9th March 2024

My second visit to the mind of Christopher Moore was as enjoyable as the first. In this novel we meet Charlie, who through a CD-related accidental encounter, believes he has become Death.

It’s a hilarious yet also very sad novel in places, including right at the start. There are a plethora of fascinating characters, and it’s lovely to see a world populated by so many of them who are really fleshed out and leave you wanting to spend more time with them.

The plot feels a bit chaotic, and there are some parts where I’m not sure I entirely followed what was happening. Time doesn’t really pass in a linear fashion, with jumps ahead after the first act which don’t always seem to quite flow. But that doesn’t stop the fun.

I’m inspired again to find more of his books - Moore has an inspiring comic take on the world.

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27th November 2022

This has been on my wish list for so long that I can’t remember who recommended it or why, but I eventually picked it up in a sale, and have not been at all disappointed.

The conceit is that Christ’s pal Biff has been resurrected around the year 2000 to write a more accurate gospel, and this is the result, along with some notes about his time trapped in a hotel room with an angel during the writing process.

In some respects, the novel is respectful to Christianity - the Christ represented remains the actual son of god, many of the events from the traditional gospels do take place, and it doesn’t meddle with the theology.

In other respects it’s hilarious and there’s tons of stuff that Moore has added to make the story more believable or more fun. I particularly enjoyed Biff’s frequent inventions and discoveries.

As the author notes in the afterword, there’s potentially a niche audience - you’ve really got to have that background of knowing the traditional biblical stories to get the jokes and references, but not be the sort of person to get offended by the same. Luckily that’s me.

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