# Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

By Christopher Moore

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/lamb-the-gospel-according-to-biff-christ-s-childhood-pal-16188ae4/

Biff has been brought back from the dead to write about the missing years of his childhood friend Joshua, better known as Jesus. Under an angel's supervision in a modern hotel, he recalls the travels and mishaps that preceded Joshua's public ministry.

## What makes it funny?

Biff introduces the future Messiah through an incident with a lizard and a miracle. His account makes room for ordinary questions about his friend's name, with the impatience of someone who knew the sacred figure long before anyone wrote a gospel about him.

### The comedy at work

Modern slang and an exasperated friend's voice puncture the grandeur of the religious story. Biff digresses, complains and treats miracles as experiences he happened to share, giving the retelling the informality of personal gossip.

### Try this if…

Comfort with bawdy religious satire matters here. Biff's irreverent chatter and Moore's wordplay offer more guidance to the book's appeal than an interest in historical reconstruction alone.

### Good to know

Sexual humor and religious irreverence recur throughout. Publishers Weekly found the ribald patter repetitive, while also noting a more heartfelt closing stretch.

## What to expect

- Genre: Fantasy · Historical
- On the shelf: Ancient world
- Kind of humor: Satire · Wordplay
- The atmosphere: Irreverent
- Audience: Adult
- Format: Novel
- Length: 464 pages (ebook)

## A few distinguishing details

- A resurrected gospel writer in a modern hotel
- Jesus' childhood recounted by his friend

## Sources & further reading

- Book information: [Lamb by Christopher Moore on Apple Books](https://books.apple.com/us/book/lamb/id360608639)
- Review: [Publishers Weekly review](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780380978403)
- Book information: [Google Books bibliographic edition](https://books.google.com/books/about/Lamb.html?id=cM4dlwEACAAJ)
- Library catalog: [Free Library of Philadelphia catalog](https://catalog.freelibrary.org/Record/1449836)
- Reading sample: [Authorized opening excerpt at BookBrowse](https://www.bookbrowse.com/excerpts/index.cfm/book_number/1009/lamb)
- Review: [Kirkus review](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/christopher-moore/lamb)