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Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
7 reviews
jhbandcats's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The story tells about the years of Jesus’ life that aren’t covered in the Gospels, from his childhood to his early 30s. We get an extended road trip (where the road is traveled on foot or camel) to India and China as Jesus and Biff search for knowledge from the three Wise Men. We learn why Chinese food became so popular on Christmas. Instead of calling the landmark the Great Wall of China, they feel the Ostentatious and Unpleasant Wall of China is a better name.
Moore treats Jesus’ last few days with great dignity while still showing a funny side. Biff gambles with the soldiers under the cross, waiting for him to die while struggling not to lose his temper, so he can remove Jesus’ body to safety for the resurrection. The grief and despair of the apostles and Jesus’ family is palpable.
This is one of my favorite funny books. It turns out that Moore himself is a Wise Man, too.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
thehmkane's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Vomit, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
a_kt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Now, if you read all that and are thinking to yourself: "Hm, that sounds really interesting actually- why only 3.75 stars?" I will say while this book was funny, insightful, and highly entertaining at parts, it unfortunately did not keep that level of consistency throughout. The beginning few chapters of Lamb are probably some of the funniest prose I've ever read. I constantly had to keep my giggling in check as to not disturb my sleeping partner next to me. However, the more the story went on the more it felt like the same jokes were being repeated over and over again (i.e. Biff's inability to keep it in his pants is a common source of conflict/jokes throughout the book). The further East Joshua and Biff traveled the more... well, the term "lost the plot" comes to mind, and I think this is reflected in Moore's writing. Josh and Biff spend 7-ish years with the first Magi and his concubines, learning all manner of Eastern philosophy and alchemy (this section covers many chapters). Then, they spend about 4 years in a Buddhist temple (no spoilers, but this is the part where things get really weird- also covers a good amount of chapters). Then, they go to India- and I have to say there was a lot, and I mean, a lot of inward-cringing from me for this section. I know that Moore did a lot of extensive research for this book, and it really shows! But, there was a definite vilification of ancient Hindu people and practices during this section. Hey, it was probably historically accurate, but the thought of a white guy writing about ancient Hindu people in such a vitriolic way was... icky to me, to say the least. They spend probably about 2 chapters with the final Magi, who teaches Joshua some really important things! But I think there is a total of two, maybe three scenes with him in it before they get a sign to go back to Israel? It all seemed very rushed (don't worry, Moore left plenty of time to discuss Biff's side-quest of getting a side job so he could pay for a prostitute to teach him all the Kama Sutra positions).
All in all, Lamb is a fine book. It definitely runs longer than it should, definitely goes in some directions it probably shouldn't, and the early-2000's humor gets to be a little much sometimes. However, its also a very funny buddy-road-trip and sometimes fish-out-of-water story that just so happens to be about Jesus Christ. If you are even a little interested in it, I'd give it a try, but if you are at all off-put by anything in the above review, I'd maybe think about starting it a little more. I do think Moore is a talented writer, and I plan to read some of his other works, but I will probably opt for more the of the modern ones, in a hope that his perspectives might have a changed a little over the years.
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Child abuse and Death
Minor: Gore
book_fish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Antisemitism, and Murder
poisonenvy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This was a buddy read with my friend Kori!
I will start off this review by talking about the problematic aspects of this story: There were times reading this book where I was somewhat uncomfortable with the depictions of Chinese people, but as the entire story is pretty irreverent in general, I didn't put too much thought into it. That was right up until chapter 21, where
If that isn't bad enough, when they return the children to the Untouchables, who were not part of the ritual, none of them want their children back. Except for the one guy who's fucking a bull cow (yes, that animal that is sacred to Hindus), who is "the reincarnation of his wife."
After that unfortunate foray, I had much less patience for the fact that literally every woman in this book is a breathing sex doll who has no other personality or purpose than to suck Biff's dick.
If it wasn't for all of that, I would have enjoyed this book quite a lot. It made me laugh more than once, and that ending came in like a gut punch. The parts that were meant to convey strong emotion did it with a skill surprising in light of the way the rest of the novel is written (or, possibly, it works even better because of the way the rest of the novel is written. The ending came a little too fast, but other than this, this could have been an excellent novel.
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Suicide
The text itself is not antisemetic, though many of the characters are, but *is* racist and sexist.jenmcvay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Minor: Antisemitism
mizelse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
0.25
Graphic: Ableism, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Homophobia