beccahankins

Lamb is the warmest piece of humor writing I’ve read. What happened to that huge gap between baby Jesus and adult Jesus? Moore gives an adventurous fictional version of these childhood, adolescent, and teen years, as told by Levi of Nazareth (known as Biff). Biff tells the story in modern time, under the premise that he was resurrected by the angel Raziel to fill in the missing pieces of the gospel. The two stay in a motel while Raziel marvels at soap operas and Spiderman, and Biff sneaks the Bible into the bathroom, only to find out that he was conveniently left out of its pages. He recounts his journey along the Silk Road with Jesus (known in the book as Joshua), as the two take on a quest to get Christ “trained.” The training includes courses from China and India’s greatest religious leaders in spirituality and self-discipline. Both boys are shrewd in their own ways, and though Biff is quick to sin, Joshua only seeks to understand the nature of sin. He heals those who try to kill him and befriends all. The best thing about the book is the way it humanizes Jesus—you get so attached to him as this gentle and often vulnerable guy. It’s the type of work that should appeal to anyone, despite religious backgrounds and beliefs…seriously, you’d have to be a real dried up fruit to get offended or deem Lamb as blasphemy. Lamb is filled with wit and heart, and I’m looking forward to reading more Moore.

2022-11-14 13:47