God is Dead by Ron Currie

It’s odd that the last book I read last year is easily in contention with The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron as the best read of 2008.

But God is Dead by Ron Currie Jr. is that rare, frenzied yet slow, angry but gentle, repudiation of naivety and faith without the drippings of cynicism you’d expect.

As we start out, God has taken the form of a Dinka woman in the northern region of Sudan. His mission to earth is twofold.

First, he wants to experience the suffering that His indifference over the centuries has caused and second, he wants to help.

He roams from village to village, from refugee camp to refugee camp carrying a bag of never-ending sorghum.

He can pass out as much as he wants to the starving masses, yet the bag never empties.

Kinda like the loaves and fishes trick, I mean miracle.

Unfortunately for the universe (and who could’ve seen this coming?) God, in the form of a Dinka woman is killed.

It takes a while for the news to spread and even longer for the world to figure out what exactly this means, but God is officially dead.

The rest of the book is really a compilation of shorts juxtaposing the extreme reactions of diverse, clashing cultures and characters.

In one chapter, we find that holy wars can take place very well without the presence of a God, thank you very much.

Even when everyone realizes that God is dead, they kill each other over the right way to put this knowledge into a pragmatic context. In another chapter (my favorite) a group of friends, weary after weeks of hedonism because what are you gonna do when God dies, enter a suicide/murder pact.

The way it plays out is funny, disturbing, heartbreaking and revolting in turns.

We also get to meet the dogs who, after feasting on the corpse of the Creator, have not only human, but godlike intelligence.

They’re not quite omniscient, but they’re close.

From the title and description on the cover, I hoped this book would be thought-provoking and it is.

Actually, I’m not sure if Currie is criticizing the stringency of religion or the potential chaos that can go with a godless worldview.

Maybe it’s both.

But what was wonderfully surprising was the humor. And not all of the laughs come from dark places.

Even in a universe where humanity is the highest power, a terrifying thought, Currie seems to believe that there is room for hope nevertheless.

1984 by George Orwell

A few months ago, I listened to 1984 by George Orwell on one of those books on CD thingies. And by ‘books on CD thingies,’ of course, I mean audiobook. I just listened to an audiobook for the first time ever last year. It’s staggering to think just how much influence this novel has had on our collective consciousness. Apart from the art that it’s inspired, from V for Vendetta to American Psycho to I haven’t read this since the ‘90s and while I found it unsettling then, it’s just bone-chilling ball-fuck terrifying now. I’m sorry, but if they ever make another film out of this, Bill O’Reilly has to play O’Brien.

It’s just too perfect. I also think Fox News needs to change their slogan from ‘Fair and Balanced’ to ‘Your source for your two-minute hate.'

Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut

After reading The Time Traveller's Wife, which is essentially Slaughterhouse 5 for chicks, I thought that next, I should reread the actual Slaughterhouse 5. I've read it four or five times, but you really can't read this book too much. There really isn't much I can say about this book that hasn't already been said except that it's one of those rare acclaimed books that really as good as you've always heard it was. One of the things that makes Vonnegut so unique is that he may be the only fatalist I can think of who is just so damn cheerful.