Only Begotten Daughter

by James K. Morrow

Call it a miracle or an accident at the sperm bank. But Julie Katz, the half-sister of Jesus, has been born to a celibate father. Soon poor Julie is tempted by the Devil and challenged by neo-Christian zealots-and that's just the beginning of her fantastic odyssey through Hell, a seceded New Jersey, and her own confused soul. Winner of a 1991 World Fantasy Award.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Religion, Humor, Science Fiction Fantasy, Satire

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Born in 1947, James Kenneth Morrow has been writing fiction ever since he, as a seven-year-old living in the Philadelphia suburbs, dictated “The Story of the Dog Family” to his mother, who dutifully typed it up and bound the pages with yarn. This three-page, six-chapter fantasy is still in the author’s private archives. Upon reaching adulthood, Jim produced nine novels of speculative fiction, including the critically acclaimed Godhead Trilogy. He has won the World Fantasy Award (for Only Begotten Daughter and Towing Jehovah), the Nebula Award (for “Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge” and the novella City of Truth), and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award (for the novella Shambling Towards Hiroshima). A fulltime fiction writer, Jim makes his home in State College, Pennsylvania, with his wife, his son, an enigmatic sheepdog, and a loopy beagle. He is hard at work on a novel about Darwinism and its discontents.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hesitate in calling this a satire because it's a highly-charged emotional bomb of a great story IN ADDITION to being some of the cleverest novels of scattershot inversions, sly winks, and outrageously funny situations.

You know, as funny as meeting Jesus in Hell is going to be, serving heroin to the damned in a soup kitchen just before they completely obliterate themselves. Or the realization that Jesus has a sister. A modern one. A true begotten daughter of God. Julie: the one who talks to sponges, gets scolded for performing miracles, gets embroiled in a plot of Satan, and who absolutely ADORES science.

I love Julie. She's so earnest. A good kid. And we get to see her grow up, get into trouble with her alcoholic best friend, save Atlantic City from a conflagration, and send herself to hell for 15 years, voluntarily. Where she gets to know her brother.

The aftermath... ah well, the aftermath is the hard part, emotionally, but what a great read it all is. Almost every line has a freaking SHARP comment to be made on religion and its followers. From the conception of Julie by a Jewish man donating to a sperm bank only to have the authorities freak out because it somehow found an egg in the container, to the anticrucification of the antichrist. Or what God actually turns out to be or where Satan winds up. :)

The text is SHARP.

Sure, we've had a number of classics that skewered religion before, but few do it as regularly and consistently and as cleverly as this one. The real devil is in the details, and this one gets under your skin like the buckshot of a shotgun.

I think, after reading only two of James K. Morrow's books, I've found one of my top favorite authors of all time. :)

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Act 1- In which we meet a bunch of personality quirks masquerading as characters. And some basic background is laid down.

A strange loner in a lighthouse learns one of his sperm bank donations has self-fertilized, a new immaculate conception, this time in a test tube. Meet Julie Katz, daughter of God, but unsure of her purpose. Dad plays the worried Jewish man and fears her divinity will make her a target. Best friend Phoebe thinks she should be out saving the world, rebellious teen with a big heart. And Julie herself will change personalities throughout the book like an actress playing multiple roles.

But wait! Is that some subtle foreshadowing I see? A few hints of what’s to come? Nope, my bad. I should be taking notes because you are literally having the devil make a list of things I should watch out for later in the book. Never mind, no foreshadowing here, just a big billboard.

Act 2- In which the daughter of God goes to hell, meets Jesus, and a reader starts checking the little status bar at the bottom of the Kindle..

So our favorite ambivalent deity travels with the devil into hell and learns that quite literally everyone is down there. They visit islands filled with people suffering specific punishments, which makes Julie sad but not angry enough to really show she cares. Major logistical issues start showing up, such as why the devil spends so much time promoting sin in the earthly world if everyone is coming down to him anyway.

A little bit of heavy handed philosophizing comes in there somewhere, having Jesus himself point out flaws in Christianity in oh, so clever ways. Most of this section seems to involve Julie and Jesus giving water to the damned. Oh, and somehow if a person dies in hell he truly is gone forever. It is supposed to make since, though I never figured out all the details.

Worst of all, for me at least, the section was boring. One third of the book and only a couple of scenes stand out at all. Moving on…

Act 3- In which the book starts to redeem itself, then falls horribly off the rails and defies all common sense.

Julie goes back to earth as a normal mortal. She starts doing some good in the world on a personal level. Some touching moments as she attempts to help Phoebe clean up her life. For a while there was something really clicking in this section as we saw Julie do more good without any of her god-power than she ever did when she had it. I thought the book was gaining a point, then once again got dragged back into a unfunny religious parody.

To be completely honest I didn’t buy into a single thing the author was selling me. A religious revival causing a splinter nation from the United States, a twentieth century auto-da-fe ignored by the international community, a voice command replacement limb. More heavy handed pointing out of inconsistencies in the Bible. Somehow the devil loses power in hell because Julie won’t be bad. Once again though, I never could figure out the damn details.

Act 4- In which there wasn’t really an Act 4 in the book, but Nathan felt the need for a conclusion to his review.

I think I would have loved this book late in high school. Every time he skewered a specific religious tenant I would have been “oh hell ya!” Hell, it is some of the same arguments every wannabe atheist starts throwing around when they rebel against religion. The early nineties must have been the time for books like these, browsing through Goodreads I found ‘Good Omens,’ ‘Small Gods,’ and ‘Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff’ all came out within a few years of each other.

I don’t mind the blasphemous nature of the book, I am hardly religious. But if that is the type of book you are looking for you would be better off reading one of the three I listed above. They were actually entertaining and coherent. This book was so heavy handed and self-assured I barely got through it. The areas where it redeemed itself (when Julie actually tried to do good) were too short and far between.

That’s it; I am tired of trying to review this book and will now blank it from my memory.

2 Stars.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. LOVED. IT. Then again, I’m one of those people who enjoys this sort of dark humor and a good poke at all things sacred. I can see how a vast swath of the population would find this book absolutely offensive, so be warned about that. Julie’s coming-of-age as the daughter of God is touching, frustrating, and funny. Her journey to hell is enlightening, and deliciously thought-provoking. The ending felt perfect for the book as a whole. Perhaps, however, the best thing I can say about it is that Morrow will leave you thinking, thinking, thinking. I finished this book weeks ago, and I will find it popping into my head daily at the oddest moments. That’s a true testament to the author’s skill. This isn’t a book you read. This is a book you absorb.

Read my full review here:

http://www.bookwormblues.net/2013/10/...

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

** This book requires a very open mind, the ability to suspend judgment, and a deeply ingrained sense of humor. **


To supplement his income, Murray Katz made regular contributions to a sperm bank. To Murray's surprise and to the surprise of the scientists at the Institute, one of his contributions was spontaneously fertilized and is being grown in an ectogenesis machine-- a female fetus. Though he had never contemplated fatherhood before, Murray is unable to leave his potential progeny behind and proceeds to steal it.

How was this potential for new life possible? Well, Murray – with the help of a woman who was a client of the Institute-- arrives at the only logical (!) conclusion. His daughter must be the half-sister of Jesus Christ and begotten by god himself. A second immaculate conception. Aware of the many dangers the revelation of this information holds, Murray is determined to raise Julie in as normal a manner as possible. He constantly admonished her not to reveal her divinity in any way, warning her that she would be taken from him should others discover her blessed identity.

The knowledge of her divinity weighs heavily on Julie. She is torn between fulfilling the full potential of divinity and the fear of being persecuted for it. She is pushed and pulled in both directions, in a perpetual state of dilemma.


ONLY BEGOTTEN DAUGHTER is satirical fantasy and science fiction, tackling the subject of Christian mythology. Or theology, if you prefer. It projects a modern world where a new progeny of god is born-– this time a female. Julie carries the full burden of the church founded upon the teachings of her half-brother, Jesus. This book shines a light on the excesses and extremism religion often falls prey to. James K. Morrow points out some of the more controversial issues of faith– the ways it can be inconsistent, incredulous and illogical. For this reason, many faithful would likely find this egregiously blasphemous. But any person willing to invest time in it while holding back any outrage would likely come to the conclusion that it is written by someone who painstakingly took the time to study Christianity.

There is much insight to be gleaned from this book. Even the devout can find new insight about religious beliefs if they could only embrace the concept that faith should constantly be questioned and tested. Sadly, religion is often totalitarian, dreadfully serious and devoid of humor. It rarely suffers challenge of any kind.

If there was anything preventing me from giving this book the full five stars, it is my difficulty in garnering sympathy for any of the characters. This is much more a plot or concept-driven tale. The characters seem to be more of a vehicle to deliver the story, not as interesting as the twists and turns that Morrow subjects them to. It is not as symbiotic a relationship between story and characters as to make it sublime and perfect.

The story of ONLY BEGOTTEN DAUGHTER is rather novel. It is an intelligent, insightful and thoughtful exploration of faith– both its glory and its absurdity. It is serious and hilarious, illuminating the divisiveness of religious beliefs even while poking fun at it. I think this book was written bearing in mind that any belief system that refuses all inquiry and examination is wont to be stale, stagnant and irrelevant at best, blind and delusional at worst. While written in 1990, its subject matter is no less relevant in today's world with its lingering religious quandaries.

[Jody · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a clever book. It raises the idea of what if there were a "daughter of God". This book is a very sarcastic fable/story that delves into what would happen if God had a daughter in modern times.

I read this in college and had the chance to actually meet the author. The only question he wouldn't answer was "what was his religion." He wanted to keep that to himself.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot when I first read it, back in 1992. But, when I tried to re-read it in 2002, DNF the reread. So. My notes in my old booklog are sketchy.... A read-once experience, for me.

[Alexander Theofanidis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Η Julie Katz γεννιέται σε μηχανική μήτρα από το σπέρμα του πατέρα της και... είναι η μοναχοκόρη του θεού. Χαριτωμένο ανάγνωσμα με προφανείς αλληγορίες, το οποίο όμως δεν καταφέρνει να δικαιώσει τις αρχικές προσδοκίες και να αρθεί στο επίπεδο του αριστουργήματος, καθώς κινείται σε νερά αν όχι ρηχά, τουλάχιστον σχετικά αβαθή, κάτι που εν μέρει οφείλεται και στους σχετικά χάρτινους χαρακτήρες.
Ακόμη και η πιο ενδιαφέρουσα μορφή του έργου, ο Ασμοδαίος, καταφέρνει με ελάχιστες εξαιρέσεις να είναι σχεδόν βαρετός, πόσω μάλλον οι απλοί άνθρωποι...
Κρίμα, γιατί η αρχική ιδέα είναι καλή, δυνατή και θα μπορούσε με προσεκτικότερο χειρισμό να δώσει κάτι... αθάνατο, ενώ στην παρούσα μορφή δεν καταφέρνει καν να φανεί βλάσφημο.
Οι άνθρωποι και οι αδυναμίες τους, η απουσία του θείου, η παρουσία του θείου, η θέαση του κόσμου μέσα από την επιστήμη όταν αυτή υποκαθιστά (sic) τη θρησκεία, η θρησκευτική παραφροσύνη και η αλλοίωση των διδαχών της αγάπης, οι ανθρώπινες σχέσεις, οι εξαρτήσεις, η ομοφυλοφιλία, όλα περνάνε βιαστικά μέσα από το πρίσμα του Morrow αφήνοντας ένα μάλλον θολό μετείκασμα.

[Ashley Tanasiychuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hold your breath, we're going under, deep into the sea, perhaps as far as hell...

But when we get there, it won't be quite as you've been told. In fact, despite this book being entirely dependent on the Bible, nothing is quite as Christians want you to believe.

God has a daughter. She was born in a test tube. She is an immaculate conception, this time not of a mother, but a father. A lonely older Jewish man, a hermit of sorts who lives in a still operational lighthouse. He happens to donate his sperm to a bank. Luckily, his births God's daughter shortly before the place is blown to smithereens by a slaughter-minded cult.

And that's only the first 26 pages.

Highly recommended. This is my first James Morrow book; his writing is so fast paced, so confident, so captivating and entertaining and intelligent without being pompous, I cannot wait to read what else he has to say to turn our conceptions of the world on their shaven heads.

[Edward Champion · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my second James Morrow novel and I enjoyed this a lot more than TOWING JEHOVAH -- in large part because of its irreverent humor in relation to religion (there's a hilarious scene in which a priest hires a prostitute that skewers both piety and clueless masculinity) and its utterly bizarre imagination. But like TOWING, this one goes off the rails in the last third, resorting to increasingly broader apocalyptic imagery rather than the bold shots at human behavior that make this novel so funny. James Morrow is probably one of the few novelists of the last few decades who has invoked fantasy to interrogate religious transformation. Which I suppose makes him one of the ultimate "speculative" fiction authors. I just wish that the entirety of his novels were, on the whole, not so uneven!

[Will · Rating 2 out of 5]

The characters are one-dimensional, by which I mean that Molly, the robotic hand, is just as interesting as anyone else in the book. Moreover, the first third of the plot drags, and the rest of the book barely holds together. There are bright moments when Julie, the begotten daughter, escapes her earthly life and a little later during her return, but they aren't enough to elevate the characters.

Maybe my recent reading Camus' The Rebel is biasing my impression, but one of Morrow's theses appears to be that deification isn't what it's cracked up to be, but humanity is. The book has enough metaphorical content to go around, but it's all thinly painted and fails to cohere. Coupled with the skeletal plot, there's not enough here to recommend the book.

[Kiva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Features the best criteria for entry into Heaven I have encountered so far.

[Roxie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great idea but poor execution.

[Arturo Del Rosal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasant surprise!!!!
I started this reading with zero expectatives, and oh man!!!!, I enjoyed it a lot.
It's funny, dramatic, dark and satirical.
The gospel of God's daughter in 3 acts, the final act being the representation of the passion of the Christ but in modern USA.
It has religous subject matter that it could be offensive for some people, read it with an open mind and with the objective just to have fun.
Great read, short of perfection for some problems in character development.

[Anthony Buck · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag. I liked the first 10% and the last 10% but the rest was a slog. Therefore hard to recommend but the ending almost redeems it.

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 Robert Heinlein’s Revolt in 2010 and Stephen King’s The Running Man.

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.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not an "I have an afternoon to kill" kind of book. The commentary on religion, human nature and church history is enough to keep you busy for days, reading and re-reading passages, and having discussions about what the author means, and whether his ideas are very pious or very blasphemous. If you pick this up, you will get the most enjoyment out of it if you have a friend or loved one also reading it, so that you can have conversations and compare notes. It's THAT kind of book. However, unlike many books of this type, it's still a smooth and entertaining read, written so that it's not just easy to get through, but compelling. I don't know how much of what the author says are things I agree with, but he phrases everything so cleverly and frames his arguments so entertainingly that even if I disagree I still enjoyed the book. If you get the chance, give this book a try, it is a hidden literary treasure.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what the point of this story was.

I mean, beyond pointing out the hypocrisy present in modern organized religion. Which is a valid point, but I'm not sure it takes that many pages, or that much meandering pedantry to do so. Also, the writing isn't nearly as witty or clever as it clearly thinks it is.

There's the core of something interesting here - but while the author takes on what should be deeply complex and engaging issues of family, addiction, self, and sexuality, he aggressively avoids any emotional depth, falling back instead on cynical quips. And time that could be spent on character development instead goes towards uncomfortably graphic descriptions of torture and violence.

Ultimately, this book's biggest flaw is that it's dull. I didn't hate it; I just.... didn't much care.

[Michelle Morrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would never have picked this book up had it not been given to me--but I was thankful it was. It had a very intriguing premise--a male celibate lighthouse keeper brings about the second coming of Christ in the form of a daughter. I can't remember all the details about it--but I do remember you did not have to have a strong understanding of the bible to "get" the book--most of the items that needed to be explained in order to understand the plot were--but, of course, a founding in some of the general principles of Christianity were helpful.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so genius I don't even know where to start......

Iconoclastic and yet light-hearted, Morrow turns Christianity on its side and offers a fun alternative to what is generally accepted as the "second coming."

A Jewish man makes a donation at a sperm bank and finds out later that (somehow) there's an embryo in it. After saving the specimen--with its immaculately conceived contents--from destruction, he proceeds to raise this child, Jesus' half-sister.

I highly recommend reading this novel aloud while on a road trip!

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out with a lot of promise but lost me somewhere along the way. Would've preferred a longer stay with Murray. The rest of the characters ended up being boring. I finished the book hoping for a satisfying ending only to be disappointed.

[Bobb Waller · Rating 5 out of 5]

probably the best of Morrow's Novels. Cannot recommend it enough!

[Heather Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jesus' sister being a test tube baby in New Jersey? It totally works.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the modern day, God causes a second child to come into this world, this time a girl. Like her more famous brother Jesus, she's got divine powers, but isn't sure what her mission in life is, and she's got to figure it out... but it's tricky, especially with the frustrating silence of her divine parent, the devil trying to start up a new religion around her, and a particularly nasty apocalyptic sect of an existing one.

Obviously, with a premise like this, the book might offend some people's sensibilities, even be considered blasphemous. But if you've got an open mind and can accept the premise like the weird stuff you're asked to accept in any other sci-fi or fantasy book... well, you still might be offended, but you can enjoy it a lot more.

I read this long, long ago and it made a big impression on me, and several of the ideas and images stuck with me, all these years, even if much of the specifics of the plot had faded. I remembered at the time really enjoying it. On a much older reread... well, there's still plenty of good here, but it's not as impressive. The simplified story my memory had turned it into over the years between reads was far more appealing, not because simple is better but just because, as written, the main character comes off a lot worse... and not just in a 'she's a character with flaws' way, but in a way that I'm genuinely not sure if the author realizes how awful and/or stupid it makes the character look. And more characters seemed to be caricatures, even though some remain remarkably full of depth (some sadly go back and forth and I wish they'd gotten more time instead of some of the other plot), and some criticisms (both of religion and society) seemed to lack some bite or occasionally were strawmanny.

But it's still got some really cool concepts and arguments, that still are powerful for me, and in a few ways the book seems remarkably prescient. I mean, it got plenty wrong too but there were a couple moments that I could see being more relevant today than when it was written. And I think some of the basic, non-religious message is still good.

It's just not quite as good a work as I remembered it being. Still, if you don't take religious matters super seriously it could be worth a look.

[Lance Schonberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Premise: since God has previously sent His only begotten Son to Earth with decidedly mixed results, it’s obviously time to switch things up and send Her only begotten Daughter. Through a combination of a celibate man making regular sperm donations, a miracle, and modern super tech, the next messiah comes into the world.

The premise is interesting, and the setup works fairly well, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired for me and things started to fall over almost the moment Murray Katz stops being the main character for the titular character, his daughter Julie, to take over the narrative. She’s inconsistent and whiny. Everyone else is a cardboard placeholder for some trait or another with no real growth or depth and the plot doesn’t really hold together very well. Starting with the religiously fantastic premise, the story just continues to get more and more absurd for the sake of being absurd.

Where the book does come through is in the society that the Evangelicals, sorry, Revalationists, build out of New Jersey. Setting aside the absurdity that any government would let this happen inside their own borders to their own citizens, it’s entirely believable that a society built around the idea that the end times will be here any second is going to build that society on blood and bones, losing, again, the central message of Christianity which I’m pretty sure is supposed to be, “Why can’t we all just be nice to each other?”

I’m not sure of the overall intent of the book, but the message I seem to get is that humanity basically sucks which is never the message I want to take away from a story. Mr. Morrow won another WFA a couple of years later but I’m hesitant after this one.

It's hard to give it even two stars, but I didn't actually hate it. I just never found anything to really like after the initial POV character stopped being a POV character.

[JA J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked up this book thinking it was a satire, but not the kind it turned out to be. Felt as though i were swimming through molasses trying to get through the scientific theories/jargon sometimes as one of the characters struggled to rectify religion vs. science. But it turned out that the book didn't rely on the eternal tug of war between faith and knowledge. I found some of the characters to be undeniably evil. Several years ago, I would have said that this was so unrealistic, but that was before ISIS. (Previous evils of human existence -the Holocaust, Kmer Rouge massacres, the Spanish Inquisition having been conveniently in the past.)
In fact, this was a fairly compelling read about many ideological issues - how would we respond if an undeniable god was present on earth? What would we do in the face of miracles? How far will we go to force others to live according to our beliefs? Is there really a Satan? Why do we continue to believe in a God without proof? How does one fight an overwhelming and evil religious regime? What is the difference between those who care for others and those who do not? Do we respond by doing something or do we just hide our heads and try to live our life as best we can?
This was not an easy read but it made me think a little bit- that can't be all bad.

[Sarah Anchors · Rating 3 out of 5]

The good: intriguing set up. Some good lines and some dark humor, and just plain darkness. Pacing was pretty good and it did keep me reading to the end to find out what happened.
The bad: Some moralizing. Never got a real good feel for personalities of our main characters. They were largely stereotypes: the bookish Jew, the outrageous lesbian, the libidinous drunk. The protagonist, God’s daughter, has an unclear and shifting personality. Deep, cautious and introspective at one time, then joining in crazy shenanigans with her gal pal, then callous and easy to anger in the next. Spoiler alert: she inexplicably spends 15 years in hell and then suddenly gets homesick and returns to earth. For some reason, the devil is suddenly powerless. There is a robotic autonomous hand thrown in for no reason. And she is surprising to learn from the OBGYN that she is not able to have a baby; she has no ovaries. Of course, any woman would know something was wrong because without ovaries, no menstration. This apparently did not occur to the male author.
So: a good read, but a lot of unsatisfying elements.

[George K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Αυτό δυστυχώς είναι το μοναδικό μυθιστόρημα του Τζέιμς Μόροου που έχει μεταφραστεί στα ελληνικά, και λέω δυστυχώς γιατί εκτός του ότι έχει γράψει πολλά ενδιαφέροντα βιβλία φαντασίας και επιστημονικής φαντασίας με ιδιαίτερη θεματολογία, βρήκα το συγκεκριμένο πολύ ενδιαφέρον, διαφορετικό από τα συνηθισμένα, σε πολλά σημεία έντονο και καθηλωτικό, με φοβερά σκηνικά και κάμποση τροφή για σκέψη. Βέβαια, πολλοί μπορεί να το βρουν βλάσφημο, ενοχλητικό και όχι τόσο πολιτικά ορθό, δεν ξέρω και δεν με ενδιαφέρει, εγώ το βρήκα αρκετά διασκεδαστικό με τον τρόπο του, αρκετά τρελό και με μεγάλη φαντασία, σίγουρα ο συγγραφέας κατάφερε να με κρατήσει στην τσίτα μέχρι το τέλος, καθώς και να με προβληματίσει και λίγο. Τέλειο δεν είναι, μάλλον έχει τα θέματά του όσον αφορά τους χαρακτήρες και τη σκιαγράφησή τους (και ίσως λίγο σε ορισμένα κομμάτια της πλοκής), όμως γενικά νιώθω ότι διάβασα ένα καλογραμμένο και ιδιαίτερο μυθιστόρημα, που δεν συναντάς και κάθε μέρα στη γλώσσα μας. Πολύ, πολύ ευχαρίστως θα διάβαζα και άλλα βιβλία του Μόροου αν μεταφράζονταν ποτέ στα ελληνικά, αλλά δυστυχώς δεν το βλέπω και πολύ πιθανό ως ενδεχόμενο. Τι να κάνεις όμως...

[Emma S · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is so fucking deranged and I really cannot say if I'm glad I read it or not. The writing is so nasty and visceral and gory and I really dislike the way Morrow writes about female anatomy in particular. Yonic symbolism but used for EVIL

At the same time there's this like....chaos theology that breaks through in certain moments. I would bet money that Morrow was raised Catholic because there are these moments of theology and philosophy that felt so deeply familiar and nostalgic in a way that makes my skin crawl. Every so often I just got these pangs of religiosity reading this & I feel very ambivalent about my agnosticism now, reading this made me miss believing in something.

I want to go sit in my old church and just think about God after finishing this book so.........good job Mr Morrow ? Please don't ever write anything like this again.

Favorite line:
"-God is a sponge? A sponge? There's not much comfort in that.
-Agreed.
-Sponges can't help us.
-Neither can God, as far as I can tell."

Rating: 3 yonic symbols out of 5