Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal is bestselling author Christopher Moore’s bold, subversive and hilarious novel that imagines the greatest story never told: the early years of Jesus’s life, as seen through the eyes of his best boyhood friend, Biff.

Everyone knows about the immaculate conception and the crucifixion. But what happened to Jesus between the manger and the Sermon on the Mount? Just what was Jesus doing during the many years that have gone unrecorded in the Bible? Biff was there at his side, and now after two thousand years, he shares those stories: the good, the bad, the ugly and the miraculous.

Originally published in 2002, Lamb was hailed by critics as “divinely hilarious,” “deeply heartfelt,” and “reminiscent of Vonnegut and Douglas Adams” (Philadelphia Inquirer). The author cited Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel, The Master and Margarita, particularly the Biblical scenes told from Pontius Pilate’s point of view, as partial inspiration to write the novel. In 2017, religious scholar Eric Vanden Eykel argued that Lamb was worthy of studying as a piece of modern Christian apocrypha, remarking that students who read Lamb commented that it got them thinking about the stories of Jesus in new ways.

With his signature irreverent humor and deep affection for character, Moore offers a surprisingly tender and insightful exploration of friendship, faith and the humanity behind the divine. Long admired for its wit and audacity, Lamb remains one of Moore’s most beloved works.