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

Joshua (a.k.a. Jesus) knows he is unique and quite alone in his calling, but what exactly does his Father want of him? Taking liberties with ancient history, Moore works up an adventure tale as Biff and Joshua seek out the three wise men so that Joshua can better understand what he is supposed to do as Messiah. Biff, a capable sinner, tags along and gives Joshua ample opportunities to know the failings and weaknesses of being truly human. With a wit similar to Douglas Adams, Moore pulls no punches: a young Biff has the hots for Joshua's mom, Mary, which doesn't amuse Josh much: "Don't let anyone ever tell you that the Prince of Peace never struck anyone." And the origin of the Easter Bunny is explained as a drunken Jesus gushes his affection for bunnies, declaring, "Henceforth and from now on, I decree that whenever something bad happens to me, there shall be bunnies around."

One small problem with the narrative is that Biff and Joshua often do not have distinct voices. A larger difficulty is that as the tone becomes more somber with Joshua's life drawing to its inevitable close, the one-liners, though not as numerous, seem forced. True to form, Lamb keeps the story of Joshua light, even after its darkest moments. --Michael Ferch

Product Description

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 years -- except Biff, the Messiah's 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 Savior's pal may not be enough to divert Joshuafrom his tragic destiny. But there's no one who loves Josh more -- except maybe "Maggie," Mary of Magdala -- and Biff isn't about to let his extraordinary pal suffer and ascend without a fight.

I interviewed Chris Moore for my writing ezine. At the time, he was in the throes of writing Lamb, and had been instructed by his publisher to keep the project hush-hush, lest a bad B movie rendition torpedo the whole thing. I remember him saying that this book would certainly "piss off more people" than any of his previous works--and from the looks of the reviews cropping up here, the process has already begun.

I've read every one of Christopher Moore's books--I'm a devoted fan. Every time I read Chris Moore in bed, I find myself laughing so hard that my husband refers to me as "the human equivalent of Magic Fingers." I have to believe that someone whose writing can evoke such a reaction has a true gift. Christopher Moore's writing is both funny and deeply humane--he pokes fun at the world with tenderness and benevolence. That style shines through in Lamb, a story retold by Jesus' life-long friend, the irrepressible Levi, who is called Biff.

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.

Those who scoff at this book for religious reasons (and there will be many, I'm sure) are missing the bigger picture. As Moore relates in his afterword, the book was "not designed to change anyone's beliefs or worldview." But, for me, it did. I'm a Christian, and after reading Lamb I came away with a new understanding of Jesus (called Joshua in the book--Jesus is the Greek translation of the Hebrew, Yeshua, which is Joshua) as a human being. The fact that Jesus became human to redeem the world is the core of the Christian faith, and Christopher Moore brings that belief home with an almost magical tenderness. I found it moving to think of Jesus as a real person, and not some mystical, unreachable Godhead. Regardless of Moore's own religious beliefs--it's difficult to determine whether he views Christ as the Son of God, or a fascinating historical figure with a 30-year hole in his life story--Lamb meant something to me, and I know I'll read it more than once.

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.


What Did Jesus Do?   July 23, 2002
 102 out of 110 found this review helpful

The Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John leave a gaping hole in the story of Jesus. They tell of the shepherds, the angel, the virgin, the manger, and the wise men, then jump to Jesus as a thirtysomething rabbi. What did Jesus do during his formative years? Christopher Moore has an answer in his latest novel Lamb: The Gospel According To Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. Biff is Levi bar Alphaeus, son of a stonemason and childhood friend of Joshua [Yeshua] bar Jehovah, son of God. The first section of the novel tells of the adventures of Biff, Joshua, and Maggie [Mary of Magdala] in and around Nazareth. The next three sections take Biff and Joshua to visit and learn from each of the three magi. The last section puts a Christopher Moore spin on the story told in the New Testament. We can read the good news according to Biff because the angel Raziel has resurrected Biff [and one other person] to write their versions of the Gospel. Biff's interactions with Raziel are interspersed with the main story, usually at the beginings of chapters, and [inconsistently] set apart as long block quotes. This is a humorous book from a master of humor, but also a sensitive book. I loved this novel. Humor fans, Christopher Moore fans, believers, non-believers, mainstream Christians, and non-Christians should all love this wonderful book. If you find sacrilege in non-Biblical mentions of Jesus, stay away from this novel. You'll hate it. You might even want to burn it. You'll convince your friends to write gratuitous negative reviews of this book. But in my opinion, any open-minded person who has ever mused about the life and teachings of Jesus will find a lot to laugh about and think about in Christopher Moore's Lamb.


Less Moore, Please   March 13, 2003
 31 out of 76 found this review helpful

Make no mistake, I thoroughly loved Chris Moore's previous novels and own them all. Have read the others a few times and they don't pale with re-reading. BUT Lamb is simply too lame.
It reads as if it were written by a manic sophmore trying desperately to make bad jokes and succeeding. Moore can be terribly witty and absurdist, but in Lamb he's dragging his [posterior] for jokes. Sorry, Chris, but this is drek.
What's happened to your sharp sense of humor? Why is this written as if you were lazing in a hammock and giggling over your own "cleverness"? Huh? Whatever you do, DON'T WRITE A SEQUEL!
By the way, it has nothing to do with the content or irreligious tone of the book, I'm fine with that, but the style just simply sucks wind.


Saviour self a lot of trouble, and buy this book !!   February 22, 2002
 28 out of 37 found this review helpful

I've been a apostle of Christopher Moore's manic, wonderful fiction since the publication of his brilliant first novel, Practical Demonkeeping. For years now, I've spread the Word, bringing friends and random strangers into the fold, spreading the gospel of twisted humor to the previously uninitiated.

Until I read LAMB, his latest novel, I would have said that Blood Sucking Fiends (A Love Story) was not only his best book, but a feat of comic wonder and wondrous comedy that even the genius of Christopher Moore might never surpass.

His new book is another thing entirely, which is not to say that the bizarre sense of humor that has been the hallmark of Moore's novels in not as omnipresent in LAMB as it is in all his work; if anything, he is funnier than ever. But in telling the story of Christ's "missing years" through the eyes of his childhood pal (Levi, who is called Biff), Moore has managed to exceed the hilarity of his previous work while leavening the jokes with a respect for his subject that comes through as something approaching reverence. Only the reader who picks up this novel with the sole intention of being offended could find anything truly offensive here. Most readers, regardless of their religious beliefs, will find themselves hoping that Josh of Nazareth really had a friend like Biff.

As with all of Moore's work, LAMB is funny enough to be easily rejected by those who refuse to see that humor can allow a sufficiently gifted author to approach a serious subject with depth and intelligence. The careful research and attention to detail that inform the novel without weighing it down will be dismissed by those who wish to diminish the minor miracle that the author has accomplished with this book. But those who pick up LAMB with an open mind will find more than "merely" light entertainment; beneath the hilarious surface of this beautifully written novel lies a tender, respectful treatment of the idea that maybe, just maybe, love and kindness might be a better thing than hatred and fear.

In LAMB, Christopher Moore picks up the gauntlet that Theodore Sturgeon threw down in his controversial novel of the second coming, Godbody, filtering a similar message through the warped lens of his twisted mind to create an utterly unique, yet fascinatingly similar work. The Clown Prince of fiction is not just another jester; like the best comedians in any medium, there is a deep vein of truth (with or without the capital "T") that runs through all his work, especially this latest book. Can an "alternate" history comic novel of the life of Christ bring enlightenment? Perhaps not, but careful readers will find at least a glimpse of transcendence, and this mental pilgrimage to the Holy Land of entertainment will surely hold them enthralled.


Frat-Boy Humor is right!   March 1, 2002
 26 out of 85 found this review helpful

If you have the entire Beavis and Butthead series on DVD, this is the book for you. If you were first in line to see Dude, Where's My Car?, you'll probably enjoy LAMB.
I, however, am not a 15 year-old and found little to be amused by in this story. I picked it up because I believe nothing deserves a good spoofing as much as the bible but was disappointed to find the author obviously straddling a fence: wanting to poke fun at Christianity without angering a single soul, a difficult feat even when attempted by a more skilled writer. Maybe if he had just gone for the jugular without worrying whose toes he might step on, he wouldn't have had to resort to juvenile Tom Green type humor.