Lamb

So I just finished another book, Christopher Moore's Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. This is what happens when the Infancy Gospel of Thomas meets a sense of humor, an active imagination, and a strong sense of irony. Lamb is just like what the title says- the life of Jesus (Joshua) as narrated by his best friend, Biff. Most of the book fills in the gaps between Joshua's birth and his ministry, such as his learning kung-fu, talking with a yeti, and borrowing ideas from Buddism. Biff follows Joshua as he attempts to discover whether he is the Messiah and, in the process, serves as his friend's sinful foil (Joshua is forbidden to "know a woman" so Biff experiences it for him). I skimmed the last section of the book because I wanted to know how it ended, but one thing that struck me was that, despite all of Moore's irreverencies, liberties, and pleasurable snark, he balances Jesus the man and Christ the messiah. And all the conflict therein.
Anyway, I recommend Moore's work in general, and Lamb in particular for the less easily offended; he has a light, funny, satirical style that is reminiscent of Terry Pratchett, if not as imaginative, but Moore can also deal with reality in a way that makes his characters that much more alive.