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Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (2002)

by Christopher Moore

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
10,444412653 (4.21)293
Humor (Fiction.) HTML:

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 yearsâ??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 Savior's pal may not be enough to divert Joshua from his tragic destiny. But there's no one who loves Josh moreâ??except maybe "Maggie," Mary of Magdalaâ??and Biff isn't about to let his extraordinary pal suffer and ascend without a fi… (more)

  1. 110
    A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore (Ti99er)
  2. 101
    Good Omens by Terry Pratchett (yokai, jscape2000)
    jscape2000: These authors revel in taking the things you think you know, turning them sideways and shaking them.
  3. 50
    The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove by Christopher Moore (Ti99er)
  4. 30
    Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings by Christopher Moore (Ti99er)
  5. 30
    American Gods {original} by Neil Gaiman (andomck)
    andomck: Religion, realism, fantasy, humor, low brow, etc. Makes sense to me.
  6. 20
    The Preservationist by David Maine (PhilipFOBrienJr)
    PhilipFOBrienJr: An amusing take on the Noah/Flood story
  7. 20
    Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore (sturlington)
    sturlington: Character cross-overs.
  8. 32
    Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story by Christopher Moore (Ti99er)
  9. 10
    You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But it Helps by Tom Holt (Ti99er)
  10. 10
    Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell (BookshelfMonstrosity)
  11. 10
    Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith (MyriadBooks)
  12. 00
    The Pericles Commission by Gary Corby (meggyweg)
  13. 00
    Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bible! by Jonathan Goldstein (meggyweg)
  14. 00
    The Road Trip Dialogues by Jass Richards (ptittle)
    ptittle: same weird off-beat funny with underlying serious
  15. 00
    Death: A Life by George Pendle (meggyweg, meggyweg)
  16. 00
    Fated by S. G. Browne (Phantasma)
  17. 00
    Nothing But Blue Skies by Tom Holt (Ti99er)
  18. 00
    Who's Afraid of Beowulf? by Tom Holt (Dr.Science)
    Dr.Science: The English author Tom Holt is relatively unknown in America, but very popular in England. If you enjoy Jasper Fforde or Christopher Moore you will most certainly enjoy Tom Holt's wry sense of English humor and the absurd. He has written a number of excellent books including Expecting Someone Taller, and Flying Dutch, but they may be difficult to find at your library or bookstore.… (more)
  19. 00
    The Second Coming by John J. Niven (gualtiero80)
  20. 01
    Only Begotten Daughter by James Morrow (the_awesome_opossum)
    the_awesome_opossum: Only Begotten Daughter is darker and less whimsical than Lamb, but the protagonist - the daughter of God - also struggles with her divinity and purpose on Earth. It is funny in spots, but in a more wry and satirical way. So if you liked the more serious parts of Lamb, try this book… (more)

(see all 20 recommendations)

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» See also 293 mentions

English (405)  German (3)  French (3)  Catalan (1)  Italian (1)  All languages (413)
Showing 1-5 of 405 (next | show all)
very funny ( )
  Everlord42 | Dec 5, 2023 |
Just too religious for me ( )
  cfulton20 | Nov 13, 2023 |
Simply fantastic!
Tons if humor on every page :)
It's a Neil Gaiman style of a book but with light humor. ( )
  bert42 | Nov 2, 2023 |
This book fooled me (in a good way). Having not previously read anything by Christopher Moore, my expectations were entirely set by the title, the blurb, and the recommendation of a friend. I thought for sure that it would be nothing but throw-away zingers on the order of Monty Python or Douglas Adams (or even Harvard Lampoon), that any historical and religious reality would be right out the window, and that any resemblance to the life of the Biblical Jesus Christ would be entirely coincidental. I was (mostly) wrong on all counts.

There are plenty of zingers. But usually not in the set 'em up and knock 'em down one-liner style of Python or Lampoon. The humor here is usually more subtle, between the lines. I'm sure (as evidenced by other reviewers) that one can enjoy the stories and jokes at face value. But readers that can bring a deeper understanding of history and culture will catch and enjoy oh so many more twisted references to both ancient and modern culture.

Don't get me wrong. This is not a history book. The author confesses as much in a much appreciated Afterward. This is a story. But the author did do his research and tries to keep things real, even as he's stretching the truth and warping time to make things funny. It's also not a religious book. Nope, it's pretty profane. And also vulgar. The former is probably necessary for the humor. You don't get laughs without breaking a few rules and knocking down some icons. The latter is just for style.

To say this is an irreverent portrayal of the life of Christ would be an understatement. But the undocumented years of the life of Jesus of Nazareth (or Joshua bar Joseph, as portrayed here) give the author a vast playground in which to play. Looking back over two thousand years, who can say what the boy was really like? The teen? Probably not the contemporary kid portrayed here. But just as unlikely is the sanitized, homogenized version that many Christians and popular culture have in their head.

To those who say that this goes too far in skewering cherished doctrine, as well as those who don't think it goes far enough in knocking down religious mythology, I say, in the words of Foghorn Leghorn, "It's a joke. I say, It's a joke, son." This is a funny story loosely based on the life of the Messiah, the Son of God. But it is a story. And it is funny. And if you choose to believe the Jesus would have never had a friend named Biff nor an almost girlfriend named Maggie, that's your choice. But I found it fun to make believe for a few for hours that they did exist and that they did enrich the life of that young man. ( )
  zot79 | Aug 20, 2023 |
I gave it 66 pages, and it just didn't work for me. Moving on.
  blueskygreentrees | Jul 30, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 405 (next | show all)
"Lamb" is an incredibly compelling work even for readers who don't agree with Moore's conclusions. The book is also laugh out loud funny at times, which really helps during some of more irreverent parts of the story.
 
Interesting, original, not for every taste.
added by mysterymax | editKirkus Review (May 20, 2010)
 

» Add other authors (8 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Christopher Mooreprimary authorall editionscalculated
Balder, Hugo E.Narratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Baranger, LucTraductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Estrella, JuanjoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Stevens, FisherNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
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Epigraph
God is a comedian playing to an audience that is afraid to laugh. - Voltaire
Author's blessing

If you have come to these pages for laughter, may you find it.
If you are here to be offended, may your ire rise and your blood boil.
If you seek adventure, may this story sing you away to blissful escape.
If you need to test or confirm your beliefs, may you reach comfortable conclusions.
All books revel perfection, by what they are or what they are not.
May you find that which you seek, in these pages or outside them.
May you find perfection, and know it by name.
Dedication
First words
The angel was cleaning out his closets when the call came.
Quotations
You think you know how this story is going to end, but you don't.
I learned how to boil down goat urine to make explosives today.
Hi, I'm the Messiah, God wanted you to have this bacon.
I know that even now, having watched enough television, you probably won't even refer to them as lepers so as to spare their feelings. You probably call them 'parts-dropping-off challenged' or something.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
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Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Humor (Fiction.) HTML:

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 yearsâ??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 Savior's pal may not be enough to divert Joshua from his tragic destiny. But there's no one who loves Josh moreâ??except maybe "Maggie," Mary of Magdalaâ??and Biff isn't about to let his extraordinary pal suffer and ascend without a fi

No library descriptions found.

Book description
In this work the author seeks to fill in the "lost" years of Jesus through the point of view of Jesus' childhood pal, "Levi bar Alphaeus who is called Biff". Biff has been resurrected in the present day, to complete missing parts of the Bible. Supposedly under the watchful eye of the angel Raziel, who turns out to be more interested in the soap operas on the television in their hotel, Biff is made to write down his account of the decades missing from Jesus' life. During these years he and Joshua (which, as Biff points out, "Jesus" is the Greek version of, and thus in Galilee Jesus was called Joshua Bar Joseph) travel to the East to seek the Three Wise Men who attended Joshua's birth, so that he may learn how to become the Messiah.
Haiku summary
Biff is quite a guy
His friend is the Messiah
Find out what that's like
(jeshakespeare)

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