The gospels of the Bible record the birth of Christ and his ministry but leave out much of a thirty year chunk in the middle. Christians around the world wonder: what happened in those thirty years? What did Jesus do during all this time? Christopher Moore describes his own hilarious version of what could have happened in this interval in his novel Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal. The story, told through Christ’s comedic sidekick and best friend Biff, keeps readers enthralled, unable to put it down, even though we all know how the story ends.

The novel starts out with Biff being raised from the dead by an angel in order to write his gospel. From the instant Biff is mentioned, the reader knows he is in for a ride. Biff is at once a character ready to bring out laughs and tell it how it is, without any sugar-coating. He meets Jesus as a young boy, then known as Joshua, and instantly the two become friends. Biff and Joshua are able to keep the reader both laughing and yet thinking on another religious and spiritual level. This aspect of the novel reminded me of the two novels Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. Like Foer, Moore is able to tackle a serious subject and yet keep the novel humorous through a funny story-teller.

As a child Joshua goes through the turmoil of not knowing whether he is the son of God or not, and not knowing how to be the Messiah, while Biff gives comedic relief as he falls in love with Joshua’s mother Mary and bargains with God for his best friend saying, “Heavenly father… far be it from me to question your judgment, being as you are all powerful and God of Moses and all the above, but what exactly are you trying to do to this poor kid? I mean, he’s your son, right? He’s the Messiah, right? Are you pulling one of those Abraham faith-test things on him? In case you didn’t notice, he’s in quite a pickle here… So what I’m saying is, could you, much as you did with Samson when he was backed into a corner weaponless against the Philistines, throw the kid a bone here?” (61-62). Biff and Joshua develop an extremely close relationship. Biff cannot leave his friend’s side and, as obvious is his impassioned and somewhat rude prayer to God, is heart-broken because of all the hard trials Joshua must go through. Joshua confides in and learns to love Biff as a brother.

This relationship continues to the very end of the novel, despite some differences between the characters (Biff has a love for prostitutes while Joshua must stay abstinent). At fourteen, when Joshua decides he doesn’t know how to be the Messiah and needs to learn how, Biff accompanies him on his journey to discovery. Over the next sixteen years, the two seek out the three wise men in places all over Europe and Asia. At times, the writing during these parts seemed a little forced; however, the humor and tidbits of religious insight kept me from rolling my eyes or putting down the novel. Although parts of the middle appeared somewhat forced for me, it may have been because their adventures were a tad over-the-top. Fantasy and adventure lovers might thoroughly enjoy this part.

After visiting the three wise men, Biff and Joshua go back to Nazareth and begin his ministry, the part of Jesus’s life described by the gospels. Moore is able to connect his imaginative story back to events actually recorded in the Bible throughout this section of the novel. The reader will hear bits of the Sermon on the Mount actually described in the Bible, although Moore intertwines it with his own creative and hilarious ideas of what could have happened behind the curtains. As time progresses and the death we know is coming approaches, the reader is almost guaranteed not to be able to put the novel down.

This novel is a novel almost anyone could pick up and enjoy. If you just want to laugh, you’re sure to have your wish fulfilled by opening these pages. Whether you’re religious or not, this story is sure to pique your interest and leave you wondering. Somewhat religious myself, I was not at all offended by what these pages held. In fact, many readers have claimed feeling closer to God and more religious after reading this novel. The key is to come to the book with an open mind and ready to laugh. Purely fictional, it is a creative and funny story, well-written and interesting. Readers will be reminded of the creatively absurd writing styles of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and Tom Robbins. I applaud Moore for having the gusto, wit, and brains to come up with a novel like this. This was one of the most hilarious, imaginative, and (unfortunately at the end) sad novels I’ve read in a long time, and one I’m sure to read again.