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labunnywtf's review
3.0
I had kept this book out from the library because I wanted to quote it for the review, but it just didn't work out. So I have to paraphrase.
I desperately wanted to like this book. I mean it, I did. People asked what I was reading, and I got excited explaining the premise. How can you not love a book that has Jesus running for president? THE Jesus. I half expected it to turn out he was a fraud in the end.
But one paragraph did me in. One conversation between the narrator and His Holiness. They were in a car, driving, and Jesus mentioned, quite casually, that things would be so much better in the world if people would stop sinning. Not for themselves, but all of these 'horrible things' that happened, such as FLOODS and HURRICANES and TERRORISM.
Excuse me?
As someone who was FUCKING ANGRY when 9/11 was blamed on NY'ers sinning, and EXTREMELY FUCKING LIVID when Katrina was because Louisiana's a bunch of assholes and sinners? That is not something I want to read in a book. Especially not from the fucking mouth of Jesus. Have someone else say it, and I'll live with it.
I liked the physical description of Jesus. I liked that he got angry, and that he was firm, but also gentle. The narrator I could've done without. He tried too hard to be sarcastic and clever.
Overall, I was just sad and disappointed by the whole book.
I desperately wanted to like this book. I mean it, I did. People asked what I was reading, and I got excited explaining the premise. How can you not love a book that has Jesus running for president? THE Jesus. I half expected it to turn out he was a fraud in the end.
But one paragraph did me in. One conversation between the narrator and His Holiness. They were in a car, driving, and Jesus mentioned, quite casually, that things would be so much better in the world if people would stop sinning. Not for themselves, but all of these 'horrible things' that happened, such as FLOODS and HURRICANES and TERRORISM.
Excuse me?
As someone who was FUCKING ANGRY when 9/11 was blamed on NY'ers sinning, and EXTREMELY FUCKING LIVID when Katrina was because Louisiana's a bunch of assholes and sinners? That is not something I want to read in a book. Especially not from the fucking mouth of Jesus. Have someone else say it, and I'll live with it.
I liked the physical description of Jesus. I liked that he got angry, and that he was firm, but also gentle. The narrator I could've done without. He tried too hard to be sarcastic and clever.
Overall, I was just sad and disappointed by the whole book.
gaderianne's review
4.0
I've had this on my too read list forever, and I'm glad that I finally got around to reading it. That said, it wasn't exactly what I expected it to be. It was much more....serious. I was expecting it to somehow be funnier, more irreverent than it was. Instead, I think it was a honest look at American politics and American religion and...well...I was rooting for Jesus Christ returned to Earth to become president of the United Stated. Sometimes it was a little bit preachy, but not in a religious way. In a...look what we've become kind of way.
As I was reading it, I kept thinking that I felt the same way about this book that I did with Breakfast with Buddha...that I expected one thing (funny) and got preachy/serious. Then it dawned on me....ahhh...this is the same writer! I'm glad I didn't realize that at the offset, because I probably wouldn't have read it. However, I'm glad that I did. I liked this one and the way it made me think.
As I was reading it, I kept thinking that I felt the same way about this book that I did with Breakfast with Buddha...that I expected one thing (funny) and got preachy/serious. Then it dawned on me....ahhh...this is the same writer! I'm glad I didn't realize that at the offset, because I probably wouldn't have read it. However, I'm glad that I did. I liked this one and the way it made me think.
kharmacat's review
3.0
I won this book in one of GoodRead's "First Reads" contests and got an advance copy in the mail with a nice note from the publisher. Thanks, GoodReads! Unfortunately it took me forever to read, which, even though I've been busy, is an indication of how good it is... if a book is really good, I'll make time for it. I really like Merullo's writing style, but the tale itself was predictable and didn't have the impact I thought it could. Plus, the thinly-veiled commentary on current political pundits (while well-deserved) was a little too thin.
jdglasgow's review
3.0
I read Roland Merullo’s GOLFING WITH GOD earlier this year expecting it to be an awful Christian apologetics thing but was immediately charmed by how *weird*, irreverent, and almost single-mindedly focused on GOLF it was. Honestly, it was one of my favorite reads of the year just because of how it upended my expectations. With the positive feelings from that experience still in mind, I thought another dip in the Merullo pool in the form of AMERICAN SAVIOR might be good. I tried checking the e-book out from my county library on multiple occasions but it wouldn’t transfer to my e-reader for some reason and neither my county nor city’s libraries had a physical copy. I finally nabbed a copy by using my city library’s inter-library loan service. It was sent to me all the way from Tacoma!
Despite my history with Merullo, I still went into this book with skepticism. I perceived the Jesus of the book as sort of the embodiment of ceremonial deism in the vein of George Burns in OH, GOD! That seemed to be confirmed by Jesus’ philosophy of oh, y’know, every religion is right in a way, being nice is all that really matters. When he *is* pressed to pick a lane, for instance on the topic of abortion, his plan is to convene a committee to seriously discuss the matter, as there are good people with strong feelings on both sides of the debate.
Despite my history with Merullo, I still went into this book with skepticism. I perceived the Jesus of the book as sort of the embodiment of ceremonial deism in the vein of George Burns in OH, GOD! That seemed to be confirmed by Jesus’ philosophy of oh, y’know, every religion is right in a way, being nice is all that really matters. When he *is* pressed to pick a lane, for instance on the topic of abortion, his plan is to convene a committee to seriously discuss the matter, as there are good people with strong feelings on both sides of the debate.
bachya's review
4.0
I waited for months to obtain this book from my library. When I finally received it, it didn't disappoint.
The story revolves around Jesus Christ's second return to Earth, in which he decides to run for President of the United States. He chooses a variety of "suspect" individuals for his crew of campaigners/assistants: a TV reporter, his girlfriend, parents, and brother (who has Down Syndrome) a low-income boyfriend/girlfriend pair, and various others.
What I really liked about this book was the powerful message that Merullo communicates through his depiction of Jesus: what would it look like if the inhabitants of arguably the most affluent nation in the world addressed the root causes of their disagreements, rather than their symptoms? An especially powerful example concerns abortion - when questioned by reporters about his stance on this issue, Jesus states that some people feel like begins at conception, and others that life begins at birth - rather than nitpick over which is "right," could proponents of both sides sit down and discuss a resolution (not necessarily regarding abortion, but addressing the division that issue has caused the inhabitants of the USA).
The depiction of some of Jesus' ideas will no doubt grind against some of traditional Christian belief (in much the same way [b:The Shack|1812457|The Shack|William P. Young|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1188677589s/1812457.jpg|2666268] did. However, the historical perspective that Jesus exists to break apart preconceived notions on life exist easily here.
While very well written, the one difficulty with the book is the ending. Sufficed to say, it leaves one with a feeling of, "After all that story, that's it?" It's unfortunate that such a well written book ends so abruptly; a more devised ending would have wrapped up an otherwise tremendous story.
The story revolves around Jesus Christ's second return to Earth, in which he decides to run for President of the United States. He chooses a variety of "suspect" individuals for his crew of campaigners/assistants: a TV reporter, his girlfriend, parents, and brother (who has Down Syndrome) a low-income boyfriend/girlfriend pair, and various others.
What I really liked about this book was the powerful message that Merullo communicates through his depiction of Jesus: what would it look like if the inhabitants of arguably the most affluent nation in the world addressed the root causes of their disagreements, rather than their symptoms? An especially powerful example concerns abortion - when questioned by reporters about his stance on this issue, Jesus states that some people feel like begins at conception, and others that life begins at birth - rather than nitpick over which is "right," could proponents of both sides sit down and discuss a resolution (not necessarily regarding abortion, but addressing the division that issue has caused the inhabitants of the USA).
The depiction of some of Jesus' ideas will no doubt grind against some of traditional Christian belief (in much the same way [b:The Shack|1812457|The Shack|William P. Young|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1188677589s/1812457.jpg|2666268] did. However, the historical perspective that Jesus exists to break apart preconceived notions on life exist easily here.
While very well written, the one difficulty with the book is the ending. Sufficed to say, it leaves one with a feeling of, "After all that story, that's it?" It's unfortunate that such a well written book ends so abruptly; a more devised ending would have wrapped up an otherwise tremendous story.
annegard's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5