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zeynan3's review
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
ottopilot's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
I am getting old.
And as I get older, I find male authors putting women in uncomfortable sexual situations and having their characters react like it's nothing appeals to me less and less.
So I really wanted to read this book because it's billed as good, underrated religious satire. It's been sitting on my shelf for the better part of five years and I figured now, in the days leading up to Holy Week, it was time to take it on.
As pretty much all of the western world knows, the Bible tells the story of Jesus being born to a woman who was impregnated without having sex.* Many don't know that only two of the four Gospels reference this, and they are the only two books in the Bible that share that story. Whether you believe it or not, it's a familiar tale.
This book is billed as the coming of Jesus' "sister," the daughter of God. Cool. And in theory, it tries to follow some of the same narrative of the traditionally understood Jesus story. I'm with ya. So the author wanted to write a story about the mother of the "daughter of God" getting impregnated from birth. All right.
So the mother gets drunk once at a high school party. Red flags kick in but I continue. She passes out on a bed. (oh no). She wakes up the next morning next to the handsome guy from the school. Oh cool, he's gay so he couldn't have touched me, ha ha. So she doesn't seem upset at all that she woke up in bed next to a man who may or may not have had sex with her.
And then she finds out later that she's pregnant. But not to worry, she gets a vision from an angel named Gabriel that she's bearing God's child and it's all good.
I can't. I just can't.
I'm not a woman. And I've never been raped. So I don't know how one is supposed to act. But I feel like when you wake up from a night of drinking, and you may or may not have had anonymous sex of which you don't remember, and then you get pregnant as a result, you're going to feel more than a little violated.
I don't know if the author was using this as a trope to suss out if the Jesus-sister was actually the result of a virgin birth or a drunken one-night stand. I didn't stick around to find out.
I guess we all have deal breakers when it comes to our cultural entertainment. And this is mine.
I might go back to this book one day. Or not. I don't know.
*-This is NOT the immaculate conception, by the way. The immaculate conception is the long held Catholic dogmatic stance that Mary was born without sin.
And as I get older, I find male authors putting women in uncomfortable sexual situations and having their characters react like it's nothing appeals to me less and less.
So I really wanted to read this book because it's billed as good, underrated religious satire. It's been sitting on my shelf for the better part of five years and I figured now, in the days leading up to Holy Week, it was time to take it on.
As pretty much all of the western world knows, the Bible tells the story of Jesus being born to a woman who was impregnated without having sex.* Many don't know that only two of the four Gospels reference this, and they are the only two books in the Bible that share that story. Whether you believe it or not, it's a familiar tale.
This book is billed as the coming of Jesus' "sister," the daughter of God. Cool. And in theory, it tries to follow some of the same narrative of the traditionally understood Jesus story. I'm with ya. So the author wanted to write a story about the mother of the "daughter of God" getting impregnated from birth. All right.
So the mother gets drunk once at a high school party. Red flags kick in but I continue. She passes out on a bed. (oh no). She wakes up the next morning next to the handsome guy from the school. Oh cool, he's gay so he couldn't have touched me, ha ha. So she doesn't seem upset at all that she woke up in bed next to a man who may or may not have had sex with her.
And then she finds out later that she's pregnant. But not to worry, she gets a vision from an angel named Gabriel that she's bearing God's child and it's all good.
I can't. I just can't.
I'm not a woman. And I've never been raped. So I don't know how one is supposed to act. But I feel like when you wake up from a night of drinking, and you may or may not have had anonymous sex of which you don't remember, and then you get pregnant as a result, you're going to feel more than a little violated.
I don't know if the author was using this as a trope to suss out if the Jesus-sister was actually the result of a virgin birth or a drunken one-night stand. I didn't stick around to find out.
I guess we all have deal breakers when it comes to our cultural entertainment. And this is mine.
I might go back to this book one day. Or not. I don't know.
*-This is NOT the immaculate conception, by the way. The immaculate conception is the long held Catholic dogmatic stance that Mary was born without sin.
robert1234's review against another edition
3.0
I had hoped to enjoy this book more then I did. Although the author does touch upon some interesting ideas, his writing style was ultimately too simplistic.
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