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Cosdiví
Un matí qualsevol, un foraster apareix completament nu en un poble de moral conservadora de Nova Anglaterra. Al llarg de tot un dia, aquest individu misteriós s’anirà creuant amb diferents habitants de la localitat, fent que les històries d’un capellà bonifaci, d’una artista lliurepensadora, d’un assetjador sexual, d’una secretària ingènua, d’un policia corrupte, d’una periodista manipuladora i d’un banquer cap quadrat es vagin teixint al voltant d’una trobada que transformarà per sempre la seva manera d’entendre l’amor i la sexualitat.
A mig camí entre el realisme brut, la literatura fantàstica i el llibre de revelacions, Cosdiví és la culminació conceptual de l’obra de Theodore Sturgeon, conegut per ser un dels grans mestres de la ciència-ficció literària, i admirat per escriptors com Kurt Vonnegut (que va convertir Sturgeon en l’il·lustre Kilgore Trout). De fet, Sturgeon va dedicar els últims onze anys de la seva vida a escriure aquest llibre, en què s’atreveix a reinventar el mite de Crist en clau sexual i contemporània.
A mig camí entre el realisme brut, la literatura fantàstica i el llibre de revelacions, Cosdiví és la culminació conceptual de l’obra de Theodore Sturgeon, conegut per ser un dels grans mestres de la ciència-ficció literària, i admirat per escriptors com Kurt Vonnegut (que va convertir Sturgeon en l’il·lustre Kilgore Trout). De fet, Sturgeon va dedicar els últims onze anys de la seva vida a escriure aquest llibre, en què s’atreveix a reinventar el mite de Crist en clau sexual i contemporània.
188 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
186 people are currently reading
1023 people want to read
About the author
Theodore Sturgeon
722 books770 followersTheodore Sturgeon (1918–1985) is considered one of the godfathers of contemporary science fiction and dark fantasy. The author of numerous acclaimed short stories and novels, among them the classics More Than Human, Venus Plus X, and To Marry Medusa, Sturgeon also wrote for television and holds among his credits two episodes of the original 1960s Star Trek series, for which he created the Vulcan mating ritual and the expression "Live long and prosper." He is also credited as the inspiration for Kurt Vonnegut's recurring fictional character Kilgore Trout.
Sturgeon is the recipient of the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the International Fantasy Award. In 2000, he was posthumously honored with a World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.
Sturgeon is the recipient of the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the International Fantasy Award. In 2000, he was posthumously honored with a World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
April 21, 2020
Heinlein's Introduction to Sturgeon's swan song "novel" Godbody helped brace me to for this one, for one can easily misjudge this based on one's assumptions rather than the author's intent.
Written in Sturgeon's sensitive and elegant fashion -the style is a precursors of that of Ursula Le Guin's than of his golden age contemporaries Heinlein, Asimov, Williamson or van Vogt- and though more sexually explicit than necessary, it tell the tale of a perceived messiah in the guise of a simple and mysterious open-minded traveler who comes upon a troubled small New England town -Stephen King's territory-. There he helps its inhabitants -in interesting ways to say the least- to better understand themselves and the love they have within, better than ever before.
Based on the little I've read so far of Theodore Sturgeon's work, he is more at home with the short story form -a situation or expanded idea- rather than the novel. Even his wonderful and classic "More Than Human" is actually a fix-up consisting of earlier shorter works. Godbody reads more like a novella.
Philosophically, the story is a kin to Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land."
Written in Sturgeon's sensitive and elegant fashion -the style is a precursors of that of Ursula Le Guin's than of his golden age contemporaries Heinlein, Asimov, Williamson or van Vogt- and though more sexually explicit than necessary, it tell the tale of a perceived messiah in the guise of a simple and mysterious open-minded traveler who comes upon a troubled small New England town -Stephen King's territory-. There he helps its inhabitants -in interesting ways to say the least- to better understand themselves and the love they have within, better than ever before.
Based on the little I've read so far of Theodore Sturgeon's work, he is more at home with the short story form -a situation or expanded idea- rather than the novel. Even his wonderful and classic "More Than Human" is actually a fix-up consisting of earlier shorter works. Godbody reads more like a novella.
Philosophically, the story is a kin to Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land."
September 2, 2024
Godbody was Sturgeon's last novel; it was published posthumously in 1986. It's a short book, more of a novella, and parts of it are very polished and parts read rather roughly, like a first draft. There's an introduction by Robert A. Heinlein and an afterword from Stephen R. Donaldson. It's a second-coming story that's very heavy on Sturgeon's familiar themes of transcendence and love and acceptance (much like Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land), and the message becomes a bit heavy-handed at times. He draws the characters very well, but there's a little too much mysticism for me to consider it good science fiction. Sturgeon wrote a huge number of grand short works, but I think this is one of his weaker novels. Still, it's a fond farewell from a master...
April 8, 2021
Questa è la risposta!
La risposta non è ricevere e conservare, ma ricevere e dare.
La risposta non è salvare e preservare, ma crescere e cambiare.
La risposta non è fermare le cose, ma lasciarle andare.
La risposta non è coprire e nascondere, ma toccare e condividere.
La risposta non è pensare, ma sentire.
La risposta non è morte, ma amore.
Non morte, ma vita.
Non morte!
La risposta non è ricevere e conservare, ma ricevere e dare.
La risposta non è salvare e preservare, ma crescere e cambiare.
La risposta non è fermare le cose, ma lasciarle andare.
La risposta non è coprire e nascondere, ma toccare e condividere.
La risposta non è pensare, ma sentire.
La risposta non è morte, ma amore.
Non morte, ma vita.
Non morte!
October 14, 2022
Theodore Sturgeon's More Than Human was one of my favorite books as a teen. Descriptions of Godbody had me thinking it would be similar to that in style or in content and tone to Godspell or Siddhartha. Approaching a book with expectations can be problematic.
Sturgeon used a different narrator for each chapter, including a strait-laced minister and his beautiful wife, the town's gossip columnist, and the town's sexual predator. Some narrators were people I would enjoy going out for coffee with, the predator nearly had me mark this book DNF.
The mysterious stranger to town, Godbody, was clearly a Christ character, at least as set in the 20th century and written by someone like Robert Heinlein, who wrote the book's Foreword . Godbody's message was to "love one another," literally, with healing sexual wounds a necessary first step. As Heinlein observed, "Some readers will feel that [Godbody] is XXX-rated pornography. They will have plenty to go on. Others will see it as a tender, gentle love story. They’ll be right" (p. 17).
We know almost nothing about the characters, except through their interactions with Godbody, and their views on sex (and I didn't want to know anything more about several). As a result, Godbody felt as though it had been painted with a broad brush and bold, slightly unattractive colors. More characterization and nuance would have been appreciated.
The best part of Godbody, to my mind, was not the sex, characterizations, or plot, but the ways that Sturgeon challenged us to think about what Christianity had been, and what it should be, could be.
Sturgeon used a different narrator for each chapter, including a strait-laced minister and his beautiful wife, the town's gossip columnist, and the town's sexual predator. Some narrators were people I would enjoy going out for coffee with, the predator nearly had me mark this book DNF.
The mysterious stranger to town, Godbody, was clearly a Christ character, at least as set in the 20th century and written by someone like Robert Heinlein, who wrote the book's Foreword . Godbody's message was to "love one another," literally, with healing sexual wounds a necessary first step. As Heinlein observed, "Some readers will feel that [Godbody] is XXX-rated pornography. They will have plenty to go on. Others will see it as a tender, gentle love story. They’ll be right" (p. 17).
We know almost nothing about the characters, except through their interactions with Godbody, and their views on sex (and I didn't want to know anything more about several). As a result, Godbody felt as though it had been painted with a broad brush and bold, slightly unattractive colors. More characterization and nuance would have been appreciated.
The best part of Godbody, to my mind, was not the sex, characterizations, or plot, but the ways that Sturgeon challenged us to think about what Christianity had been, and what it should be, could be.
August 22, 2015
This startling book is about what happens when one instance of the Second Coming (Godbody makes it clear that he does this on a regular basis, without public fanfare) consists primarily of the message "love one another" and the re-institution of Agape Feasts, with the healing of sexual wounds as a necessary first step before the rest can take place. It is not science fiction. If you don't believe in the Divine, you could categorize it as Magical Realism. I consider it a Christian myth about sacred sexuality.
Some people don't like the explicitness, but to me it seemed necessary because each person's relationship with sex and their past experiences with it, including their wounds and/or shame, were key to understanding their current situation. And the differences between the startlingly powerful, intimate and joyous sex first experienced by the Curriers sets up the contrast not only to their own past but to the situations of others.
One could accuse Sturgeon of oversimplifying life by portraying a community in which everything comes back to sex, but if you think of this book as a myth rather than a novel it makes it easier to accept. And let's face it: a lot of peoples' issues are rooted in sex, especially sexual wounds, shame, fear, and loneliness.
The other aspect is that of Godbody's utter compassion and acceptance. It doesn't matter what anyone has done in the past. Godbody accepts them utterly, loves them, wants them to be whole and healthy, but doesn't force anything on them. As another reviewer noted below, just being listened to with complete focus and acceptance is healing in itself.
"Godbody" is not about is free love, despite what some other reviewers have said. Godbody the character does not encourage or prompt people to have sex with everyone and anyone. In fact, some people might label him conservative, since it's fairly clear that all the sex takes place between couples who apparently are going to remain focused on each other. (The one exception is a single woman who makes love with Godbody but does not start trying to seduce the other men later.) Instead, what is portrayed is an Edenic, innocent intimacy, where characters are naked, but without stirring inappropriate lust in others, and married/committed couples become happier in their monogamy.
Do I recommend this book? Absolutely! But it needs to be approached with an open mind and a certain level of spiritual and sexual maturity if you're going to fully appreciate it.
Some people don't like the explicitness, but to me it seemed necessary because each person's relationship with sex and their past experiences with it, including their wounds and/or shame, were key to understanding their current situation. And the differences between the startlingly powerful, intimate and joyous sex first experienced by the Curriers sets up the contrast not only to their own past but to the situations of others.
One could accuse Sturgeon of oversimplifying life by portraying a community in which everything comes back to sex, but if you think of this book as a myth rather than a novel it makes it easier to accept. And let's face it: a lot of peoples' issues are rooted in sex, especially sexual wounds, shame, fear, and loneliness.
The other aspect is that of Godbody's utter compassion and acceptance. It doesn't matter what anyone has done in the past. Godbody accepts them utterly, loves them, wants them to be whole and healthy, but doesn't force anything on them. As another reviewer noted below, just being listened to with complete focus and acceptance is healing in itself.
"Godbody" is not about is free love, despite what some other reviewers have said. Godbody the character does not encourage or prompt people to have sex with everyone and anyone. In fact, some people might label him conservative, since it's fairly clear that all the sex takes place between couples who apparently are going to remain focused on each other. (The one exception is a single woman who makes love with Godbody but does not start trying to seduce the other men later.) Instead, what is portrayed is an Edenic, innocent intimacy, where characters are naked, but without stirring inappropriate lust in others, and married/committed couples become happier in their monogamy.
Do I recommend this book? Absolutely! But it needs to be approached with an open mind and a certain level of spiritual and sexual maturity if you're going to fully appreciate it.
June 28, 2007
The most beautiful account of the second coming that I have ever come across. Sturgeon had a hard time getting the novel right, but in this, his last, he hit it on all cylinders. As life affirming and full of painful, bleeding love for humanity as the rest of his works, this will leave you with a lump in your throat and a glow in your heart.
December 8, 2019
Il reverendo Dan Currier lo vede per la prima volta mentre se ne sta seduto fra gli alberi su un muretto vecchio e sgretolato; seduto e nudo. “In quell’universo tutto verde, lui era il rosso, in ogni sua sfumatura: i capelli sottili, lunghi fino alle orecchie, erano rosso rame, gli zigomi alti e piatti avevano preso dai raggi del sole il rosso delle pesche mature, il torace e il ventre erano di un rosso dorato. Sedeva completamente rilassato, le spalle curve, il mento fra le clavicole”. Un romanzo fascinoso, ‘ardito’ nella trama, che tuttavia lascia una strana impressione di levità e inquietudine. Chi è Godbody?
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October 12, 2025No li poso un 0 perquè no puc
February 12, 2012
The minister of a small congregation in a small New England town is driving home through the countryside when he notices a naked young man sitting by the side of the road. Every physical aspect of the young man is a shade of red, but not unpleasantly so. The colors blend together nicely, The idea of cinnamon comes to the minister's mind. He stops and asks the young man if he needs any help. The young man, unashamed and natural in his nakedness, approaches the minister's open passenger side window and asks, "Who are you?" The minister replies, "My name is Currier." The young man places his hand for a moment between Currier's neck and shirt color then replies, "Yes, you are." When asked for his own name, the young man replies, "Godbody." He turns down a ride, and Rev. Currier goes home, carries his wife into the bedroom, and they have the best sex either has ever experienced.
So begins Theodore Sturgeon's final novel, published posthumously in 1986. (Sturgeon died in 1985 from lung fibrosis, possibly contracted by working around asbestos in the merchant marines.) Robert Heinlein wrote an introduction for the novel's initial publication, both as memorial to his friend and to get a jump start on what he expected would be a protest against the books graphic sexual passages and profane language. You would think that sexual barriers would be pretty well broken down by 1986. John Updike wrote Couples and Philip Roth wrote Portnoy's Complaint in 1969. Erica Jong's Fear of Flying came out in 1973. From its pulp beginnings, SF had been a hotbed of repressed, adolescent male sexual fantasy, but there is a frankness to Sturgeon's book unlike anything I have ever encountered in SF from that period. The sex is graphic and varied, including deeply felt encounters, violent attacks, and the comically grotesque.
The book concerns the effect Godbody has on a half dozen or so characters during a single autumn day in thei New England town. Sturgeon tells each chapter in a different voice, ranging from Currier's to that of the town's gossip columnist, and including that of the town's resident sexual predator among others. Sturgeon liked this sort of experimental approach to his narratives, and he pulls it off better here than in any of his books I have read other than the very early More Than Human. The plot itself takes fairly predictable turns, but the storytelling it topnotch. Godbody is both a peculiar cultural artifact and an entertaining evening's read.
So begins Theodore Sturgeon's final novel, published posthumously in 1986. (Sturgeon died in 1985 from lung fibrosis, possibly contracted by working around asbestos in the merchant marines.) Robert Heinlein wrote an introduction for the novel's initial publication, both as memorial to his friend and to get a jump start on what he expected would be a protest against the books graphic sexual passages and profane language. You would think that sexual barriers would be pretty well broken down by 1986. John Updike wrote Couples and Philip Roth wrote Portnoy's Complaint in 1969. Erica Jong's Fear of Flying came out in 1973. From its pulp beginnings, SF had been a hotbed of repressed, adolescent male sexual fantasy, but there is a frankness to Sturgeon's book unlike anything I have ever encountered in SF from that period. The sex is graphic and varied, including deeply felt encounters, violent attacks, and the comically grotesque.
The book concerns the effect Godbody has on a half dozen or so characters during a single autumn day in thei New England town. Sturgeon tells each chapter in a different voice, ranging from Currier's to that of the town's gossip columnist, and including that of the town's resident sexual predator among others. Sturgeon liked this sort of experimental approach to his narratives, and he pulls it off better here than in any of his books I have read other than the very early More Than Human. The plot itself takes fairly predictable turns, but the storytelling it topnotch. Godbody is both a peculiar cultural artifact and an entertaining evening's read.
October 12, 2025
Quina estoneta més divertida m’ha fet passar el Cosdiví! Aquí trobareu una novel·la coral, amb veus i personatges que semblen sortir dels contes de l’Eudora Welty (sobre tot aquest ocellet que tot ho sap!).
El diví i l’humà, el bé i el mal. I la reinvenció del mite de Jesucrist amb un punt picant 🤭
El diví i l’humà, el bé i el mal. I la reinvenció del mite de Jesucrist amb un punt picant 🤭
May 13, 2012
GODBODY is about how a messiah-like entity transforms a small, repressed town in the Katskills.
I remember reading this, or attempting to (I'm not sure I was able to finish), back when I was a teenager and it had first been published. I hated it, and then forgot about it for years. Then somehow I thought of it again, and I realized that I had been far too young to understand or appreciate the book. (I don't just mean the sex parts. Back then I wouldn't have recognized a Christ figure if you'd nailed him up in front of me. And just other life stuff.) So I thought, if I ever came across it again, I'd give it another try. This was partly because of Sturgeon's reputation as an author, and partly because I was curious to see how my perceptions had changed.
At first, I thought I was going to hate it still. At the beginning of the story, Reverend Dan Currier encounters Godbody in a field. He touches Dan, who returns home and makes sweet love to his wife like he's never done before. How nauseatingly domestic.
After the first couple chapters, though, it gets better. We're introduced to several other members of the community (except for the epilogue, the entire book is told in first-person): "Hobo" Wellen, the town rapist; Willa Mayhew, gossip columnist for the local paper and self-appointed morality police; poor, victimized Melissa Franck, and so on. We see how Godbody's presence changes even the worst of them.
It's still not a great book - there is a little too much casual mysticism for my taste - but at least I now understand what Sturgeon was trying to say. His message is a nice one, but it's so heavy-handed it's liable to take your head off if you're not careful.
I remember reading this, or attempting to (I'm not sure I was able to finish), back when I was a teenager and it had first been published. I hated it, and then forgot about it for years. Then somehow I thought of it again, and I realized that I had been far too young to understand or appreciate the book. (I don't just mean the sex parts. Back then I wouldn't have recognized a Christ figure if you'd nailed him up in front of me. And just other life stuff.) So I thought, if I ever came across it again, I'd give it another try. This was partly because of Sturgeon's reputation as an author, and partly because I was curious to see how my perceptions had changed.
At first, I thought I was going to hate it still. At the beginning of the story, Reverend Dan Currier encounters Godbody in a field. He touches Dan, who returns home and makes sweet love to his wife like he's never done before. How nauseatingly domestic.
After the first couple chapters, though, it gets better. We're introduced to several other members of the community (except for the epilogue, the entire book is told in first-person): "Hobo" Wellen, the town rapist; Willa Mayhew, gossip columnist for the local paper and self-appointed morality police; poor, victimized Melissa Franck, and so on. We see how Godbody's presence changes even the worst of them.
It's still not a great book - there is a little too much casual mysticism for my taste - but at least I now understand what Sturgeon was trying to say. His message is a nice one, but it's so heavy-handed it's liable to take your head off if you're not careful.
October 14, 2016
Every line is a quote, every chapter an experience. In the foreword Heinlein says you can pick any paragraph randomly through the book and know exactly who is talking without using accents or weird spellings to make it obvious, and he was very correct. "Ted has always used the exact word-always "lightning" never "lightning bug". Those four letter shockers are essential." Didn't think he could do something as monumental as more than human but here it is, a great last novel to leave us with.
July 29, 2022
Wow, what a book! Could not put it down and read through it in about four hours.
The basic story is about a divinity who comes to a small town in New England to show the people that God Is Love in a literal, sexual sense. It's very counterculture-y, with shades of Richard Bach and Godspell. But this spirituality is expressed in some very graphic, well written and sexy sex scenes---truly spiritual healing and ecstacy through physical communion. Probably not for everybody, but definitely right in my wheelhouse.
The novella is constructed as a series of first person accounts--each chapter is a different person's story about how the coming of Godbody affects them. It's a very effective structure, and Sturgeon does a fantastic job of giving each character a distinct voice.
Unfortunately, this is a posthumously published book, considered unfinished. Things get a little preachy at the end. I imagine Sturgeon might have made the message more subtle with another round of editing.
Four out of five for that reason.
The basic story is about a divinity who comes to a small town in New England to show the people that God Is Love in a literal, sexual sense. It's very counterculture-y, with shades of Richard Bach and Godspell. But this spirituality is expressed in some very graphic, well written and sexy sex scenes---truly spiritual healing and ecstacy through physical communion. Probably not for everybody, but definitely right in my wheelhouse.
The novella is constructed as a series of first person accounts--each chapter is a different person's story about how the coming of Godbody affects them. It's a very effective structure, and Sturgeon does a fantastic job of giving each character a distinct voice.
Unfortunately, this is a posthumously published book, considered unfinished. Things get a little preachy at the end. I imagine Sturgeon might have made the message more subtle with another round of editing.
Four out of five for that reason.
July 29, 2025
Todavía sigo pensando, tratando de entender que es lo que leí. "Ciencia" ficción, en un formato que todavía no comprendo. Religión, la segunda venida de "Jesús". Esta novela explora la religión (¿o la sociedad?), ¿cómo una expresión de amor? y no amor romántico (o si), sino más bien como un amor sexual. Los primeros capítulos son difíciles de pasar, no por la complejidad, sino por lo extremo de las emociones. Es gracioso, es asquero, es intrigante. Algo hace que todo sea tenso, pero a la vez un poco estresante. No es una lectura reconfortante, porque hace preguntas muy incómodas, porqué te hace sentir raro. Es muy explícito, aunque en la cantidad justa. No se, sigo sin entender, pero con la sensación de que algo está por pasar.
October 22, 2016
3.5 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews
An assortment of indirectly linked residents of a small town interact with a mysterious stranger.
From what I've read of Theodore Sturgeon's work before, Robert Heinlein and Stephen Donaldson seemed unlikely choices for, respectively, the foreword and afterword. On dipping into the novel, however, it began to make sense. Sturgeon's Godbody is in some ways an amalgam of Heinlein's own two Smiths - Woodrow Wilson and Valentine Michael, and the focus on a 'free love makes everything better' theme fits nicely with Heinlein's late period wish fulfillment stories. Donaldson's is a more intellectual and reasoned commentary, but also more interesting.
I agree with Donaldson that Sturgeon's premise is weak. Essentially, the title character, Godbody, helps people realize their true selves by freeing them from sexual repression. That's not a spoiler - it happens to the first character, in the first chapter. Sturgeon writes unselfconsciously about sex, and he approaches it from a variety of angles. It's reasonably well done, but not particularly interesting. What works better is the character studies that form the basis of the book's individual chapters. It's the fact that these characters grow that's interesting here, not how they do it.
Godbody himself is a mild cypher that comes clear without much surprise at the end. The most interesting thing about him is the very down-to-earth tone that Sturgeon has given this mystical central figure.
While the book has a strong defining theme, it lacks a clear plot, and the chapters follow each other in something of a jumble. The middle of the book slows considerably, in part because Sturgeon is so busy describing each character's attitudes toward sex that he forgets to move the story forward. The book does improve thereafter, with a satisfying, if simplistic ending.
Unlike the characters in the story, your life won't be changed by meeting Godbody, but you might spend a pleasant afternoon with him and his friends.
An assortment of indirectly linked residents of a small town interact with a mysterious stranger.
From what I've read of Theodore Sturgeon's work before, Robert Heinlein and Stephen Donaldson seemed unlikely choices for, respectively, the foreword and afterword. On dipping into the novel, however, it began to make sense. Sturgeon's Godbody is in some ways an amalgam of Heinlein's own two Smiths - Woodrow Wilson and Valentine Michael, and the focus on a 'free love makes everything better' theme fits nicely with Heinlein's late period wish fulfillment stories. Donaldson's is a more intellectual and reasoned commentary, but also more interesting.
I agree with Donaldson that Sturgeon's premise is weak. Essentially, the title character, Godbody, helps people realize their true selves by freeing them from sexual repression. That's not a spoiler - it happens to the first character, in the first chapter. Sturgeon writes unselfconsciously about sex, and he approaches it from a variety of angles. It's reasonably well done, but not particularly interesting. What works better is the character studies that form the basis of the book's individual chapters. It's the fact that these characters grow that's interesting here, not how they do it.
Godbody himself is a mild cypher that comes clear without much surprise at the end. The most interesting thing about him is the very down-to-earth tone that Sturgeon has given this mystical central figure.
While the book has a strong defining theme, it lacks a clear plot, and the chapters follow each other in something of a jumble. The middle of the book slows considerably, in part because Sturgeon is so busy describing each character's attitudes toward sex that he forgets to move the story forward. The book does improve thereafter, with a satisfying, if simplistic ending.
Unlike the characters in the story, your life won't be changed by meeting Godbody, but you might spend a pleasant afternoon with him and his friends.
October 1, 2016
The story includes a figure who is Jesus-like in that he cares deeply and heals. The book contains equal amounts of various sexual activities and talk along the lines of morality, I guess you would call it. I found the story totally boring and the sexual scenes for the most part overdone.
I read the whole book, because it was fairly short and I wanted to see if there was anything at the end to make up for how awful I felt the book was. There was an attempt at the end, in the form of a sermon, to explain how the early church was and why it no longer was that way. I found this quite lacking.
The main reason I finished this book was so that I could say I read it and recommend that you do not bother reading it.
I read the whole book, because it was fairly short and I wanted to see if there was anything at the end to make up for how awful I felt the book was. There was an attempt at the end, in the form of a sermon, to explain how the early church was and why it no longer was that way. I found this quite lacking.
The main reason I finished this book was so that I could say I read it and recommend that you do not bother reading it.
October 1, 2012
This book is basically porn. I remember my mother lent this book to me back in High School when I was looking for a book to read. I don't think she knew what it was, just knew the author. I gave it to my brother when I was done and then it was given back to my mother. I was always curious what she thought when she finally got around to reading it.
November 24, 2016
Such a pity that many of Sturgeon's works are hidden behind these idiotic naked-pecs covers! He is one of the best writers who ever lived, period.
July 21, 2018
What, another sci-fi author is trying to start his own religion?
January 17, 2021
Cuando empecé este libro, no resultó ser lo que esperaba. El inicio es todo lo que no me encanta leer: Ubicados en algún sitio de Estados Unidos rural, nos encontramos con una serie de personajes con francamente demasiados problemas respecto a la manera en que entienden y ejercen su sexualidad.
Puaj, receta para el desastre. Pero si logras pasar ese primer encontronazo que huele mucho a señor rancio, empiezas a notar otro tipo de intenciones en la obra y se vuelve mucho más interesante. A mi me logró tocar y siento que no lo entendí del todo bien, que necesito al menos una nueva ronda para asentar del todo mi opinión, pero hasta ahora, me quedo con los retratos que no son realmente sobre estos rancheros gringos, sino de ciertos arquetipos, que expresan la manera en que algunas personas nos acercamos a temas como la fe en Dios o en la religión, la moral, lo que pensamos que es el amor, el lugar y validez que le damos al amor físico/carnal y como tu cuerpo puede ayudarte a lograr esa conexión con Dios (como quiera que se quiera entender a Dios), con el universo, con otras personas, para lograr una sanación y la paz interna.
No es para nada un texto aleccionador (creo) ni religioso, pero sí hay cosas que encuentras a lo largo de la novela que son dejadas ahí para que las tomes o no y reflexiones o no sobre ellas.
El texto es llevado a través de la idea de que existe un Mesías, que aquí es llamado Cuerpodivino, que en paralelo a Jesús de Nazareth aparece para intentar encaminar a la humanidad hacia el conocimiento de la verdadera forma de acercarse a ¿Dios? Así como Jesús en su tiempo predicó sobre amor fraterno y otorgar el perdón, Cuerpodivino habla de liberarnos de las culpas y las vergüenzas impuestas con la idea del pecado, de la mentira. Y de aprender a reconocernos y reconocer al otro y amarle.
Cuerpodivino tiene un destino también paralelo a Jesús y da a entender que este no es más que otro episodio de un ciclo interminable en busca de salvar a la humanidad.
Está interesante, la verdad, tiene escenas muy crudas a veces y muy graciosas a veces, lo difícil es arrancar. También es muy corto.
Puaj, receta para el desastre. Pero si logras pasar ese primer encontronazo que huele mucho a señor rancio, empiezas a notar otro tipo de intenciones en la obra y se vuelve mucho más interesante. A mi me logró tocar y siento que no lo entendí del todo bien, que necesito al menos una nueva ronda para asentar del todo mi opinión, pero hasta ahora, me quedo con los retratos que no son realmente sobre estos rancheros gringos, sino de ciertos arquetipos, que expresan la manera en que algunas personas nos acercamos a temas como la fe en Dios o en la religión, la moral, lo que pensamos que es el amor, el lugar y validez que le damos al amor físico/carnal y como tu cuerpo puede ayudarte a lograr esa conexión con Dios (como quiera que se quiera entender a Dios), con el universo, con otras personas, para lograr una sanación y la paz interna.
No es para nada un texto aleccionador (creo) ni religioso, pero sí hay cosas que encuentras a lo largo de la novela que son dejadas ahí para que las tomes o no y reflexiones o no sobre ellas.
El texto es llevado a través de la idea de que existe un Mesías, que aquí es llamado Cuerpodivino, que en paralelo a Jesús de Nazareth aparece para intentar encaminar a la humanidad hacia el conocimiento de la verdadera forma de acercarse a ¿Dios? Así como Jesús en su tiempo predicó sobre amor fraterno y otorgar el perdón, Cuerpodivino habla de liberarnos de las culpas y las vergüenzas impuestas con la idea del pecado, de la mentira. Y de aprender a reconocernos y reconocer al otro y amarle.
Cuerpodivino tiene un destino también paralelo a Jesús y da a entender que este no es más que otro episodio de un ciclo interminable en busca de salvar a la humanidad.
Está interesante, la verdad, tiene escenas muy crudas a veces y muy graciosas a veces, lo difícil es arrancar. También es muy corto.
April 25, 2023
Adquirí este libro usado sin saber su trama, solo vi que era de Theodore Sturgeon y era de la misma edición con la que tengo La Fuente del Unicornio así que dije ya esta, este me lo llevo.
Con este autor no hay pierde, quiza no sea tu favorito pero siempre tiene una manera de contar las cosas que te envuelve. Al leer la tapa de atras y el prologo... no sabía que pensar, me encontraba con una historia místico-religiosa-sexual. ¿Sanar con el sexo? uff hemos visto demasiados fraudes reales de abusos por parte de couches que pregonan esta filosofía, me espine un poco con la sinopsis. Pero no pasa nada, esto es solo una novela: entretenimiento y es Theodore Sturgeon, estaré bien.
Pero que bonita novela, que bonita sensación te deja. Esta narrada por diferentes personas, cada capítulo un pesonaje describe parte de su vida y, si aplica, narra su experiencia con Cuerpodivino, un ser que llegó a su ciudad para sanar al que quiera ser sanado. La historia se desenvuelve a través de todas estas perspectivas con un ritmo que no tiene desperdicio, cada detalle, cada experiencia se comparte y culmina de forma que uno cada vez esta más metido en la trama. El final no decepciona, aunque el último capítulo que podría ser el Epílogo (Domingo) afloja mucho, era necesario, pero lo sentí muy cargado, quiza después de toda la trayectoria que llevaba fue como pisar el freno a fondo.
De cualquier forma eso no le resta mucho, y lo recomiendo bastante, creo que es un libro que no te dejará indiferente.
Con este autor no hay pierde, quiza no sea tu favorito pero siempre tiene una manera de contar las cosas que te envuelve. Al leer la tapa de atras y el prologo... no sabía que pensar, me encontraba con una historia místico-religiosa-sexual. ¿Sanar con el sexo? uff hemos visto demasiados fraudes reales de abusos por parte de couches que pregonan esta filosofía, me espine un poco con la sinopsis. Pero no pasa nada, esto es solo una novela: entretenimiento y es Theodore Sturgeon, estaré bien.
Pero que bonita novela, que bonita sensación te deja. Esta narrada por diferentes personas, cada capítulo un pesonaje describe parte de su vida y, si aplica, narra su experiencia con Cuerpodivino, un ser que llegó a su ciudad para sanar al que quiera ser sanado. La historia se desenvuelve a través de todas estas perspectivas con un ritmo que no tiene desperdicio, cada detalle, cada experiencia se comparte y culmina de forma que uno cada vez esta más metido en la trama. El final no decepciona, aunque el último capítulo que podría ser el Epílogo (Domingo) afloja mucho, era necesario, pero lo sentí muy cargado, quiza después de toda la trayectoria que llevaba fue como pisar el freno a fondo.
De cualquier forma eso no le resta mucho, y lo recomiendo bastante, creo que es un libro que no te dejará indiferente.
September 20, 2023
I think this is the first thing I’ve ever read by Theodore Sturgeon. Surely I’ve happened upon a short story or something by him before now. Hmm. Anyway, he sort of reminds me of Heinlein. Those Golden Age of Sci-Fi guys are all kind of perv-y, huh? I was bracing myself for something very explicit, given the introduction, but it turned out to be milder than I had anticipated. Except for one horrific line about some cats. Also, I actually read and enjoyed the entire intro, which is unusual for me.
In any case, Sturgeon was obviously a very talented writer. This was a short book but told a big story. I enjoyed it.
In any case, Sturgeon was obviously a very talented writer. This was a short book but told a big story. I enjoyed it.
May 12, 2021
This is the answer!
The answer is not in getting and keeping, but in getting and giving.
The answer is not in saving and preserving, but in growing and changing.
The answer is not making things stop, but in making things go.
The answer is not in covering and hiding, but in touching and sharing.
The answer is not in thinking, but in feeling.
The answer is not death, but love.
Not death, but live.
Not death!
The answer is not in getting and keeping, but in getting and giving.
The answer is not in saving and preserving, but in growing and changing.
The answer is not making things stop, but in making things go.
The answer is not in covering and hiding, but in touching and sharing.
The answer is not in thinking, but in feeling.
The answer is not death, but love.
Not death, but live.
Not death!
September 3, 2025
Un Sturgeon concentrado, cargado a las emociones humanas como nunca antes en esta moderna fantasía mesiánica, liberadora de tensiones donde las palabras empatía, placer, dolor se repiten en un credo liberador y liberal por sobre todo. Cada capítulo ofrece un punto de vista diferente, sobre un personaje y su relación transformadora con Cuerpodivino, lo que matiza tantos impulsos y recogimiento.
Claramente no es ciencia ficción por lo que puede desencajar si eso es lo que se busca, mas no deja indiferente como Sturgeon acostumbra.
3.7.2006
Claramente no es ciencia ficción por lo que puede desencajar si eso es lo que se busca, mas no deja indiferente como Sturgeon acostumbra.
3.7.2006
January 1, 2026
god is a nudist
January 27, 2017
Gli scrittori di fantascienza sono un po' strani. Un po' tanto strani. Basterebbe dare una rapida occhiata alla variegata eredità, di romanzi inediti, postumi, interrotti, lasciata dai più noti autori sci-fi. Mi vien da pensare al mastodontico e problematico lascito di P.K. Dick, alla sua mistica trilogia di Valis e all'enigmatica Esegesi. Sì, lo so, non è proprio una prassi raccomandabile quella di iniziare una recensione a un romanzo parlando di un altro autore, ma il paragone tra Sturgeon e Dick si è affacciato nella mia mente sin dalla prima pagina. Mistica e filosofia per Dick, e un romanzo eretico-erotico per Sturgeon. In entrambi i casi siamo davanti al topos della "seconda venuta", cioè quella di Cristo (o dell'Anticristo, se preferite il versante horror-apocalittico).
Sturgeon ce lo presenta immediatamente: evocato già nel titolo (Godbody, il corpo di Dio; che suona simile anche a Godboy, come ho sbagliato a leggere per almeno metà romanzo), è rapidamente introdotto all'esordio del romanzo dal primo personaggio. Un ragazzo dalla bellezza indescrivibile, dal fascino magnetico, che suscita perplessità ma anche contemplazione in chi lo osserva.
E' proprio il primo incontro tra il reverendo Currier (il primo dei personaggi a comparire sulla scena) e Godbody a scatenare la sequenza degli eventi; nello specifico, è il primo tocco, da Godbody al reverendo, che instilla in quest'ultimo la scintilla di una epifania che si allargherà a macchia d'olio coinvolgendo tutti gli altri personaggi, che, in un gioco di incastri, finiscono con l'interagire col reverendo
Continua su:
http://www.lastambergadeilettori.com/...
Sturgeon ce lo presenta immediatamente: evocato già nel titolo (Godbody, il corpo di Dio; che suona simile anche a Godboy, come ho sbagliato a leggere per almeno metà romanzo), è rapidamente introdotto all'esordio del romanzo dal primo personaggio. Un ragazzo dalla bellezza indescrivibile, dal fascino magnetico, che suscita perplessità ma anche contemplazione in chi lo osserva.
E' proprio il primo incontro tra il reverendo Currier (il primo dei personaggi a comparire sulla scena) e Godbody a scatenare la sequenza degli eventi; nello specifico, è il primo tocco, da Godbody al reverendo, che instilla in quest'ultimo la scintilla di una epifania che si allargherà a macchia d'olio coinvolgendo tutti gli altri personaggi, che, in un gioco di incastri, finiscono con l'interagire col reverendo
Continua su:
http://www.lastambergadeilettori.com/...
May 25, 2023
Another one of those books that people talk up and I realllllllllly can't stand. Main problem: the story is wafer thin.
The main defense of Godbody comes from people who think the book's detractors must be prudes who don't want sex in their books. In my case, at least, that's simply not the case. The problem here isn't that there's sex in the book; the problem is that it's sex written in a really smarmy, almost holier-than-thou style, as if trying to draw a negative response from readers, and the same sex scene is recounted more than once for no real reason, and--my biggest complaint--the sex is used as a substitute for plot. It's as if you're reading multiple drafts of some 1970s pseudo-swingers' letter to Penthouse Forum.
The "religious" aspect of the book mainly involves an unintentional comic character who drones on in what I suppose are meant to be deeply spiritual sentences that sound more like the scripts to Hallmark movie trailers.
The entire story contained in Godbody could have been reduced quite easily to 4-5 sentences. And the characters aren't characters, they're caricatures, and there's nothing believable about any of them. In his introduction, Heinlein says anyone could recognize which character is speaking if they only read three lines of their conversation, even though "Sturgeon makes almost no use of spelled-out eccentricities of speech or other flags to mark his characters." I'll call B.S. on that, because to me their words were ENTIRELY "spelled-out eccentricities of speech." The conversations in this book are goofy, the kind of things we all wrote when we were 16.
Obviously not one of my favorites.
The main defense of Godbody comes from people who think the book's detractors must be prudes who don't want sex in their books. In my case, at least, that's simply not the case. The problem here isn't that there's sex in the book; the problem is that it's sex written in a really smarmy, almost holier-than-thou style, as if trying to draw a negative response from readers, and the same sex scene is recounted more than once for no real reason, and--my biggest complaint--the sex is used as a substitute for plot. It's as if you're reading multiple drafts of some 1970s pseudo-swingers' letter to Penthouse Forum.
The "religious" aspect of the book mainly involves an unintentional comic character who drones on in what I suppose are meant to be deeply spiritual sentences that sound more like the scripts to Hallmark movie trailers.
The entire story contained in Godbody could have been reduced quite easily to 4-5 sentences. And the characters aren't characters, they're caricatures, and there's nothing believable about any of them. In his introduction, Heinlein says anyone could recognize which character is speaking if they only read three lines of their conversation, even though "Sturgeon makes almost no use of spelled-out eccentricities of speech or other flags to mark his characters." I'll call B.S. on that, because to me their words were ENTIRELY "spelled-out eccentricities of speech." The conversations in this book are goofy, the kind of things we all wrote when we were 16.
Obviously not one of my favorites.
January 7, 2008
This is probably one of the first books that really made me want to write -- to be able to connect with someone I'd never met in the way this book made me feel Sturgeon had connected to me.
Like all of Sturgeon's work, there is genius here; the characters shine and sparkle and come to life on the page, and it is filled to overflowing with the beauty and ugliness of who and how we are, us humans.
There is so much more I want to say about this book, but I can never capture how it touches me in the net of mere words. If you can find it, buy it -- if you don't like it, I'll buy it back, for whatever you paid for it. I can always use another copy, as I give it frequently to friends and loves and folks who matter in my life.
Like all of Sturgeon's work, there is genius here; the characters shine and sparkle and come to life on the page, and it is filled to overflowing with the beauty and ugliness of who and how we are, us humans.
There is so much more I want to say about this book, but I can never capture how it touches me in the net of mere words. If you can find it, buy it -- if you don't like it, I'll buy it back, for whatever you paid for it. I can always use another copy, as I give it frequently to friends and loves and folks who matter in my life.
February 27, 2010
“Did you ever talk to someone who simply and totally listens? Do you know how rare that is? Haven’t you ever realized that nobody wants to listen except to get ready for the next thing they’re going to say, or to catch their breath, or to get ammunition from you for their next sentence?”
Profound.
This book is deceptively simple and its message of love is pretty clear. It didn't change my life, but its broken down gospel of "love one another" gets straight to the heart of this life's greatest test.
Profound.
This book is deceptively simple and its message of love is pretty clear. It didn't change my life, but its broken down gospel of "love one another" gets straight to the heart of this life's greatest test.
July 16, 2013
First off, this book is not for everybody. I will make the comparison to the film "Shortbus" in that both are extremely sexually explicit but in both cases sexuality is central to the story, and not gratuitous. "Godbody" may offend some people who find it sacrilegious, though I would argue that it is actually the opposite. The book is also uniquely structured in multiple first-person perspective. Each chapter is narrated by a different character, each very distinct from the last. I give the book 5 stars for originality, creativity, craft, and re-readability.
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