month sabbatical as an Imagineer. It was a highlight of my life, the fulfilment of a childhood dream. That’s why I was also wearing the oval “Randy” name badge given to me when I worked at Disney. I was paying tribute to that life experience, and to Walt Disney himself, who famously had said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” (16)

Generally speaking, I’m not a big reader of non-fiction. In fact, with the exception of the occasional book of essays and a biography or two (usually only one or two a year), my reading is almost entirely fiction. Despite this, my cousin (who, admittedly, seems to read more non-fiction than I do) and I both suggested this book for our book club.

The books title, ‘The Last Lecture’ refers to a series of lectures given by respected professors in which they are asked to “consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them” (3). Randy Pausch was one such professor – a computer science professor a Carnegie Mellon University. What makes Randy’s lecture unique, however, is that it is truly to be his last lecture. Having been diagnosed with terminal cancer, Pausch’s took the opportunity presented through the tradition of the last lecture to impart some of his heart-felt wisdom and advice as well as, quite touchingly, preserve a part of himself for his wife and children.

Titling his lecture “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”, Pausch presents his lecture in a manner that is both honest and moving. Part autobiographical, part humour-filled wisdom, he delivers a wealth of common sense knowledge and life-experiences to his audience – yet so comfortably, so familiarly, that one can’t help but imagine the day his children are old enough to listen to his lecture, to pick up this book and read their father’s words.

While reading this book I laughed, and I cried – both in equal measure. Read the book for yourself. It is guaranteed to make you reconsider you smile, to make you think, to make you reconsider the time you have left. Randy Pausch thought he had all the time in the world. He didn’t. This is the legacy he leaves, in lieu of that time. 5/5

Purchase The Last Lecture here.

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Life As We Knew It

Susan Pfeffer

339 pages; published 2006

Sometimes I think about how things used to be. I’d never been anyplace, not really. Florida once and Boston and New York City and Washington and Montreal and that was it. I’d dream of Paris, of London, of Tokyo. I wanted to go to South America, to Africa. I always assumed I could someday.

But my world keeps getting smaller and smaller. No school. No pond. No town. No bedroom. Now I don’t even have the view out the windows.

I feel myself shrivelling along with my world, getting smaller and harder. I’m turning into a rock, and in some ways that’s good, because rocks last for ever.

But if this is how I’m going to last for ever, then I don’t want to. (237)

When astromers start talking excitedly about an asteroid hitting the moon, sixteen-year-old Miranda sees it as little more than an opportunity for her teachers to pile on extra homework. Sure, it's not everyday you can the moon being hit with the naked eye, but at the end of the day she'd much rather be watching TV or reading posts on her favourite online message board.

What the astronomers don't anticipate, however, is that the asteroid is much denser than originally thought, dense enough to actually knock the moon slightly out of orbit. Suddenly the moon is playing havoc with Earth's tides, resulting in wipe-out level tidal waves, and the increase of it's gravitional pull is creating volcanoes where there never was before. Life as everyone knew it is over, and the Earth's population is in serious trouble.

I guess I always felt even if the world came to an end, McDonalds would still be open. (47)

Chronicling her family's struggles to survive in her diary, Miranda finds her life completely changed. Suddenly no access to internet or television isn't the problem. There is now no heat, no hot water, no phone. There is limited ways of cooking food - and that's if you have food in the first place, and then there's water to consider. Volcanic ash is covering the sky, making it near impossible for any amount of the sun's heat to get through.

Somehow it's harder to focus (though she gives it her all) on the regular teen things like keeping up your grades, dating, and arguing with your mother when you're wondering if you're going to be able to eat tomorrow, or, out of you and your two brothers, which is more likely to survive.

Life As We Knew It was an incredibly moving book; I found myself openly crying in several places, especially towards the end. Miranda's voice was just so real, so completely honest and the things she and the rest of her family have to deal with are just astounding. An excellent read. 4.5/5

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Leaning Towards Infinity

Sue Woolfe

392 pages, published 1996

Leaning Towards Infinity was definitely a strange read, and probably not one that I would have ever picked up on my own (it was a recommendation from a uni friend), but I enjoyed all the same. The story focuses on amateur mathematical theorist, Frances Montrose, as she works hard to present the completion of her mother’s work at a convention, faces academic snobbery and her own insecurities. While the story is interesting, and you can really identify with her struggles, it is how the book is written that makes it remarkable.

The story employs a form of written gymnastics to explore the relationship between mother and daughter: ‘written’ by Frances’ daughter, Hypatia, as she reflects on her childhood and her own motherhood. This is compounded even more by the relationship between Frances and her own mother – and then hers again! Once the flow of history is established however, the stories weave interestingly and, in points, heartbreakingly. 3/5

Listening for Small Sounds
Penelope Trevor
157 pages, published 1997

The first book in a long time that ever made me truly sad and uncomfortable, and, if for that alone, I highly recommend it (though perhaps with a warning). Told entirely from the perspective of it’s very young narrator, Listening for Small Sounds explores the dynamics of a family bracketed by limited money, alcoholism and domestic abuse.

A book that I just happened to pick up as I left the library, it was a complete surprise to me. I read it cover to cover in one sitting and, naturally, got caught crying over it on a few occasions. 4/5

The Light Fantastic (Discworld Novel 2)
Terry Pratchett

285 pages, published 1986

I should have known not to pick up the first Discworld novel (The Colour of Magic) when I did, I should have known I would have gotten hooked – imagine my surprise when I found out there was over forty novels in this series! My God.

Anyways, I loved this book, but who doesn’t love Terry Pratchett? He’s weird, funny, utterly random in his humour and, just when you think he couldn’t get any crazier, he says something so completely profound. The interactions between the two main characters (Rincewind and Twoflower) are hilarious, but it’s worth reading for the descriptions of the Luggage alone. 4/5