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Bigfoot and the Bodhisattva
After thirty years spent eating the brains of overachieving amateur-climbers—who foolishly believed they could summit Mount Everest—a James Bond-loving yeti decides that his life needs more spirituality. But can an abominable monster truly change?
Thus begins an improbable journey overseen by the true Dalai Lama himself, an adventure of attempted enlightenment, dietary restriction, unlikely friendship, and political intrigue.
Bigfoot and the Bodhisattva is award-winning author James Morrow (Towing Jehovah, Shambling Towards Hiroshima) at his best: witty, incisive, and always nonpareil.
Thus begins an improbable journey overseen by the true Dalai Lama himself, an adventure of attempted enlightenment, dietary restriction, unlikely friendship, and political intrigue.
Bigfoot and the Bodhisattva is award-winning author James Morrow (Towing Jehovah, Shambling Towards Hiroshima) at his best: witty, incisive, and always nonpareil.
43 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 27, 2018
1 person is currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
James K. Morrow
102 books328 followersBorn 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.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 14, 2020
1/4 funny, 1/2 disturbing, and 1/4 “OMG, Did he really just write that?” This book was not at all what I was expecting...
April 25, 2018
I go into some of Morrow's works knowing I'm not going to get all of it, but most of this short story (novella?) went over my head. The story is pretty much what you would expect based on the title -- Bigfoot decides to find more meaning in his life by pursuing Buddhism. His friend the Dalai Lama gives him certain tasks to complete to raise his consciousness, but he's still Bigfoot, so that goes about as well as one would expect.
The story has the sense of humor, depth, and wisdom one would expect if you're already familiar with Morrow's work. I just don't have much interest in Buddhism for it to keep my interest, and I found myself glazing over long portions of the story. Maybe that's Morrow's point, that Buddhism won't work for people who don't accept it, but it felt like a much longer work than it was (43 pages) because I kept checking out.
This might be best read by people who have an understanding of Buddhism, as they may better appreciate the disconnect between the meditative practices and a Bigfoot attempting to follow them. Me, I was looking for something closer to Shambling Towards Hiroshima or The Madonna and the Starship, where I better understood the satire because I understood the real world events that carried the satire.
The story has the sense of humor, depth, and wisdom one would expect if you're already familiar with Morrow's work. I just don't have much interest in Buddhism for it to keep my interest, and I found myself glazing over long portions of the story. Maybe that's Morrow's point, that Buddhism won't work for people who don't accept it, but it felt like a much longer work than it was (43 pages) because I kept checking out.
This might be best read by people who have an understanding of Buddhism, as they may better appreciate the disconnect between the meditative practices and a Bigfoot attempting to follow them. Me, I was looking for something closer to Shambling Towards Hiroshima or The Madonna and the Starship, where I better understood the satire because I understood the real world events that carried the satire.
May 24, 2021
I rarely struggle to finish a book (and this is a really short one, a slightly "longer short story"), and I rarely consider a book weird in a bad way. I had both these issues with that one.
December 8, 2025
Bigfoot has a spiritual awakening and decides to hang out with the Dalaï Lama.
Many conversations about James Bond and tantric sex ensue. His newfound spiritual master also provides Bigfoot with divine missions, such as filling a bathtub with a spoon. He ends up having tantric sex, eating the brains of lamas (and thus, experiencing enlightment by proxy), and vowing to call search and rescue before eating lost alpinists.
This is a surprising novella that would better fit in the "satire" category. If you are looking for SF, you will be sorely disappointed.
James K. Morrow provides us with 40 totally unhinged pages that feel like an acid trip (not that I ever consumed hallucinogens, mind you). He plays with the codes of buddhism, adding just the right amount of nonsense to sound like the Monthy Python. All the James Bond references, scattered across the book, are fresh and on point. Of course, James K. Morrow also touches on more serious topics, like the invasion of Tibet by China and the fate of the Dalaï Lama.
You will like this novella best if you have enough knowledge of buddhism to understand the satire. Of course, all the James Bond references will go over your head if you have neither read the books nor seen the films. By the way, a new James Bond game is going out in 2026. Its name is "First Light", which maps out completely with this whole novella: James Bond plus enlightment. Play the game, read the novella, and thank me later. I had a great time, not enough for 5 stars, but this was *fresh*.
I let you appreciate some select quotes:
"Faith is the opposite of a James Bond martini - it may be stirred but not shaken."
"You must have patience. Better the dense glacier of genuine despair than the brittle ice of false hope."
"From onanism to Om mani padme up, oh, yes, that was the grand truth of the tantra".
"Sean connery is reborn as George Lazenby, who is reborn as Roger Moore, who is reborn as Timothy Dalton, who is reborn as Pierce Brosman, who is reborn as Daniel Craig, who is reborn as Brian Flaherty."
Many conversations about James Bond and tantric sex ensue. His newfound spiritual master also provides Bigfoot with divine missions, such as filling a bathtub with a spoon. He ends up having tantric sex, eating the brains of lamas (and thus, experiencing enlightment by proxy), and vowing to call search and rescue before eating lost alpinists.
This is a surprising novella that would better fit in the "satire" category. If you are looking for SF, you will be sorely disappointed.
James K. Morrow provides us with 40 totally unhinged pages that feel like an acid trip (not that I ever consumed hallucinogens, mind you). He plays with the codes of buddhism, adding just the right amount of nonsense to sound like the Monthy Python. All the James Bond references, scattered across the book, are fresh and on point. Of course, James K. Morrow also touches on more serious topics, like the invasion of Tibet by China and the fate of the Dalaï Lama.
You will like this novella best if you have enough knowledge of buddhism to understand the satire. Of course, all the James Bond references will go over your head if you have neither read the books nor seen the films. By the way, a new James Bond game is going out in 2026. Its name is "First Light", which maps out completely with this whole novella: James Bond plus enlightment. Play the game, read the novella, and thank me later. I had a great time, not enough for 5 stars, but this was *fresh*.
I let you appreciate some select quotes:
"Faith is the opposite of a James Bond martini - it may be stirred but not shaken."
"You must have patience. Better the dense glacier of genuine despair than the brittle ice of false hope."
"From onanism to Om mani padme up, oh, yes, that was the grand truth of the tantra".
"Sean connery is reborn as George Lazenby, who is reborn as Roger Moore, who is reborn as Timothy Dalton, who is reborn as Pierce Brosman, who is reborn as Daniel Craig, who is reborn as Brian Flaherty."
March 29, 2020
I've enjoyed a bunch of Morrow's short stories, but this one was just okay for me (probably 2.5 stars). Still really witty and funny, but then there was suddenly this really dark part about the PLA, gang rapes and torture. I'm not sure if Morrow was being political, trying to make readers aware of these atrocities or if it was there for some other reason, but it really brought me out of the "comedy headspace" that the story was putting me in. The premise of the story was creative and hilarious.
Also of note, this is the second e-book I've ever read. So it looks like this is going to be a thing now, after putting it off for many years. I mean I'm still reading regular books but I'll keep reading e-books too.
Also of note, this is the second e-book I've ever read. So it looks like this is going to be a thing now, after putting it off for many years. I mean I'm still reading regular books but I'll keep reading e-books too.
May 18, 2025
I didn't know what to expect with this short novella. I can say it's not horror but that's really okay. It IS an absurdist quirky tale about a Yeti who feasts on humans who don't make it on Mt. Everest. He feels no empathy for them and he really wants that.
So he begins to attempt enlightenment with the current Dali Lama. This is really all I'll say because it's going to get weird from there.
This book is written from the first person perspective of this Yeti. They absorb knowledge and thoughts from those they eat you see so this one knows quite a bit about various subjects.
It's entertaining, very funny, and his attempts at spiritually don't go as planned. It's a short read as well but worth the time. I highly recommend it for some strange comic relief.
So he begins to attempt enlightenment with the current Dali Lama. This is really all I'll say because it's going to get weird from there.
This book is written from the first person perspective of this Yeti. They absorb knowledge and thoughts from those they eat you see so this one knows quite a bit about various subjects.
It's entertaining, very funny, and his attempts at spiritually don't go as planned. It's a short read as well but worth the time. I highly recommend it for some strange comic relief.
December 18, 2021
This short story manages to clash with itself in every way possible, and not in a good way. Trying to explore philosophical concepts, political happenings and human suffering through bad comedy and James Bond references just doesn't do it for me, the whiplash of going from jokes to stories of the worst possible forms of human torture back to jokes. I wouldn't have finished this if it hadn't been so short, but now I can safely say that neither journey nor conclusion were worth my time or money.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2021
Fun read and interesting idea.
It's really interesting to see the thoughts of a brain eating yeti as he tries to grasp and follow buddhist practices. He absorbs something from each brain he consumes, so it's cool to see that the vocabulary and writing style matches someone who is well educated and eloquent, or at least, has consumed the brain of several educated people throughout his life.
It's really interesting to see the thoughts of a brain eating yeti as he tries to grasp and follow buddhist practices. He absorbs something from each brain he consumes, so it's cool to see that the vocabulary and writing style matches someone who is well educated and eloquent, or at least, has consumed the brain of several educated people throughout his life.
July 18, 2021
Pitch: A yeti decides to pursue enlightenment at the direction of the Dalai Lama
Execution: A witty novella that manages to seamlessly weave Buddhism 101 into a cross-species James Bond plot. Waka-waka-waka!
Execution: A witty novella that manages to seamlessly weave Buddhism 101 into a cross-species James Bond plot. Waka-waka-waka!
October 16, 2022
Well, hm.
November 25, 2022
read as part of Reality by Other Means: The Best Short Fiction of James Morrow. It was a solid entry in Morrow's adventure contemplations.
June 15, 2025
a fantastic little romp that feels like it was written just for me
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews