Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

by Christopher Moore

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, the Messiah's best bud, who has been resurrected to tell the story in this divinely hilarious, yet heartfelt work 'reminiscent of Vonnegut and Douglas Adams' (Philadelphia Inquirer).

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, Even the considerable wiles and devotion of the Saviour'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.

• ISBN10: 0380813815
• ISBN13: 9780380813810
• Publish Date: 25 May 2004 (first published 1 March 2002)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: William Morrow & Company
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[chrssym]

2.5
I like the humor in this, though I was only engaged during the first 1/3 of the book. Josh and Biff were an interesting take but I frequently found myself skimming portions or feeling unattached. I’d be interested to see his other work. I totally understand why people love this I just think a lot was just lost on me.

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Everyone knows the story of Jesus Christ, but this is a different story. Between the time of his birth and when Jesus's ministry begins in him 30s, Jesus's life is unknown. Fortunately, there's his childhood best friend Biff here to tell the tale... and it may not be *quite* what you would expect.

First off, this is totally a work of fiction, but it's pretty sacrilegious. Christopher Moore has taken a lot of liberties with the unknown parts of the story. There's a lot of crude humor. I would caution Christians to be careful before picking up this book - while it's super funny and clever, there is the question of blasphemy. I did some searching and it seems like the Christian community at a whole is okay with the existence of this books, but it's a personal choice.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. I thought it was clever and the two boys' journal across China and India fascinated me. I really enjoyed that alongside Christianity and Judaism, he discussed Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism. This book made me laugh out loud with silliness when I least expected it. The latter half of the book deals with Christ's ministry and there a more respectful tone in that section, keeping more or less to the events and watching the rest of the story play out. most the taken liberties are in the unknown parts of the story, and the attention to detail in the later bits shows a lot of study.

Generally speaking, I'd recommend this book, but with caution. I found it funny, but I don't think this is a book for everyone.

[inlibrisveritas]

I loved this book. It's so outrageous at times that you can't help but laugh, and then others are so...realistic it's funnier then the outrageous stuff. Surprisingly, some of it is very well researched...of course when it's put next to something like Jesus knowing martial arts you kind of overlook it. I really enjoyed it and I'll probably read more my Christoper Moore in the future.

[ibeforem]

I thought this was pretty good, and not nearly as sacrilegious as I thought it might be. When we meet Joshua (Jesus) at a young age he is already quite aware of who he is and who his father is, amusing his younger brother by bringing dead lizards back to life (his ability to reanimate is a recurring theme). Biff is quite likeable, if misguided at times, and is thoroughly devoted to Josh — something that is readily apparent by the end of the story. There’s no big surprise about how it ends, but the middle is wholly original. Josh and Biff’s journey to find the three wise men who witnessed his birth has a touch of The Christmas Carol in it, as Josh learns something new about himself with each adventure. This is definitely one of Moore’s stronger novels.

[mbtc]

WONDERFUL book. Not in the least disrespectful in my eyes (and I am a Christian who can be sensitive to that kind of thing at times), although of course it is fiction, just as the author himself emphasizes. I would really suggest this to everyone. The afterword was the icing on the cake to me when finishing this book.

[Beth C.]

I find this to be one of my favorite books by Christopher Moore. It's laugh-out-loud funny in parts and yet still makes salient points about how little we know of Jesus' life. Some die-hard religious fanatics might find it offensive...but for the rest of us non-wingnuts, it's a great read!!