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lauramariani's review against another edition
3.0
I received this book as a gift from my boyfriend's parents, who read it for a literary program through their Unitarian Universalist Church. The premise of the novel: What if a modern Messiah was born? What if a celibate man brought forth a daughter of God through a combination of miracle and modern science? And what if everything you've ever been taught about God, the Devil, Heaven, and Hell are wrong?
The concept driving the novel is a good one, I think, and I enjoyed a lot of the plotting. My favorite scenes come when the protagonist Julie (God's only begotten daughter) voluntarily travels to Hell. She meets her half-brother Jesus there, where he works tirelessly to comfort the sinners by giving them water. In this story's Hell, everyone who was ever thought to be condemned to Hell by someone else ends up going there: to wit, we are all damned by the judgments of our peers. Julie takes some powerful lessons from her brother, then decides to return to Earth (at the cost of her divinity and miraculous powers) because she can still do good work there.
Unfortunately I thought the story suffered from somewhat awkward writing and characterization. The attempts to highlight the humanity of the divine Julie through constant referrals to her genitals and sexuality seemed unnecessary -- and I'm not just some prude saying this; it really seemed to distract from the main story. The cast of characters surrounding Julie seem rather flat and stereotypical. A story about a divine daughter of God is not intrinsically realistic, but it can still be populated by realistic people -- this was not the case in this book.
I think the novel is worth reading if you're into thinking about the intersection between religion and speculative fiction, or if you're looking for a creative and engaging plot to follow without caring too much about the stylistic elements. The book is driven by a promising concept, but fails to rise above the realm of genre fiction, which is a bit disappointing.
The concept driving the novel is a good one, I think, and I enjoyed a lot of the plotting. My favorite scenes come when the protagonist Julie (God's only begotten daughter) voluntarily travels to Hell. She meets her half-brother Jesus there, where he works tirelessly to comfort the sinners by giving them water. In this story's Hell, everyone who was ever thought to be condemned to Hell by someone else ends up going there: to wit, we are all damned by the judgments of our peers. Julie takes some powerful lessons from her brother, then decides to return to Earth (at the cost of her divinity and miraculous powers) because she can still do good work there.
Unfortunately I thought the story suffered from somewhat awkward writing and characterization. The attempts to highlight the humanity of the divine Julie through constant referrals to her genitals and sexuality seemed unnecessary -- and I'm not just some prude saying this; it really seemed to distract from the main story. The cast of characters surrounding Julie seem rather flat and stereotypical. A story about a divine daughter of God is not intrinsically realistic, but it can still be populated by realistic people -- this was not the case in this book.
I think the novel is worth reading if you're into thinking about the intersection between religion and speculative fiction, or if you're looking for a creative and engaging plot to follow without caring too much about the stylistic elements. The book is driven by a promising concept, but fails to rise above the realm of genre fiction, which is a bit disappointing.
vylotte's review against another edition
4.0
Not at all what I expected, this is a gem of a book. Julie Katz is the daughter of God and as hard as she tries to live a normal life, world-changing events follow in her path. Raised by a jewish scholar and a lesbian with a baby of her own, her vision of family is refreshingly modern, as is her belief in the divinity of science. Her message to the world that science does have all the answers, we just don't have all the science and her well established lack of perfection lead Julie and her people on quite a journey, even as far as hell and back.
From immaculate conception to eventual finale, this is an irreverent look of what might happen if God decided to have a second child, born in 1970s New Jersey.
From immaculate conception to eventual finale, this is an irreverent look of what might happen if God decided to have a second child, born in 1970s New Jersey.
monicajosephine's review against another edition
3.0
It was interesting but I was not emotionally involved.
garleighc's review against another edition
3.0
This book was surprisingly good. It was weird enough to keep me reading, and there were randomly endearing details even amidst some of the grotesque plotline. I know there is a lot to this book and many layers of theology and religion to delve through while reading this one but I read it purely for enjoyment and I still loved it. The book is ridiculously quirky so it may turn others off but I sort of enjoyed it.
gengelcox's review against another edition
3.0
What I like about James Morrow is his audaciousness. He’s willing to come up with an idea in the grand old SF tradition, i.e., BIG, and then run with it. Take “Daughter Earth,” a story in which a planet is born to a nice northeast couple, or “City of Truth,” a story about a city where no one ever lies. Or here in this novel, in which a new savior is sent to the world, but it’s a girl this time. From immaculate conception–she evolves from her jewish father’s sperm donation–to being tested by the devil at an Atlantic City casino modeled after Dante’s Hell, Morrow keeps throwing the wild concepts and ideas at you straight out of left field. And what ostensibly seems a fantasy–God’s daughter and all–yet still has some of the trappings of SF and reality; she is born using an artificial womb, when she returns to earth New Jersey has become a totalitarian, evangelistic state that is a cross of [a: Robert Heinlein|205|Robert A. Heinlein|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1192826560p2/205.jpg]’s [b: Revolt in 2010] and [a: Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg]’s [b: The Running Man|11607|The Running Man|Richard Bachman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333160557s/11607.jpg|3652165].
While for some it was the ending here that they remember (I won’t spoil it), for me the best part was when God’s only begotten daughter meets God’s only begotten son and explained what had happened on earth after his departure. “They eat me,” he says, referring to the Eucharist. “Disgusting.”
Jill says that if you were of the total God-fearing type, then you would probably be offended by this book. She feels that an aethiest wouldn’t like it much either, for as much as it “blasphemes,” it comes out fairly spiritual. For those of us who can stand having religion poked at (like, at least Morrow wasn’t targeted by the Pope for assassination following the printing of this book), it’s a bunch of laughs among some interesting theological play.
While for some it was the ending here that they remember (I won’t spoil it), for me the best part was when God’s only begotten daughter meets God’s only begotten son and explained what had happened on earth after his departure. “They eat me,” he says, referring to the Eucharist. “Disgusting.”
Jill says that if you were of the total God-fearing type, then you would probably be offended by this book. She feels that an aethiest wouldn’t like it much either, for as much as it “blasphemes,” it comes out fairly spiritual. For those of us who can stand having religion poked at (like, at least Morrow wasn’t targeted by the Pope for assassination following the printing of this book), it’s a bunch of laughs among some interesting theological play.
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