The Eternal Footman

Rating:
Summary: The Most Complex Addition to the Trilogy
Review: "The Eternal Footman," the final book in James Morrow's Jehovah Trilogy, serves as an interesting capstone to the series. It's much different from the other books; not so much about psychology or philosophy, it's more a re-telling of the tale outlined in The Book of Revelation, although with an obvious Morrow twist. As such, it might not appeal to the same kinds of readers that the other two books attracted, but "Footman" is in no way a lesser book because of it.

Years after the trial at The Hague, God's body disassembled itself piece by piece, His intestines swimming through the ocean like a gigantic snake and His skull sits in geosynchronous orbit over Times Square. The Vatican rents His skull for advertisers, so people are treated to Microsoft and Coca-Cola ads 24/7. But, it causes other problems as well...

In Nora's struggle and the development of the Temple in Mexico, Morrow reveals the ultimate philosophical lesson in his Jehovah Trilogy: that human value should not be created by external things, even God. It's what Nietzsche referred to as the "metaphysics of the hangman," and is echoed by those who claim that if there is no God, there is no point in living. That is what the plague victims seem to think, and that is what the Antichrist seeks to capitalize on. It is also what God wants humans to grow beyond.

It's the ultimate religious/existential lesson, one that Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and even Heidegger stressed in their works. It is also one of the most complex philosophical concepts to communicate, and Morrow manages to do it in one novel (actually, the setup was there through all the books).

Old characters are brought back, and new ones introduced. Like "Blameless," "Footman" is a walk in the forest to read, pleasant and dense without being oppressive. Morrow again finds the correct mix of story and philosophy by which to tell his tale, and by so doing weaves as juicy and delicious a narrative for which one could ask. "Footman" is much heavier than his other works, and is not simply the tongue-in-cheek satire of the first two volumes. ...

Rating:
Summary: After great sadness, a sudden stillness comes...
Review: James Morrow has a formidable reputation among fantasists. This is the man who's willing to take on the Old Testament (Bible Stories For Adults), the idea that lying is better than telling the truth (City of Truth), the atom bomb (This is the Way the World Ends), and even God Himself (Towing Jehovah and Blameless in Abaddon). It's my pleasure to report that James Morrow's deepseated grief and anger with how unpleasant people, and philosophy, can be to other people is still alive and well (unlike, of course, God, in this third book of a trilogy). There are a few familiar faces from Morrow's other work that turn up in this book- both friendly and not so friendly. The book is surprising- and at the risk of spoilering slightly, it's unlikely that you will anticipate the ending-- though it is impossible to imagine the book (and the trilogy) ending any other way. A truly wonderful book, from a truly questioning mind. Mark Twain would be proud.

Rating:
Summary: Please read this book!
Review: James Morrow is an extraordinary writer. Who else you've heard of would think of a plague of Nietzche-positive individuals after the death of God? Morrow's fusion of dark humor and philosophy rates him up there with Philip K. Dick and a few others. It's very sad that most people are reading John Grisham or Michael Crichton instead of this master.

Rating:
Summary: Ho-Hum
Review: This is the third installment in Morrow's "God-head trilogy." He should have left it at just the first two. While his first two books often pushed his ridiculous atheistic views, at least they were interesting stories. This one is just plain dull. His writing style has become so cumbersome. I can imagine him sitting at his typewriter and consulting a thesaurus with each sentence he writes. It's as though his ego needs to try and prove how intelligent he is to the reader. However, he comes across as bombastic and boring. There were many times that I almost gave up on finishing the novel because it was lulling me to sleep.

I won't go into the details of the story since so many other reviews have already done that. However, I will recommend that you pass this book up. At least, check it out from the library and don't waste your money.