Beautifully imagined, and even though I probably missed a lot of the biblical references, I caught enough to make the experience satisfying.

Moore notes, in his afterword, that he expects most readers not to be strong Christian believers as those who are perhaps wouldn't give this book the time of day anyway. So, he writes reassuringly, for those of us who missed some or most of the allusions, we are invited to confer with those who might have a better grasp of the details.*

I don't know who the ideal reader of this novel is, but if you're looking for hard-core religious satire, you won't find it here. Then again - I never cease to be amazed at how quickly certain people get their knickers in a knot when their faith is made the object of some gentle, good-humoured fun.

But here's the thing: in the end, this book is actually pro-faith in some pretty profound ways. While it pokes fun at quite a few of the world's big 'uns (not just Christianity, but Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and perhaps others that I didn't catch), one of its central messages is that I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together. Koo koo ka choo.

Close enough to 4 to round it up. :-)

*The wedding, the bunnies - say what?