Going to hell in a handbasket

A singing whale, a reluctant vampire, a brilliant fool or an artistic master – all characters with Moore appeal than your average dramatis personae. The best, by far, is BFF Biff’s narrative about the early years of a heavenly prince – Lamb. While condemning an unrepentant thief, I discovered what influenced the message my savior gave his life preaching.

Prompt #18: In 57 words or less, tell us about a favorite book or author.

*For three weeks in mid-2006 I served on a federal jury. Over the course of the trial, 15 people spent eight hours a day, five days a week in a courtroom listening to the attorney of a Ponzi scammer tell us why his client wasn’t responsible for the $65 million he unabashedly stole from his elderly investors.

We also had a significant amount of down time in the jury room where we were prohibited from discussing the case. Newspapers were verboten, as was the Internet, which left old-fashioned books for entertainment.

A fellow juror saw me reading a bargain table edition of Christopher Moore’s “Fluke,” and recommended I also read “Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal.”

While “Fluke” was a good read, “Lamb” was laugh-out-loud, snort-soda-out-your-nose hilarious. It is both irreverent and thought-provoking as you’re taken through what happened during Christ’s early life, the missing years not found in the Bible.

As a reluctant believer, I’m not easily offended by religious humor. That Moore was able to treat this premise with both respect and satire won me over as a fan. I have devoured nearly everything he’s written since then, including the only vampire trilogy you’ll ever need to read – “Bloodsucking Fiends,” “You Suck,” and “Bite Me.”

Moore’s most recently published books are “Fool,” a retelling of “King Lear” from his jester’s point of view, and “Sacré Bleu,” a romance-history-mystery involving the Great French Masters. Start with “Lamb,” but any of Moore’s books would be a great summer diversion.