Scotland's Jesus: The Only Officially Non-racist Comedian

by Frankie Boyle

Reading Scotland's Jesus should be like being called into the living room by your child shouting that they see a little red dot on the head of a TV newscaster, then riding the white hot bullet through the propaganda circuitry of his or her exploding brain.

It's a funny book about the news, partly because it was decided that a pornographic book about Scottish Independence wouldn't really sell. In chapters ranging from International Politics to the Animal World, 'Scotland's Jesus' is allowed the opportunity to showcase his increasingly unsympathetic worldview and disintegrating psyche.

A torrent of jokes about recent events provide the framework for a broader philosophical despair. Frankie Boyle uses the stories of the popular press as a springboard to explain the nature of reality and the details of our enslavement to mirthless corporate Warlocks.

Genres: Nonfiction, Comedy, Humor, Politics, Scotland, Biography

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 24, 2013

About the author

Francis Martin Patrick "Frankie" Boyle is a Scottish comedian and writer, well known for his pessimistic, often controversial sense of humour. He was a permanent panellist on Mock the Week for seven series and has made guest appearances on several popular panel shows including Have I Got News for You, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Would I Lie to You?, You Have Been Watching, Never Mind the Buzzcocks (as guest host and team captain when Phill Jupitus was unavailable for recording), and Argumental, as well as writing for Jimmy Carr's Distraction and Sean Lock's TV Heaven, Telly Hell.

Reviews

[Sean Audain · Rating 2 out of 5]

you can't just group oneliners onto the page and call them a paragraph. there are some excellent gems in there, but frankly it was like being forcefed by conveyer belt.

[Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boyle was seen as too risqué for mainstream tv for a long time but has recently made a return to the BBC with political satire of all things. He's always been controversial in the topics he deals with, but those who criticise don't appreciate that his approach is purposely so, his real character, as evidenced through a number of interviews I've listened to, being mild mannered and very thoughtful in approach. This book, his third, is typical of the stage persona, full of massively cynical, purposely shocking, yet often profound statements. Occasionally tiresome, but frequently both hilarious and thought provoking.

[Ewan · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are big chunks of this book where Boyle just re-hashes jokes from earlier chapters, but fits them to the format of whatever he's droning on about. Almost unforgivably bleak and bland, but there are pockets of hilarity throughout, and the final chapter is a nice musing on the celebrity culture that befalls us all. Not the worst thing in the world, but more annoying at times than anything else.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

[2.5]

Continuing my lockdown trawl through 'books that have been sitting on my shelves for ages'. I expect this was an Xmas present from someone who doesn't actually read books. Intermittently funny because Boyle can do one-liners. But it does have a half-arsed 'will this do?' feel. Divorced from his deadpan delivery, at least here, Boyle comes across as a rather lazy Charlie Brooker imitator...

[James Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3½⭐

Sadly a little dated as politics has moved on. Had I read it at the time it came out, I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more; jokes about a possible Brexit wouldn't sting as much as they do.

Boyle is on good form. This reads like a stand up set but with just enough serious criticism and comment to feel interesting. I love Boyle's pessimistic and dark sense of humour and so I plan on borrowing his other books from the library.

[Donna Brown]

Frankie Boyle can be a comic genius. Sadly, this is far far beneath him, designed simply to be controversial, rather than controversially hilarious. I stopped halfway through. The utterly out of place, unfunny sex scene in the intro and the audiobook being narrated by someone else also add to the dispiriting mix. For the real genius of Boyle, go back to Mock the Week and My Shit Life So Far.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book was good. It's just reading a take on (fairly) recent events, especially with Frankie Boyle's humour throughout.

Boyle talks about everything: politics, animals, celebs, crime, etc.

The ending was a bit anti-climatic. So much so I thought a page or five had been torn out, but I don't know if I just didn't understand the meaning in my childless life.

[Callum Forsyth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Filled with both his trademark controversy and surprisingly profound philosophy, Frankie Boyle has delivered a particularly juicy compendium of one-liners, neutral-natured insults but most interestingly many points of conversation in regards to the world we live in.

I consider myself a fan of Frankie Boyle, certainly in a comedic sense. Not one to shy away from controversy and to state whatever comes to mind, I've howled with laughter at some of the things this man came out with on Mock the Week. I've never had the opportunity to see one of his live shows and I would certainly love to see one, so when I spotted this book on the WHSmith shelf I knew I had to give it a read.

What surprised me about Scotland's Jesus was how much it actually made me think. At first it was a bit juxtaposing; I'd come for the comedy and for the laughter, but I almost ended up staying for these crumbs of philosophy that Boyle has peppered his third novel with. Boyle has given his audience, his readers, food for thought in the disguise of a book that most would assume just makes a bunch of racy, politically incorrect jokes, and that's the beauty of it. Most of those within the 'politically correct' spectrum will dismiss this book as the ramblings of (insert your label of choice here) but the genius, I think, of Frankie Boyle truly lies in that presentation.

At times I found myself drifting a little, as I didn't understand all of the points or the jokes (this book was published in 2013 and, as such, is a little dated in terms of its discussion points,) but it was on the whole a very interesting book to read and I would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy both laughter and profound thought.

[Yvonne (the putrid Shelf) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

You'll either love or hate this review just due to the author of this book. So buckle up if you intend to read it, if you don't ah well.

Frankie Boyle is a risque scottish stand up comedian whose jokes can place him in an uncomfortable placement within mainstream comedy. He has always been controversial in topics discussed with maximum impact in a very rash and in your face fashion. That is what most appealed to me in his shows and I have seen him live multiple times. The man in real life is completely different and he emits a caring and empathetic individual both to people and our planet.

The book is absolutely his stage presence and his witty one liners thrown into serious topics has me chuckling throughout.

[Johnboy Somerville · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many jokes rattled off in too quick a chapter, particularly in the first half. Some good material and opinions but they are quickly forgotten by the next and then the next.

Given that he had stopped stand up gigs at the time of writing I am surprised at this choice of format.

There is a lull in the second half, almost like in one of his gigs which is better suited, but then reverts to the same style as the beginning.

I think if I read each chapter as a short story and not try to read the book in one/two sittings I would have enjoyed it better.

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't bad. Dated as I read it way after it was published. It has an interesting philosophical undertone, not surprising as I've watched him being interviewed and he is a well read person that has a wide variety of interests. I enjoyed it, but I can imagine there are a few joyless soul's out there that will hate it.

Such is life. I have noted a few people he mentions as well as some facts that I will delve into later, not a bad result from a book I picked up for a light read; which was very silly of me.

[Brian-Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non-stop Frankie. A couple of segueways away from the punchy one-liners like he's gone off flashbacking/tripping, but generally a good read, great craic, vicious as you'd expect. I didn't buy into the criticisms in other reviews, it's fucking Frankie Boyle, what did you expect?! 👍

[Hassanane Balal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful and downright hilarious. Frankie uses his comedy to share his beliefs on various different topics, whilst being incredibly funny. Still very relevant and recommended to anyone who enjoys his stand-up comedy.

[John Newall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting to read. It's mainly his stand up but written down. It was ok. The jokes were funny, I just didn't see the point of it in the slightest. I still want to read his biography though.

[Steven Haythorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some really serious points addressed with some hilarious text. hard hitting anti-mainstream satire with at least one belly laugh on every page. Satire needs Frankie Boyle.

[Raf Dormer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good insights but mostly one liners. Some will make you squeal with laughter others miss the target. Worth the read if you're a fan of Frankie.

[Erkin Dogrucu · Rating 2 out of 5]

So local. Very little content for non-brit reader.

[Sean Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a written out stand up show. Tons of funny jokes but punchlines tend to be similar. Very few of the jokes are memorable by the end and kind of blend together

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

what a cunt

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

You will need some tolerance of both language and pessimism. If you have those, you'll enjoy it quite a bit.

[Stan Barker · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - would've been a 4* if someone had manged [sic] to proof it.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious start to finish.

[Stamatios Mantzouranis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frankie Boyle is the most edgy comedian Britain has today. A Bill Hicks for the 21st century. He also happens to be a nihilist pervert, so if you are easily offended, I'd advise you to stay away.

I enjoyed the format of this book, where Frankie comments on the year's events, with chapters ranging from Celebrities and Politics to Health and War. As you can imagine, he leans towards the extreme left, but he is better described as anti-establishment. Nobody is safe from his poisonous arrows: politicians, the media, big corporations, the church etc, they all get a good old kicking up the arse. I may not agree with him on everything (hell, I probably don't see eye to eye with him on anything!), but he seriously challenges my views and my common sense (a term he probably would laugh at).

The jokes come thick and heavy. Almost the entire book reads as a sequence of setup-punchline-setup-punchline-setup-punchline... Most jokes are incredibly funny, clever and thought-provoking, but as you can imagine with such numbers, some jokes miss their target. The format can also get tiresome, so if I wasn't in such a hurry to start my next book, I'd probably have read this book in smaller doses.

Still, Frankie Boyle's annual almanacs are becoming a habit of mine, so I'm looking forward to his next one next year :-)

[Leda · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 STARS OUT OF 5

I'm just going to come out and say it. I didn't like this book, despite the fact that it has great bits in it too, but after all is said and done there were just too few of them. It's a compilation of one liners back to back all the way through. Just as that makes for a poor paragraph, it also doesn't have enough build up to make you laugh most of the time. I don't dislike Frankie Boyle's style when he's on the screen, but this felt like an utter chore to read. I can honestly say the only reason I finished this because I refuse to rate a book before I've finished it. That's it. That's why.

I've heard his other books are better than this one, so I might read a chapter from them, but this was as I've read another reviewer call it ''like being force-fed from a conveyor belt.'' and that is hitting the nail on the head with this book.

I really wanted to like this book, I really did, but it just didn't work.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a slightly bizarre book that left me wanting to hear more from Frankie Boyle, at the expense of the stream of gags that formed the majority of this work.

Every chapter followed the same format of some more serious thoughts on the topic at hand, followed by lots and lots of jokes. There were some sensible observations on society (one that sticks in the memory is why middle-class people have 'taste') that I would have liked to have seen expanded further, before he launched into variations of "X is so stupid/ugly" which in constant repetition, quickly lose any shock factor that allowed Boyle to be on Mock the Week and still raise a laugh.

There is one obvious retort of course - what did you expect? But my issue was not with the jokes per se, just that the normal writing had far more potential than was permitted to be published on the pages. The jokes were not great either though, which is why this book receives 2 stars.

[Bettie]

Description: Reading Scotland's Jesus should be like being called into the living room by your child shouting that they see a little red dot on the head of a TV newscaster, then riding the white hot bullet through the propaganda circuitry of his or her exploding brain.

It's a funny book about the news, partly because it was decided that a pornographic book about Scottish Independence wouldn't really sell. In chapters ranging from International Politics to the Animal World, 'Scotland's Jesus' is allowed the opportunity to showcase his increasingly unsympathetic worldview and disintegrating psyche.

A torrent of jokes about recent events provide the framework for a broader philosophical despair. Frankie Boyle uses the stories of the popular press as a springboard to explain the nature of reality and the details of our enslavement to mirthless corporate Warlocks.

[Colin Murtagh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let’s be honest, if you don't realise what this book is going to be like, then you've not been paying attention. This is Frankie Boyle being Frankie Boyle. Not the sanitised version from Mock The Week, but the full bloodied version.
He talks about everything that upsets or interests him. From the nature of comedy, to the takeover of the world by corporations, from Royalty to the Scottish independence, this is him taking the world apart. He's not the left wing comic of the Ben Elton school, I'm not sure he can actually be politically classified like that. He's more like the apolitical scholar. Sitting on high and shooting down his targets his acerbic wit that in turn amuses, shocks or just makes you think. The world could do with more like him

[Emily Lind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stylistically, it took me a little while to get into this book. There are parts that read more like the transcript to a standup gig than a book, which can be a little bothersome. But once I became used to that, I really settled in and enjoyed the book.

Certainly, Frankie's humor isn't for everyone. He's crass and likes to go for the shock. He's also extremely intelligent and a fantastic political comedian. I was crying laughing at points. If you aren't a fan of Frankie's standup (which I wish he were still doing), nothing here is going to win you over. But if you do like his style, there is a lot here to enjoy.

[Leah Lopez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Knowing the blunt speech of Frankie Boyle, I had an inkling of what I was letting myself in for. However, I found it pretentious, boring and a need for popularity. He always has to go one step too far, just as you begin to think he isn't so bad. I read the first three chapters and then skipped to the celebrity chapter-to see what he thought of whom; Katie Price, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift being just a few selected names. So, in total I read four chapters, gaining nothing but his hatred to this, that, and the other...

[Lawrence Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Upon his royal face there is no note
How dread an army hath enrounded him;
Nor doth he dedicate one jot of colour
Unto the weary and all-watched night,
But freshly looks and over-bears attaint
With cheerful semblance and sweet majesty;
That every wretch, pining and pale before,
Beholding him, plucks comfort from his looks:
A largess universal like the sun
His liberal eye doth give to every one,
Thawing cold fear, that mean and gentle all,
Behold, as may unworthiness define,
A little touch of Frankie in the night.