[Nemesis]

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 him, the missing years... except biff, the messiahs best bud, who has been resurrected to tell the story in the 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 saviors pal may not be enough to divert joshua from his tragic destiny.
but theres no one who loves josh more and biff isnt about to let his extraordinary pal suffer and ascend without a fight.

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at first glance, it might seem biff is an archetype - the guy whose exterior reflects "a**hole," (to quote the angel, raziel), but who actually possesses a heart of gold.
but on further examination, biff's more than that. he's intelligent (incidentally, the first to theorize that the world was round, and the first to speculate on the existence of gravity), kind and selfless. sure, he has his faults, but that brilliant combination of jerk/gentleman is what makes him so intriguing.
and after reading lamb I came away with a new understanding of jesus (called joshua in the book) as a human being. christopher moore brings that belief home with an almost magical tenderness.

is lamb a perfect book? no! some of the humor was a little too slapstick to really work. but as a whole, it's a bright spot in a world that has grown far too serious and cynical. lamb was painstakingly researched; it's poignant and real; and, oh yeah...it's incredibly funny.