June 2006 Archives

Reviewed by Jessica Waugh, Library Specialist

This hilarious recounting of the first 30 years of Jesus Christ (according to his best friend, known as Levi in the Bible, Biff in this book) is recommended for anyone who wants a good belly laugh and a slightly skewed take on the Son of God's early years. Biff finds himself in the 20th century, brought back from the dead, sequestered in the Hyatt Hotel in St. Louis and told he must complete the task of putting down the particulars of the early life of Jesus (aka Josh) before he could find any peace. His captor, a humorless angel, forbids him any contact with the outside world. Even the hotel's Gideon's Bible is off-limits to Biff since the angel doesn't want him to know "the ending."

As the life of Jesus prior to the age of 30 is scarcely covered in sacred texts, humorist Christopher Moore takes us on a wild romp through China, India and the holy lands starting with Josh as a small boy (making his mother Mary's face appear on a piece of bread; partially resurrecting a dead frog) and going through his death and beyond. Biff gets to do all the things that Josh will not permit himself to experience. Both boys have a crush on Mary Magdelene, but only Biff will act on it. Actually, Biff is enamored of nearly every female in his life — especially Josh's mom, Mary. His love for the ladies is prominent throughout his tale.

As teens, Biff and Josh take off for lands unknown because Josh is beginning to realize that he has a "higher purpose," but he isn't sure exactly what that is. He makes the decision to seek knowledge from various sources, including conjurers, sorcerers and mages. In their hunt for the Three Wise Men, their exploits are laced with Buddhist and Hindu sub-plots and Moore's unique take on the real meaning of the parables of Jesus. By the end of Biff's story, we learn of his heartbreak when he is unable to talk Josh out of sacrificing himself for the world. The adventures of Biff and Josh endear both of them to the reader and at the end of this romp, you realize that you've read something surprisingly spiritual and moving.

Cabell Library PS3563.O594 L36 2002

Reviewed by Jessica Waugh, Library Specialist

This unvarnished bleak memoir of grief by award-winning author Joan Didion chronicles her first year after the death of her husband. Didion's spouse, author John Dunne, was also a gifted writer and soul mate to Didion. Throughout their nearly 40 year marriage they worked side by side. They adopted a daughter, Quintana Roo and the three of them traveled the world living what seemed a charmed life. Shortly after Christmas, 2003, Dunne collapsed and died in their New York apartment from a massive heart attack. Adding to the horror of that event was the fact that their newly married daughter was hospitalized at the time and fighting a major infection that followed a bout of flu. In stark prose, Didion describes the moment of informing her weak, barely-conscious daughter of her father's death. The two postponed Dunne's memorial service until Quintana was well enough to attend. One of Didion's more touching confessions was about her inability to dispose of John's clothing. She felt that if she left his garments in the apartment, perhaps he would return to her — magical thinking.

The year that followed her husband's death was plagued not only with grief, but fear of losing her only child. Shortly after surviving her illness during the first months of 2004, Quintana suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and lapsed into a coma upon returning to her home in Los Angeles. Months of loneliness, grief and worry for her daughter were the norm for Didion during that time. She recounts the endless hours spent at her daughter's bedside and with doctors at the UCLA medical center. She lets us into her memories of earlier happier times with Dunne and Quintana. Reading along, we are drawn into Didion's emotional world and the experience can be exhausting. As The New Yorker wrote, Didion has "the hyper-nervous awareness of the tendency of things to go bad." At the book's conclusion, Didion seems to be tentatively walking a path to recovery, assisted by friends and her daughter's improving health. By the last page, we are hopeful that she has found the courage to make new memories.

Cabell Library PS3554.I33 Z63 2005

Reviewed by Jessica Waugh, Library Specialist

In this work of historical fiction, Brooks recreates a year in the life of a small British town stricken by bubonic plague in the 17th century. Inspired by actual events and a place known as "Plague Village," Brooks writes a harrowing account of isolation, death and social disintegration as seen through the eyes of young Anna Firth.

Anna narrates this tale with concision and controlled emotion. We learn that the plague was brought to the town by one itinerant tailor, whom she nursed without realizing the gravity of his illness. Her charity to this stranger reaps ill rewards as she describes the subsequent infection and death of her husband, children and neighbors. When the village minister announces that this plague is God's judgment and recommends the town shut itself off from the outside world, the citizens comply. With mounting deaths, however, superstition and fear begin to overwhelm the largely uneducated population. Violence in the form of witch hunting begins. Anna, the minister, and his wife attempt to calm the populace and provide succor to sickened villagers using the simple herbs of the time. When the dead outnumber the living, Anna laments that burial rites become all but impossible. She wonders if anyone will survive the scourge.

Brooks's research about the time period and the mechanics of the bubonic plague are remarkable. The result is a gritty, fascinating story with particular relevance today given recent concerns about the rise of drug-resistant disease and the inevitability of a pandemic. Although set in a time considered medically primitive, this story offers insight into the moral dilemmas of a society overwhelmed by sweeping contagion.

Cabell Library PR9619.3.B7153 Y4 2001