The last time I read this novel (which was the first time I read it) was about 5 years ago. I remember almost none of the plot at all. Despite that though, the story still felt so familiar - not because of the actual story, but because of the emotions. Even though I didn't remember anything that happened in the story, I still remembered the feelings that went along with events. Reading it, I realized that these were definitely emotions I'd felt before.

Because, truly, this was one of the most emotional experiences I'd ever had reading a book. Almost immediately this book made me grow attached to its characters and broke my heart, and continued to do so over and over again. It made me sad. It made me angry. Just a few pages into it, it grabbed me, and it never let go.

Wow, was that book awesome the second time around. My thoughts are kind of jumbled, but I'll try to make summarize sense of them.

I loved this novel because:

1. It was funny. Actually, it was hilarious. I may have risked people judging my sanity by reading this in public, because, I swear, while reading this, I would often find myself smiling unintentionally. At times, I even had to hold back laughter. I loved the humor in this book; sometimes the humor was kind of stupid and shallow, which I still enjoyed, but often it was sarcastic and intelligent too.

2. Though it was funny, it was still respectful. I'm a Christian, and I wasn't offended at all. The novel sometimes came up with ridiculous explanations for the more insignificant things, but it never, never disrespected Christianity's core beliefs.

3. If anything, it got me more interested, made me think more (in a good way) and gain more respect for my religion. Admittedly, I don't actively read the Bible. I'm not going to pretend I do. However, whenever I recognized a reference to something Biblical, I actually found myself searching for it on Google to gain more background on what the novel was referencing - something I never thought I'd do. Also, the novel actually explained the more core beliefs of Christianity - of compassion, of love, of selflessness - in a way that really, really made me not only respect them more, but also understand, appreciate and think about them more.

4. It taught me about other religions and cultures as well. This is a work of fiction, and yet, I could tell it was very heavily researched. The novel really explored a multitude of cultures - including Roman, Greek, Chinese and Indian - and religions - including Judaism and Christianity, of course, but also Buddhism and Hinduism.

5. Through these different religions and cultures, Christopher Moore was able to write such an imaginative story. He explored the idea that Jesus (referred to as Joshua, in this novel), was influenced somewhat by these cultures and religions. Even if he wasn't though, it was interesting seeing how they could have.

6. It was the most thought-provoking book I'd read in a while. Naturally, it was a book that touched on multiple religions, so it was bound to be thought provoking. It was amazing though that a book so funny could be so insightful as well.

There are a few more things I could mention - how quotable the book was, how interesting the characters were, etc. - but I guess these were the most significant points I could make, and the first ones to come to mind.

If you consider yourself extra sensitive when it comes to religion, you probably shouldn't read this book. I may not find it offensive, but you could. Otherwise, I would recommend this book to everyone, Christians and non-Christians alike.

I'm not sure what that ending was - all this momentum, and then it ended like that? D: Otherwise, I actually really enjoyed this.

There were a couple of parts of this volume that I wasn't exactly crazy about...but by the end of it. My freaking goodness. I'm crying right now. This series was amazing.