Rating: 
Summary: The best in eschatological science fiction
Review: James Morrow has made eschatological science fiction and fantasy his domain over the past ten years. He started with the short stories "Bible Stories for Adults", which garnered him a Nebula award, then quickly followed up with a novel in the same vein, 1990's Only Begotten Daughter, in which the second coming of God comes in the female form. His latest novel, Towing Jehovah, continues his study of modern religion with the ultimate test of faith--the Death of God.Anthony Van Horne is a disgraced oil freighter Captain who lost his post after a disastrous collision with a reef in the Gulf of Mexico that spilled crude over a 20 mile stretch of Texas coastline. His ablutions prove fruitful, because it is he who the archangel Raphael chooses to helm the most important salvage operation of all time. Yes, God is dead and floating supine in tropical waters. The angels, who are dying of empathy, have carved him a tomb in the Antartic and want Van Horne to take control of his recently repaired oil freighter, find the Corpus Dei, and tow it to its icy grave. Joining Van Horne is Thomas Ockham, the controversial New York priest cum physicist, personally selected by the Vatican in consultation with the archangel Gabriel to be the spiritual leader of the expedition. The Vatican has its own goal--due to the calculations of its powerful computer OMNIVAC, it has determined that due to the size of the corpse, brain death may not have fully occurred, and the faster the corpse is frozen, the better the chance that God's neurons might be saved. Along the way, Van Horne rescues Dr. Cassandra Fowler, adrift in the tropics due to a failed trip to the Galapagos Islands in a recreation of Darwin's famous voyage in the Beagle. Unbeknownst to Van Horne, Fowler is a member of a radical feminist/atheist organization and is determined to sink Van Horne's cargo instead of taking the chance that the current patriarchal system use it as proof of the gender of the creator just as feminist advances had made such inroads against the system. Morrow's novel is both audacious and extremely funny. While some find his eschatological studies sacrilegious, I do not think that is his intent (beyond the obvious establishment nose-tweaking). Morrow, in true science fiction fashion, is postulating "What If," but instead of writing about starships and aliens, Morrow examines culture and religion. For his background sources he utilizes the work of Kant, Thomas Moore, and Heigel, following the long tradition of philosophers trying to explain the ultimate mystery of creation. While Morrow's text is serious in its intent, it remains a modern novel, full of character and events, some of which may also offend gentler sensibilities. For those willing to play what if, however, Morrow has found his niche, and he continues to mine gold.
Rating: 
Summary: Strangest Book I've Ever Read
Review: "Towing Jehovah" is very possibly the strangest book I've ever read. I can't imagine I'll ever reread it, but I'm glad I read it in the first place, and did buy the sequel. I didn't find it even vaguely humerous, other than in the darkest, most ironic of ways. There were far too many deeply troubled people in the cast of characters for genuine humor to work. As overtly sacriligeous as the book might appear at first appearances (towing God's dead body with an oil tanker), the author actually managed to pull it off in what I thought was a quite respectful manner. And, believe me, that's quite a feat considering the bizarre stuff he had the characters doing. Even more odd, while reading I couldn't stop trying to work out the dimensions of the deity's corpse, i.e., if the body is five miles long would the belly button in fact be large enough to drive a jeep into. The story did drag at times, and other than the nifty gimmick suggested by the title, it was hard to see how the plot actually drove the story toward the conclusion, or any conclusion, but it came off okay at the end. One of the things I enjoyed most was the apparently well-researched view of an oil tanker and how it was operated.
Rating: 
Summary: Haiku Review
Review: Great premise but too
Many sub-plots and tangents.
Love story is forced.
Rating:
Summary: A witty satire about religion and contemporary life
Review: "Towing Jehovah," the first book in James Morrow's trilogy (which includes "Blameless in Abaddon" and "The Eternal Footman") begins with a delightfully ontologically troubling premise: what if God is deceased, and what to do with his two-mile long corpse? Morrow shows us the various parties who take an interest in the Corpus Dei and their varying agendas, satirizing everything from religion to re-enactment societies. What's particularly interesting is the way the existence of God's corpse causes atheists to question their own beliefs. Morrow's book is witty and clever throughout, and he ties together all the strands of his story with ingenuity. His characterizations, particularly of the Sea Captain Anthony Van Horne and the priest Father Ockam, are complex and bring the characters to life. Morrow provides us with a very down-to-earth (and occasionally grotesque) examination of an entirely surreal situation.
Rating:
Summary: Strangest Book I've Ever Read
Review: "Towing Jehovah" is very possibly the strangest book I've ever read. I can't imagine I'll ever reread it, but I'm glad I read it in the first place, and did buy the sequel. I didn't find it even vaguely humerous, other than in the darkest, most ironic of ways. There were far too many deeply troubled people in the cast of characters for genuine humor to work. As overtly sacriligeous as the book might appear at first appearances (towing God's dead body with an oil tanker), the author actually managed to pull it off in what I thought was a quite respectful manner. And, believe me, that's quite a feat considering the bizarre stuff he had the characters doing. Even more odd, while reading I couldn't stop trying to work out the dimensions of the deity's corpse, i.e., if the body is five miles long would the belly button in fact be large enough to drive a jeep into. The story did drag at times, and other than the nifty gimmick suggested by the title, it was hard to see how the plot actually drove the story toward the conclusion, or any conclusion, but it came off okay at the end. One of the things I enjoyed most was the apparently well-researched view of an oil tanker and how it was operated.
Rating:
Summary: What an odd and terrific book
Review: When I first started reading Towing Jehovah, I'm not sure what I expected. What I got was a very funny (laugh-out-loud funny) satirical novel that is about towing the 2 mile long body of God to Antartica for preservation. I didn't expect it but the book was terrific. I've ordered the two sequels and looking forward to devouring them!
Rating:
Summary: Good book
Review: It has been a while since i have read this, but I remember it being an interesting read. I think it ended up fizzling out a little at the end, but it left a good enough impression on me that I am using it to direct me to other books like it.
Rating:
Summary: a BIG surprise!
Review: God, a 2 mile giant, croaks and floats in the ocean. What now?
I laughed and thought a lot. You won't forget this one! James Morrow is a gem. A World Fantasy Award Winner. (You never know where these books will take you.)
Rating:
Summary: Vonnegut's heir
Review: P>TOWING JEHOVAH starts with an intriguing premise; if God were dead, what would happen to the body? In this case, it lies in the Atlantic Ocean, a two mile-long corpse of staggering dimensions. Faced with this dilemma, leaderless angels take it upon themselves to contact the Vatican, hire a ship commanded by the disgraced captain of a horrific oil spill (think EXXON), and tow the body to the Arctic, where an icy tomb awaits. Along the way, a variety of people and events serve to point out the many, MANY foibles of mankind. Suddenly faced with the prospect of life without constant watch from above, the boat's crew begins to experiment with life in Anno Postdomini One. Sin becomes pointless, and anarchy begins to take hold. Murder occurs, sex explodes, and gluttony becomes the order of the day, despite the ship's Vatican representative insisting that despite the lack of a supreme being, it does not negate the Kantian moral law that exists within. The Vatican (or, the Big See) faces extinction, and attempt to hide God's death from the public. Devoted atheists, also facing extinction, seek to destroy the corpse, thus hiding proof of God's existence. I recall a particular sketch from Canadian comedy troupe THE KIDS IN THE HALL; a priest, faced with proof that God both existed and is dead, solemnly intones, "I've got some good news . . . and some bad news." Critics have compared Morrow's tale to the works of Jonathan Swift, but the comparison is not accurate. Morrow's methods are a much more direct version of satire than Swift, who preferred metaphor to direct comparison. This is not to slight Morrow's accomplishments at all, only to point out that Morrow's targets are never in doubt. Vonnegut is a far more incisive comparison in both Morrow's scope and humour. However, Morrow has a more detailed style than Vonnegut. Where Vonnegut's classics read as fables in their simplicity of design and form, Morrow favours more descriptive language, more asides as to the nature of his characters and settings. For example, Morrow goes into unexpectedly particular depiction of God's floating body. As the shipmates watch over the gigantic corpse, ensuring that scavengers do not make off with large chunks of it, the overall immensity of the body hits home. Hunters drive jeeps over the belly, into the navel. Divers swim into the ear canal to attach tow hooks. Trekkers pause in the shade of a mole. While Morrow unflinchingly details the descent into chaos that mankind is capable of, TOWING JEHOVAH is not a condemnation of our faults. It is a celebration of everything that makes us who we are, capturing the beauty and sorrow of our existence in equal measure. In TOWING JEHOVAH, Morrow has captured the comedic essence of mankind's search for meaning beyond what we can see. Like Vonnegut, he satirizes while sympathizing, a rare combination. If Morrow can avoid the almost standard protests that accompany the more widely seen films that question faith (e.g., DOGMA, THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST), he may reach the level of respectability that Vonnegut has achieved.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful premise
Review: I came across Morrow's novels through a Freethinker's website. I don't know whether I'm a theist or not, but I appreciate the idea of a post-theist world. There are some masterful moments in this book, which I had a hard time putting down. I read the whole series in 4 days! (I intend to write reviews of "Blameless in Abaddon" and "The Eternal Footman.") I was tickled by the subplot involving Cassie Fowler and her little coffee klatsch of free-thinkers. I know someone just like her so I couldn't help but think of this woman as I was reading. There were a number of fairly well-developed minor characters as well. Weisinger will stay with me for a long time to come as will Fr. Thomas Ockham. Morrow doesn't condescend to his theistic characters, though he is rightfully unsympathetic to the one representative of oranized religion that appears in the book. And at the close, I did find myself getting emotional. At the beginning of the book, Raphael hints at what will be coming at the end -- a scene with Van Horne's dysfunctional father. I found myself crying at that scene, but I am an old softy. It's a very good read, and one that I found more fruitful than Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. I can't help but compare the two in my head. They're very different, but they say similar things and I think this one is superior.
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