You should read this book because it's good

You know you're to expect something irreverent and provoking when you read one of Christopher Moore's books...especially when the title is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Friend. Check out the samples available from this site...you can't read the entire book, but you can definitely get a feel for it.

It's like reading something Mel Brooks, Kurt Vonnegut, and Monty Python would've constructed after drinking pints of ale laced with "special" mushrooms, whose use, of course, I cannot condone.

If you're at all familiar with basic tenets of Judaism, Christianity, and Buddhism, or you're a reformed member of one or all of these faiths, then you'll have a blast. If you're Dubya, you'll have to look up big words like "sarcasm", and even if you're Mark Foley or Tom Haggard then you'll have a wonderful time knowing that while you are sinning, hypocritical, meth-tweaking neo-Inquisitional acolyte you're not alone, and that with a little moderation and some therapy you're going to be okay.

I've read most of his books, but so far this has been my favorite. Maybe it was all the churchin' I had when I was younger, and my boyish fascination with how in the hell did some of those Old Testament guys live to be 600 years old, but I found this to be a read to which I could relate.

There's religion, cursing, lots of sex, violence, and scimitar wit involved throughout the tale, which basically is a chronicling of Joshua's (Jesus Christ) life in that missing section in the Bible where his formative years of life are glossed over. Biff (named for the sound of a hand smacking one upside the head) is Josh's best friend, and they travel throughout the Biblical land searching for the spark of man, so Josh can become the Messiah. Don't let all the bible stuff salt you.

Mary of Magdalene is a hottie, with whom Biff is smitten.
The roots of Jews eating Chinese food on Christmas, and the "true" origin of the Shroud of Turin are revealed.
You meet the 3 wise men in greater detail. One of them has 8 concubines, and keeps a demon locked in a room within his fortress.
You learn why, under certain circumstances, Jews can eat bacon.
Jesus farted.
Judo was invented for Jesus.

If you're easily ruffled, then this book is for you. You can take it to your hate groups and hate on it. If you like to laugh at yourself and others in a constructive and creative way, then it's also for you.