The Book of Joby
by Mark J. Ferrari
Review by Bethany Abelseth for UC magazine ucmag.org
This book was given to me by a classmate in college who was cleaning out old stuff, getting ready to graduate and move to a different state.
She handed me The Book of Joby and American Gods and said, “I think you would really like these and if you haven’t read them yet, you should.” Five years later, American Gods is still waiting to be opened, but I’ve read The Book of Joby twice.
The Summary
This is a long book – and it ought to be, since it covers thirty years of a person’s life. Joby Peterson is a ten-year-old boy who gets caught in the middle of a timeless war between good and evil. When I say timeless, I mean timeless. The book begins with Lucifer visiting God and Gabriel and challenging God to make a bet.
The terms? God chooses a candidate who Lucifer gets to attempt to manipulate into doing something significant that goes against God’s Will. The stakes? If God wins, Lucifer has to cancel some bloodbaths he has planned in Africa. If Lucifer wins, God has to wipe out all of creation and remake it according to Lucifer’s instructions, without “flaws”.
What can Heaven do to stop this from going horribly wrong? Nothing. One of the terms in this wager is that no servant of Heaven is allowed to help the candidate unless he asks for help from them directly. Oh, and God gets a couple of extra handicaps: God is not allowed to interfere with the candidate at all for any reason even if the candidate asks Him for help directly, and God cannot express His Will concerning the wager in any way, shape, or form, until the contest is over.
At first glance, this has “disaster” written all over it. After all, Lucifer and company can do whatever they want, whenever they want, however, they want, while God is required to do nothing and all in Heaven have their hands tied. Did I mention that if anyone on any side breaks any rule, it’s an automatic forfeit?
But don’t worry. God, of course, has thought and planned lightyears ahead of everyone else. There is a happy ending, but not until after some good people die, religion is abused, and Joby blames himself for everything.
There is one more thing I should probably mention. This book is part supernatural fantasy, part urban fantasy, and part Arthurian legend. Be prepared for some surprises toward the end of the story. There are some things many of you will figure out early on, but trust me, there will still be surprises.
Book Club Discussion Questions
Here is a short list of questions that should apply to any part of the book and will hopefully bring out not only answers and discussion, but also more questions.
- What do you think God’s Will really is at this point in the story?
- What do you expect the characters to do next and why? What would you do next if you were in their situation?
- How do you think this will end? How do you want it to end? What kind of ending do you think each character deserves and why?
- How does this compare with your own experiences in your life? Which character do you relate with the most?
- How does this version of God and angels and demons compare with your own understanding? What kind of God, angles, and demons, do you believe in and how are they the same or different from what is depicted in this book?
If you’re having trouble drawing more of an answer out of someone, you can always use the one-word question “why”. This will usually prompt some kind of elaboration. Also, specific questions help generate specific answers, while general questions will generate general answers. Sometimes specific answers are good, and other times general answers are good. Be conscious of what kind of discussion you want to have with your group.
This is a guest post by Bethany Abelseth
First published in UC magazine ucmag.org
