Book Review: Good Omens by Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman - Page 2

In addition to Crowley and Aziraphale, there are other fated players in that appear in the novel, quirky and crazy and oblivious in their own endearing ways. Pratchett and Gaiman succeed in creating funny, sympathetic characters who have the appropriate sweep for a pseudo-Biblical story. As everything hurtled toward the prophesied date, I found myself concerned for the characters, concerned for the fate of the world, even while I was still laughing at the absurdities and witticisms of the story. I was amused, absolutely, but I was also invested in the characters, deeply, and engaged with the plot itself. I wasn't just laughing; I cared about how it was all going to end.

Good Omens is a book about faith, about prejudice, about ignorance and nuance and free will and what it means to be human. Not surprisingly, given the subject matter, it is a book about good and evil, and the order of things. But most of all, it is an infatuated book, a book written by authors who clearly love all the weird and wacky things that the world can offer up, and the way people always seem to respond. It turns out that a humourous book about heaven, hell, and apocalypse is one of the most life-affirming books I have this year. I don't think even Agnes Nutter could have seen that coming.

Article Author: Bonnie

Bonnie writes about books every Thursday at Fourth-Rate Reader, about everything else at Signifying Nothing, and sometimes she resorts to pictures. She lives in Toronto.

Visit Bonnie's author page — Bonnie's Blog