David Javermaum, The Book of Pslams: 97 Diatribes on Humanity's Total Failure. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2021. ISBN: 9781982176020.
Genre: humor
Subgenre: social media, satire, religion
Format: e-book galley
Source: NetGalley
The author of @TheTweetOfGod on Twitter offers 97 diatribes and takes from a snarky divine point of view. If God was snarky, a bit of an asshole (OK, possibly a big asshole), and a bit of a misanthrope, this could be the book he would write. Along for the ride are his son Jesus, who updates some of his preaching, and the Holy Spirit. No topic is safe as the author takes on Trump, COVID-19, racism, abortion, math, evolution, and even the meaning of life.
The 97 pslams have various styles. Some keep to the style of psalms. Others are poems, and others are parodies of famous songs. The humor varies. A few of the pslams are amusing, but many of them are not. A few may be a bit too long, a case of stretching the joke longer than it should go. Still, I did find a few favorites:
- Pslam 16: "Treasure in Heaven" where Jesus speaks socialism and nags televangelists.
- Pslam 21: :Clickbait" where you get Bible stories as clickbait headlines. This works pretty well, with some repetition of certain lines.
- Pslam 49: "Cliches: True or False."
Overall, the book is OK. What works well as short, pithy bits of humor on Twitter does not work as well when stretched into a full book. Some passages do feel a more like filler to make the page quota.
I'd consider this highly optional for public libraries, and if it is a public library in a conservative area I would avoid it. This is not humor many conservative Christians will appreciate. For everyone else, your mileage may vary. Not recommended for academic libraries; I would not purchase for the library. This is a title to borrow if you must.
2 out of 5 stars.
Qualifies for the following 2022 Reading Challenge:
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