Good Omens

Good Omens

By Neil Gaiman

I rag on my brother, Adam, all the time for having crap taste in stuff- but the truth is that, when it comes to books, he is almost always a recommendation guru.

Actually, more than he has acted as a recommender, Adam has become a matchmaker. For years he told me to read American Gods and I ignored him. Had I known that he would be introducing me to an author I would fall in love with, I would have taken his advice much MUCH sooner!

Much like American Gods (which I LOVED), this book is about religion, spirituality, and the nature of humanity. And like American Gods, this book was amazing.

Good Omens is the story of the end of the world. According to the Nice and Accurate Prophesies of Agnes Nutter (a witch), the antichrist will bring about the apocalypse when he is 11 years old, and the figures of heaven and hell will battle, leaving the entire world in utter destruction. But, of course there is a mix up, and hilarity, suspense, and awesomeness ensue.

I love the way Gaiman takes mythical or spiritual figures and makes them physical and earthly. Two of the main characters are an angel, Aziraphale, and, well, what should I call Crowley?- an angel from hell?? While they are clearly not of this world, they are also terribly human in that, after thousands of years on earth, Crowley has allowed himself to actually enjoy humanity and Aziraphale has allowed annoyance/frustration to guide his actions. These two characters are a lot of fun, very complicated, and share a really entertaining relationship.

Because of the mix up, the angels spend 11 years trying to sway Warlock, the intended antichrist, but whom is actually just an asshole kid. The real antichrist, Adam (coincidentally the same name as my big bro), is able to have a normal childhood with normal friends, without the interference of heaven or hell in his upbringing. It all comes down to the inherent nature of humanity, the innocence of children, the greed/ignorance of children, and destiny.

This is a great book. A little corny, yeah, sure, but worth the corn.

Read Neil Gaiman, fall in love, and thank my brother as your library grows.