Rating: 
Summary: The Biff Movement!
Review: I HAVE to leave a review. The chances are that noone will get through all 150 other reviews and get to mine but I still have to tell the world how PERFECT this book was. I literally cried at times from laughing. If you don't think this book is funny you really need to go and find your sense of humor and try reading it again. I personally have had a hard time with religion but after reading this book, I can think of Jesus (Bar Biff, haha) as a person. And I truly pray that he had a best friend that he could rely on and love like He does Biff in this book. It makes it personal and really makes you love him. Even if you don't believe he was here, the story, really is a wild ride!! You can appreciate anyone going through the kind of things that these two went through.
Me and my Mother have started a Biff movement. Already we have gotten about 20 people to read this book and hopefully they'll each get 5 people to read it as well. I am stunned that I haven't seen this on any best sellers lists.
That's it! I'm calling Oprah and having her put this one in her book of the month club. The whole world needs to read this book and Christopher Moore should win some kind of an Award!!!
EVERY single person who has read this book that I've spoken to has said that it really made them think and some of them (non-religious) said that they felt like praying for the first time in years. So help us out with the Biff movement and share this book with EVERYONE when you're done reading it. ("You can't be Moses." "Why not?" "Because I have the stick.") HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Blessed are the Dumb*#cks for they ah....Don't know any better.=)
Love you Josh and Biff!!! Thank You, Christopher Moore!
Strap on your sense of humor Boy's and Girl's! It's Christopher Moore Time!!!
Rating: 
Summary: What Would Biff Do?
Review: The story of Jesus' childhood as told through the eyes of his best friend is just too good of an idea to pass up. Chris Moore does a terrific job of sketching out the misadventures of Biff (Levi), Joshua (Jesus), and Maggie (Mary Magdalene) as they grow up. Biff was resurrected by the angel Raziel in order to tell the tale; these are hilarious episodes that are interspersed with these childhood memories. I laughed a lot while reading this book and it made me remember some of those dreary Sunday School lessons with a new perspective. The story does slow down a bit towards the end in order to weave into the common knowledge. On the plus side, it has many great jokes and one-liners. And most importantly, this book confirmed that God doesn't care if you eat bacon. Yum!
Rating:
Summary: Jaredbe
Review: This book is very funny. I also learned more about the actual life of Jesus in this book than I did in all of my sunday school classes combined. I was so inspired by the funny way Jesus might have developed into the savior that I read the new testament imedietely after the this book. I wanted to see the end of the story. No one knocking at my door during dinner time has had the same effect.
Rating:
Summary: Ludicrous and funny -- but not for the strict Christian!
Review: I consider myself a moderately religious person.
When I started reading Lamb, I was somewhat taken
aback at many of the interactions in the book.
I mean, would Jesus really say "F'em!"? And are
angels really stupid dunces? It all seemed kind of
sacreligious. However, I have to say, that my sense
of humor got the better of me and taking it for
what it was -- mostly fiction -- it really grew on
me. It's not like the ending was a big secret, but
I found that I couldn't put it down. I was just
waiting to see what new twist the author would add.
And the funny thing is, I actually learned a good
deal from it because there is some historical
accuracy there and had a great many laughs while
reading it. It also made me think a lot about
what really might have happened if you looked
at the story from a different perspective. I was
going to give a copy to my pastor, but I think it
might be too over the edge for her.
Rating: 
Summary: Ponder away
Review: Christopher Moore has written a very interesting book. Perhaps it is worth reading just to ponder on its purpose. The purpose is quite elusive indeed. Moore takes the unknown story of Joshua's (Christ's) childhood, and plops it into the gutter of twentieth century muck. We are sent into the games and utterances of children that would be easy to envisage today, but quite difficult and disconcerting (unbelievable? or were kids always kids?) to think about for Jesus/Joshua. Early on in the book, as one example, Joshua kills and brings life back to, kills and brings life back to, repeatedly, a lizard, all to satisfy his own adolescent curiosity, and the entertainment of his best friend Biff. Biff is the narrator of the story, a brazen, scheming, streetwise chap that loves and is loyal to Joshua. If you find it difficult to get past the idea of Jesus killing an animal just to satisfy himself that he can reanimate it, Lamb may not be for you. I suppose this kind of high jinks is funny to some people, but I had a hard time finding the humor in much of Lamb. There are funny sections, but to call the book, in an encompassing description, funny or hilarious, is going way too far for me. But there is much more to Lamb than humor. Even so, Moore has much more in store for you in this book that will be at least as disconcerting as the lizard scene; the angels, as another example, are quite disconcerting; think John Travolta's Michael. It is true that the book becomes more "traditional" in its presentation of Joshua as he approaches 30. And the later quarter of the book tries to stick to the known themes about Jesus in the Bible. In the middle, the major portion of the book, there are some very interesting sections where Joshua and Biff journey the world, looking for the three wise men. They learn about other worldviews and religions in three stories, dealing with Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. All are compelling, although the later is certainly given the harshest treatment. So Moore transcends time in some sense, giving a modern version of Jesus/Joshua to ponder. He crosses boundaries on the world's biggest religions. And he finally makes a statement with regard to Biff, and Jesus's other best friend Maggie (Mary of Magdalene), that is quite difficult to understand. I finally had to suppose that Moore was quite intentional with this ending, and without giving too much away, let me say that it was very surprising, and perhaps quite profound. After all that, you might be confused as to whether I liked Lamb or not. I can say quite clearly that in the end I did not. It did make me think, and I am still thinking about it. Usually, that is exactly the kind of book I do like, and like a lot. But, in the final analysis, I found this book ugly, vulgar, and trivializing (just in case you are wondering, I am not a Christian). In other words, it absolutely did not work for me. Moore took a theme that his writing simply could not encompass; it was too big, and too important for his humor and simplistic views. He wasn't convincing in any of the portrayals, especially Biff's, the key figure throughout the book. Perhaps I'll feel differently with time. But I doubt it. For the kind of message Moore seems to be sending with this book, it will take more than a Biff to make the case.
Rating:
Summary: Oh my, "true" christians, beware - you'll have to think !!
Review: Simply, I was shocked -- and laughed, laughed and laughed. The puns on jewish customs, the basis for jewish new york chinese on christmas day, among other things, Biff himself, left me in stitches. Their lives in the east, the miracles, who knows, but wonderfully worth fantasizing upon. I enjoyed it...It proves religion can be dealt with in a serious/funny manner and to heck with the "true believers."
Rating:
Summary: Blasphemous, obscene - and funny as all get-out
Review: I'm sure that a lot of people, religious or otherwise, have wondered how Jesus spent his early years, before the events set down in the New Testament. Perhaps a biography of those years does exist - but "Lamb" ain't it. Christopher Moore pokes fun at just about every aspect of Christ's known life and philosophy, and does so with a wicked sense of humor. That humor is almost British at times, without being overly vulgar or sacreligious. If you are a Christian (Catholic or Protestant) and take your religion a bit too seriously I advise you to read this book; it'll help put things into perspective. Even if you're not, read it. Some people put far too much emphasis on religion these days - this book will help take them down a peg or two.
Rating:
Summary: The Gospel of Biff: Christ's missing years.
Review: In Christopher Moore's clever "Gospel According to Biff," "Levi who is called Biff" returns to "dirt-duty" to tell "the whole story" of his childhood pal, Jesus (a.k.a. "Joshua"). While under the watchful eye of a tv-addicted angel (Raziel), Biff writes his Gospel in the St. Louis hotel room they share. "What I'm saying," he explains, "is that these guys, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, they got some of it right, the big stuff, but they missed a lot (like thirty years, for instance). I'll try to fill it in, which is why, I guess, the angel brought me back from the dead" (p. 317). In his Gospel, Biff offers his firsthand insights into certain miracles that required practice, Joshua's relationship with "Maggie" of Magdala, and how bunnies became associated with Easter, among other gospel truths. He recounts the most-excellent (though somewhat slow-paced) adventure he and Joshua share "to obtain sacred and ancient knowledge" from the three magi (Balthasar, Gaspar, and Melchior), who were present at Christ's birth. And in a surprising cameo appearance, "Maggie" even reveals to Biff what the "H" stands for in "Jesus H. Christ." While it may not show its reader the way to life after death, irreverent, satiric, and sure to offend certain readers, the Gospel of Biff will bless its reader with the gift of laughter while doing "dirt-time" in this life. And it will no doubt leave readers (like me) wondering, who is this guy, Christopher Moore, and what else has he written? G. Merritt
Rating:
Summary: The New Testament.....A Funny Version
Review: Of course, the discovery of a fifth major gospel would be the greatest archeological discovery in recent history. The reason is because we really know so little about arguably the most influential person in human history, as the four existing gospels provide the most basic and sparse accounts of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Adding on to this black hole of knowledge is the fact that we know absolutely zero about Jesus before he was thirty years old, as few clues or even oral accounts have survived from the writings of early Christianity. Stepping into this gaping dearth of information is writer Christopher Moore, who provides an enjoyable account of Jesus' life as a youth. Obviously, it would be better if we had a new gospel by, let's say St. Peter, but I don't think it would be as much fun. This new story of Jesus does not come from a stuffy old saint, but from Biff, the young buddy of Jesus. Biff is far from a saint, as he is your usual teenage sinner who is interested in girls and holy land mischief (teasing the Pharisees', etc.). But Biff is stumped when it comes to his best friend, Joshua (Jesus). The boy seems above it all, and always has some kind of greater purpose on his mind. Even stranger, he always seems to refer to his Father as some distant, otherworldly figure, while poor Joseph, the male of the house, goes to work everyday, bringing home the bacon. Strange... The lives of both of the young men are changed when they meet Maggie from Magdala. The alluring and, ahem, "active" young beauty quickly falls in love with the blue eyed boy dreamer with the long hair, much to the consternation of hormonal maniac Biff. From there, the two boys begin to grow up, going on trips and getting into all kinds of trouble along the way. Later in life, however, the problems really start. Biff noticed that Joshua had powers before, but it begins to really get dicey when Joshua starts to tell others of his power and his message. Biff is a lighthearted disciple of Jesus, never really getting into the close-knit circle of the 12, but he has his opinions. Lamb is a very funny book, especially if you are relatively well versed in the synoptic gospels. The studied eye can pick up on all the little jokes that Moore puts all throughout his narrative. Even if you don't know the Bible at all, the book is still hilarious, with all kinds of modern day problems transported into Roman Judea. The dialogue is extremely well written, and Biff has a very lovable and engaging personality. The only problems I saw with the book have been mentioned before by other reviewers. One, the dialogue can be very confusing to read sometimes, as it comes very fast but with little notation on who is actually talking. Two, the ending was not really funny even though it tried to portray the last days of Jesus with some humor. I don't know, it all seemed a little silly and forced at the end. Other than that though, Lamb is a joy to read for all.
Rating:
Summary: Funniest book I've ever read!
Review: This is the first book I've read by Christopher Moore, but it certainly won't be the last. His style of writing is so down to earth that you can relate to everything he says instantly. You'll laugh out loud numerous times and repeat passages to friends, family, or anyone who has an ear. The basis of the book is that Levi (Who is called Biff) was Christ's best friend growing up. With orders from God, the angel Raziel has resurrected Biff in modern day Egypt, travels with him to NYC, and locks him in a hotel room. Raziel, who is addicted to pro wrestling, MTV, and soap operas, is locked in the room with Biff and charges him with the task of writing his own gospel of Christ to fill in the gaps that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John left out which was pretty much everything from the wise men to the age of 33. Biff recounts his time with Joshua (Joshua is his Hebrew name, Jesus is his Greek name) and their adventures to teach Josh how to be the Messiah. Along the way, you'll learn about Biff's experiences with the Kama Sutra, Josh's schooling in meditation and knack for getting stuck in wine bottles, what bunnies have to do with Easter, what the "H" stands for in Jesus H. Christ, and most of all, the bond between two best friends. Is it satire? Of course. Is it blasphemous? That's for the reader to decide. Is it the funniest book I've ever read? Without a doubt.
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