Catching up on the reviews of books I read over vacation. First book finished was Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore. Chris Moore has carved out a niche as a writer of humorous fiction, somewhat like Terry Pratchett has. This isn't a bad book, but it's somewhere around a 3 out of 5, not a 5 star book. Chris Moore fills in the gap in Christ's life between his early childhood and his ministry that started sometime around age 30. The gap is ignored by the gospels of the New Testament. Moore posits that Christ made a journey to the east, learning much about how to be the messiah from the magi who visited him near his birth. Now ensconced in Kabul, the Himalayas and the Tamil area of southern india, they teach him precepts of magic, Buddhist, and ascetic thought. His constant companion through out is Levi, also called Biff. A typical scene involes Christ trying to learnabout sin (since must be free from sin) by listening through the walls as Biff beds prostitutes. One session isn't enough for Christ to understand sin, so Biff exhausts their money trying to get Christ to come to understand. Funny. I suppose.
Another drawback is the abrupt transition from a humorous tone to a much more serious one as Christ begins his ministry in Israel. Luckily, the book is nearing the end. Cause without the humor, the ending is just an alternate re-telling of the real gospels, but trying to emphasize Christ's humanity, rather than his godhead.
Moore, Christopher.
Lamb / Christopher Moore.
437 p. ; cm.
ISBN 0-380-81381-5
1. Bible. N.T. Gospels--History of Biblical events--Fiction. 2. Jesus Christ--Fiction. 3. Jesus Christ--Friends and associates--Fiction. I. Title.
PS3563.O594 L36 2003
813'.54 212002-034594 
