Lamb

by Christopher Moore

[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.