A comic novel in which humorous theological interpretations favor flippancy over derision.
Mortal beings on a spiritual journey encounter a motley assortment of characters in Aunsoo’s debut farce that sends up various religions.
Amma the Many Breasted Goddess is the Creator of All That Is. She gives free will to her children, who, like Amma herself, often roam the Earth. Though the goddess loves the Humans—she capitalizes their name—she created, she notes that they were “annoying and willful right from the start” and creates the Moroli to keep them under control. The Moroli are also mortal but otherwise superior to Humans. They consume blood and regularly hunt Human virgins. But Volod, a Moroli who begins questioning the Moroli Way, goes on a journey of transformation—to be reborn as Human. Along with his male companion and sometime lover, Aurel, and, later, Mimir, an elderly woman, Volod floats down the Kutsal and Lethe rivers. The three voyagers come across a medley of people, from a false prophet to a possibly deranged author. Meanwhile, Britney, a female Human who’s “bewitched” with “Sexual Hunger,” pursues Volod and Aurel, having witnessed them sucking blood and believing they’re “vampire boys” aiming to turn her into one of their kind. Volod is wary of the seemingly crazed Britney and hopes to steer clear of her until he finds Amma, who will complete his transformation. This quirky satire entails religious imagery such as that of cattle, which some beliefs hold sacred, and a variation on the story of Adam and Eve. But Aunsoo doesn’t single out one religion for ridicule over others and maintains a steady supply of absurdity. The novel comprises three “Testaments,” focusing on Amma, the genesis of the Moroli, and, for the bulk of the story, Volod’s spiritual journey. While the narrative includes the English translation of ancient cuneiform tablets discovered in Iraq, there are also more contemporary references. These are typically silly, including the use of relatively modern slang (“kick-ass weed” or “you’re freaking me out”) and of pop culture such as the song “Singin’ in the Rain” and a particularly funny Star Wars joke.
A comic novel in which humorous theological interpretations favor flippancy over derision.Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2020
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 201
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942
ISBN: 0060652934
Page Count: 53
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943
Unanswerable questions wrapped inside a thought-provoking yarn.
An inspirational novel about a disaster and an answered prayer by the author of The Five People You Meet in Heaven (2003).
What if you call out for the Lord and he actually appears before you? Days after billionaire Jason Lambert’s luxury yacht Galaxy suddenly sinks in the North Atlantic with many illustrious passengers aboard, a few survivors float in a life raft. Among them is Benji, a deckhand who narrates the ordeal in a notebook while they desperately hope for rescue. Lambert is a caricature of a greedy capitalist pig who thinks only of himself and his lost ship and mocks Benji as “scribble boy,” but the main character is a young stranger pulled out of the water. “Well, thank the Lord we found you,” a woman tells him. “I am the Lord,” he whispers in reply. Imagine the others’ skepticism: If you’re not lying, then why won’t you save us? Why don’t you answer our prayers? I always answer people’s prayers, he replies, “but sometimes the answer is no.” Meanwhile, the ship’s disappearance is big news as searchers scour the vast ocean in vain. The lost survivors are surrounded by water and dying of thirst, “a grim reminder of how little the natural world cares for our plans.” Out of desperation, one person succumbs to temptation and drinks ocean water—always a bad mistake. Another becomes shark food. The Lord says that for him to help, everyone must accept him first, and Lambert, for one, is having none of it. The storyline and characters aren’t deep, but they’re still entertaining. A disaffected crew member might or might not have sunk the ship with limpet mines. And whether the raft’s occupants survive seems beside the point—does a higher power exist that may pluck believers like Benji safely from the sea? Or is faith a sucker’s bet? Lord knows.
Unanswerable questions wrapped inside a thought-provoking yarn.Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-288834-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
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