June 04, 2005

A Genre Tweak

The title of the book is: Judith Christ of Nazareth: The Gospels of the Bible Corrected to Reflect that Christ was a Woman.

Not only do we get a Jesusetta named Judith, but there's the Prodigal Daughter, and The Lady's Prayer. And the publisher's name is allegedly "Billie Shakespeare." I can't find anything definitive about the publisher, "LBI Institute," but I imagine it's a self-publishing outfit of some kind.

I've got to say that, as great (read "retarded") as this story is on its own, the Amazon reviews make it even better. It's been getting panned with a lot of one-star reviews, some outraged, some amused, and some where it's a bit hard to tell.

"This book," writes one reviewer, "is straight from the pit." Several warn the authors of their impending eternal damnation. And, getting into the spirit of the thing, a few reviewers identifying themselves by various Devil-aliases chime in with glowing reviews.

I'm not at all sure whether or not to read this one as sarcasm:

Sensitive. Insightful. Nurturing. Thank you for this wonderful book.
Judges?

And then there's Brandon who, in one of the most enjoyable Amazon reviews I can ever remember reading, cries foul:

None of these 54 or so people who have so dramatically panned this book has actually read it. Half of them admit as much...

As far as the book goes, I've read it. It's nothing special. It's a genre tweak. The language is nearly as dry as the gospels. It's not all that innovative, and in a way it's a one-trick pony.


Brandon concedes that those who think the Corrected Bible is a bit too innovative are entitled to their opinions - "however wrong-headed." But he has reported them to the proper authorities. Next time you want to criticize the Bible, read the damn book first, OK? Come on, people!

(via The Anchoress, who, God bless her, gives the matter a great deal more serious thought than it probably deserves.)

UPDATE: as Eric of the Sonic Dolls points out in the comments, it can be diverting to read the Amazon reviews of other editions of The Holy Bible. He says it's like MRR in a lot of ways, and he has a point. I particularly like this anti-Bible guy, who appears to have spammed the same seething denunciation to each of the thousands of Bibles on sale. "Mind loops of futility"! I thought it was a pretty good read myself...

Posted by Dr. Frank at June 4, 2005 03:44 PM | TrackBack
Comments

Forget the reviews: is the book serious, or a pisstake? I'm sure it'll receive wonderful reviews in colleges across the land.

Posted by: Fcb at June 4, 2005 07:16 PM

Me, I'm partial to Christopher Moore's "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Friend."

Posted by: The Chimpunks at June 4, 2005 08:36 PM

Lamb is one of my favorite books.

Posted by: Jodi at June 4, 2005 11:20 PM

Especially with a little bit of rosemary with a touch of ranch dressing.

Posted by: Wes at June 4, 2005 11:29 PM

I like imagining that the "straight from the pit" review is referring to the mosh pit.

Posted by: combustible boy at June 5, 2005 06:29 PM

Wooo, this made me check for reviews of The Holy Bible on Amazon. Not too much unexpected, but an impressive lot like MRR in a lot of ways.
Love from Germany, Eric

Posted by: Eric at June 5, 2005 07:06 PM