50bookchallenge
6. Only Begotten Daughter by James Morrow I found this book on this site under "satire" and thought I'd give it a try. It's supposed to be a satire of Christianity in which the main character is Jesus' half-sister.
It was an interesting concept: Julie was born from a sperm donation procured by her father to a research clinic. The ovum just appeared in the sample and she was born. She was raised by her Jewish father and a lesbian woman he met at the clinic by happenstance. The woman has a kid of her own who proves to be a catalyst for a lot of events in the story.
The devil shows up, but he's not the villain, just another catalyst. The real villain is a fundamentalist that forms the Revelationists, a sect that lives out of the Book of Revelation. Julie ends up in hell for various reasons and is pampered by the devil. She eventually learns that Jesus is working in hell, comforting the people there. Everyone ends up in hell. I mean everyone. It's not really the fire-and-brimstone Inferno either. Actually the best part of the book was when Julie was in hell and trying to explain Christianity to Jesus. "They did what and eat who? That's disgusting!"
After spending fifteen years in hell, Julie needs to return, but to do so, she has to give up her godhood. She finds that a lot has changed in the book and this is where I stop liking it. The Revelationists have set up camp in New Jersey, which eventually secedes and the goverment is all, "Meh. At least it keeps New York in line." There are public executions, people live under a strict theocracy and it just stops becoming believable.
One thing leads to another and Julie is crucified. Or, rather, anticrucified. "What's the difference?" asks the head Revelationist. "The difference is that you call one a crucifixion and the other an anticrucifiction," the devil answers. So, she's crucified but not killed because someone gives her a sponge dipped with a poison that is meant to knock her out and appear dead.
Julie's coffin is tipped into the ocean where she used to go swimming (she can breathe underwater) and she meets her mother. A sponge. It was the sponge-god that changed the poison into a sleeping potion and gave her back her ability to breathe underwater once more. Then, Julie and her catalyst friend go off into the sunset, presumably to have a happy ending.
The message was pretty clear: don't mistake happenstance and coincidence for God because it's probably just happenstance and coincidence.
What was most jarring, aside from the events in the summary behind the cut, was that the sudden change in point of view. Through most of the book, it was third-person omniscient. Then, out of the blue, it was in second person, present tense. Then it switches back to third and then to second and finally, once more to third. It wouldn't have been so bad if Morrow had kept it up throughout the book to emphasize a couple events, but it was so jarring and seemed so unnecessary.
The first half or two-thirds was amazing and thought-provoking. The second half, unfortunately, was like an entirely different story. I don't know if I recommend this book or not. I guess I'll say read at your own risk, but be prepared for a let-down.
It was an interesting concept: Julie was born from a sperm donation procured by her father to a research clinic. The ovum just appeared in the sample and she was born. She was raised by her Jewish father and a lesbian woman he met at the clinic by happenstance. The woman has a kid of her own who proves to be a catalyst for a lot of events in the story.
The devil shows up, but he's not the villain, just another catalyst. The real villain is a fundamentalist that forms the Revelationists, a sect that lives out of the Book of Revelation. Julie ends up in hell for various reasons and is pampered by the devil. She eventually learns that Jesus is working in hell, comforting the people there. Everyone ends up in hell. I mean everyone. It's not really the fire-and-brimstone Inferno either. Actually the best part of the book was when Julie was in hell and trying to explain Christianity to Jesus. "They did what and eat who? That's disgusting!"
After spending fifteen years in hell, Julie needs to return, but to do so, she has to give up her godhood. She finds that a lot has changed in the book and this is where I stop liking it. The Revelationists have set up camp in New Jersey, which eventually secedes and the goverment is all, "Meh. At least it keeps New York in line." There are public executions, people live under a strict theocracy and it just stops becoming believable.
One thing leads to another and Julie is crucified. Or, rather, anticrucified. "What's the difference?" asks the head Revelationist. "The difference is that you call one a crucifixion and the other an anticrucifiction," the devil answers. So, she's crucified but not killed because someone gives her a sponge dipped with a poison that is meant to knock her out and appear dead.
Julie's coffin is tipped into the ocean where she used to go swimming (she can breathe underwater) and she meets her mother. A sponge. It was the sponge-god that changed the poison into a sleeping potion and gave her back her ability to breathe underwater once more. Then, Julie and her catalyst friend go off into the sunset, presumably to have a happy ending.
The message was pretty clear: don't mistake happenstance and coincidence for God because it's probably just happenstance and coincidence.
What was most jarring, aside from the events in the summary behind the cut, was that the sudden change in point of view. Through most of the book, it was third-person omniscient. Then, out of the blue, it was in second person, present tense. Then it switches back to third and then to second and finally, once more to third. It wouldn't have been so bad if Morrow had kept it up throughout the book to emphasize a couple events, but it was so jarring and seemed so unnecessary.
The first half or two-thirds was amazing and thought-provoking. The second half, unfortunately, was like an entirely different story. I don't know if I recommend this book or not. I guess I'll say read at your own risk, but be prepared for a let-down.