Because of Rosoff’s publishing history, this wee number has ended up in teen collections. *Sigh*. Yeah, sure, it has been marketed as a teen book but, IMHO, the closest you’d get is that it is a cross-over novel.
It’s not even really that. It’s an adult fiction. It’s a bit navel-gazing. It’s a bit nostalgia. The sensibilities are adult.
God may be Bob, 17-year-old angsty teen with sex on his mind, and complete oblivion to the chaos he causes, thanks to his self-centeredness.
Alongside Bob, as his assistant, is Mr B who, quite frankly, has had enough of the juvenile behaviour of this god, and wants out. It is his impatience, his ennui, that pervades the novel. And, honestly, made me less than sympathetic to pretty much any character. Even Bob’s pet, Eck, whose plight seems thrown in to highlight the gods’ disregard, even contempt, for mortals (of any species).
Lucy, Bob’s love interest, is flowery and annoying. Her mother and godfather are, just slightly, more interesting – but that’s because they’re adults, with pasts, and are treated slightly more sympathetically.
So, for me, a big meh. Didn’t leave me questioning much about GOD, although I’m sure it should have, just questioning why I bothered finishing it and how long it would take to do so, and go away.
If you want books that explore questions of God and what he/she/it may be like - and have a greater likelihood of enjoying them... then try:
- Job, a comedy of justice by Robert A. Heinlein.
- Good omens the nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter, witch by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman.
- Odds and gods by Tom Holt (well, lots of Tom Holt… including Only human).
~ Reviewed by Thalia.
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