Short-and-to-the-Point Book Review #2: Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

This year I have challenged myself to read 60 books on a variety of subject matter--fiction, non-fiction, philosophy, theology, environmental issues, pop culture, literature, etc. For each book I plan on posting a short-and-to-the-point review (1-2 paragraphs max), a recommendation and a grade. Hope you enjoy!

To see my progress or check my other reviews click the page link above entitled, "2012 Book Challenge"

2002, HarperCollins

Review
I first started this book over a year ago on the advice of a friend. I got into it quickly. It's humorous and sarcastic; the kind of book you will not enjoy without a fair liking for sacrilege. The story follows Joshua (the Christ) and his buddy, Biff. In essence it serves as a humorous account largely of the time spent between Christ's birth and ministry (the area in which the Gospels are supremely lacking). Lamb is witty but also crude in spades. If you don't like thinking about sex and Jesus, again, it's probably not for you. The weirdest part of this story, however, is that it tries to be both sarcastic and serious. By the time we get to Jesus' life the humor strangely gives way to a semi-serious retelling of the passion.

Recommendation
There's a reason I put this book down and took well over a year to get back into it. It's long. Now I have no problem with reading a lot--hence this entire 60 books in a year escapade--but in this case the story feels like it just keeps going. I enjoy Moore's humor in small doses but here it seems to extend ad infinitum. I ended up feeling disjointed, a bit lost, and it seemed I had read something neither funny enough to make up for its senselessness or profound enough to make up for its sacrilege. There is certainly an audience for this book; I think it simply isn't me.

Grade:
D+