Lamb

The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

By: Christopher Moore

Narrated by: Fisher Stevens

Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

The birth of Jesus has been well chronicled, as have his glorious teachings, acts, and divine sacrifice after his 30th 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 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 more (except maybe "Maggie," Mary of Magdalan) and Biff isn't about to let his extraordinary pal suffer and ascend without a fight.

©2002 Christopher Moore (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Moore...gets style points for his wild imagination as Biff recalls his journey with Jesus...into and out of the clutches of Balthasar, then into a Buddhist monastery in China and finally off to India, where they dabble in the spiritual and erotic aspects of Hinduism. The author gets more serious in his climax, offering a relatively straightforward, heartfelt account of the Passion and Christ's final days that includes an intriguing spin on how the Resurrection might have happened." (Publishers Weekly)
"An instant classic...terrific, funny, and poignant." (Rocky Mountain News)

Amazing book

one of the best human depictions of Jesus I've ever read.. I love this book...

Love this book in all forms.

This book is a well thought out and well written story. Clever and lovingly written, it is a story about friendship and love in it's many forms and it gives Christ a surprisingly human and touching portrayal.

Love it!!

Read it years ago, then just listened to it in this format. Still an awesome story!

Most Clever & Very Funny!

This is the kind of book that has you laughing in front of random strangers! I highly recommend this book for it's creativity and humor! The choice of narrator is also superb! One of my top favorites for sure!

Amazing story

While some would think that the story would offend, it really doesn't. I am profoundly religious and found it deepened my faith. My husband really likes the story as well and is no where near me on the religious conviction. It is a great story. Well written and well read.

Interesting concept, less than stellar execution.

The concept of a gospel being told from the point of view of Jesus (Joshua's) best friend is a fantastic idea. But there are several issues with the pacing and character development.
Don't get me wrong the humor of this book is really good in some parts. If you are a fan of Douglas Adams then this book will work for you. Some of the situations are very much slapstick in nature. There are a handful parts that are purely juvenile and crude but it kind of works for when the characters are younger.
That being said there are some major issues with pacing issues in this book. Especially in the last third of the book. So much time given to the childhood and adolescence of the main characters that you get a fuller sense of who they are as people. But the last parts (the stories of Jesus in the gospels) feels very rushed like it's expecting the reader to know this part because of the Bible. Also outside of the Two main characters most of the characters they come across have a very minimal arc in the story. The ending also felt like it should have been a bit longer, also felt very rushed.
All in all, It's a funny and thought-provoking book but it has its flaws. Huh, I think I just got the point...

Just the best!!

Only the best book ever wrote by anyone, anywhere, in the history of book writing!!!!

One of my favorites

I've read/listened to this book multiple times since it was published. I don't do that often. I highly recommend Lamb to everyone I know. If you're very religious and lack a sense of humor you'll hate it.

Born again!

Where does Lamb rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

If the Bible was written like this, I would have found religion. I loved this book so much, I am going to get a braclet "WWBD" What Would Biff Do. I can't imagine reading this book and have the same effect. The narration was fantastic. I am hooked on Christopher Moore and have listened to three more books since...

Who was your favorite character and why?

Biff and Raziel,the dumb blonde angel with a New Jersey gangster accent

Which scene was your favorite?

The first time Biff met Joshua, with the lizard in his mouth. It is so true, if a little kid had the power to heal ...it is exactly what they would do with it. My other favorite scene was when Raziel first came to announce a savior was born, ten years late, oops. There are truly to many to count. Writing this review even brings a smile to my face, just thinking about this book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laughed out loud, shared it with friends, and cried at the Crucifixion.

Any additional comments?

LOVE, LOVE, LOVED IT!

Just plain BRILLIANT

If you could sum up Lamb in three words, what would they be?

Words cannot express how great this story is. Funny, Endearing, Intelligent. The narrator is as good as it gets.