- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: William Heinemann (7 April 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0434019569
- ISBN-13: 978-0434019564
- Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 2.5 x 21.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 160,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Second Coming
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Review
`Believe me, this book is going to cause one almighty stink ... Deeply, intelligently satirical. In lesser hands it could easily have become a crass rant. Yet Niven provides hilarious, perceptive entertainment, not at the expense of religion, but at the expense of bigoted, fundamental zealots whether they be Christians, Muslims or whatever... Amazingly, and despite the hipster stance and the brilliantly foul language, THE SECOND COMING is surprisingly on message. Only the truly ignorant will take offence. But then they usually do.' --Henry Sutton, The Mirror, Book of the Week ****
`John Niven leads the field with THE SECOND COMING ... Father and Son are both West Coast pothead potty mouths, effing and blinding in a way that is confrontational, tasteless and blasphemous. And works well, in an entertaining novel ... In the midst of it all, there is compassion, and insight into the way the impulse for truth can lead to dark acts indeed. Plus, it's bloody funny.' --Independent on Sunday
`John Niven leads the field with THE SECOND COMING ... Father and Son are both West Coast pothead potty mouths, effing and blinding in a way that is confrontational, tasteless and blasphemous. And works well, in an entertaining novel ... In the midst of it all, there is compassion, and insight into the way the impulse for truth can lead to dark acts indeed. Plus, it's bloody funny.' --Independent on Sunday
Review
"Believe me, this book is going to cause one almighty stink... Deeply, intelligently satirical. In lesser hands it could easily have become a crass rant. Yet Niven provides hilarious, perceptive entertainment, not at the expense of religion, but at the expense of bigoted, fundamental zealots whether they be Christians, Muslims or whatever... Amazingly, and despite the hipster stance and the brilliantly foul language, The Second Coming""is surprisingly on message. Only the truly ignorant will take offence. But then they usually do."
--Henry Sutton, "The Mirror, Book of the Week"
"
John Niven leads the field with The Second Coming... Father and Son are both West
Coast pothead potty mouths, effing and blinding in a way that is confrontational, tasteless
and blasphemous. And works well, in an entertaining novel... In the midst of it all, there is
compassion, and insight into the way the impulse for truth can lead to dark acts indeed.
Plus, it's bloody funny."
--"Independent on Sunday"
--Henry Sutton, "The Mirror, Book of the Week"
"
John Niven leads the field with The Second Coming... Father and Son are both West
Coast pothead potty mouths, effing and blinding in a way that is confrontational, tasteless
and blasphemous. And works well, in an entertaining novel... In the midst of it all, there is
compassion, and insight into the way the impulse for truth can lead to dark acts indeed.
Plus, it's bloody funny."
--"Independent on Sunday"
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
God comes back from his fishing holiday to find that since he's been gone (a few days in Heaven but centuries on Earth) things have gone badly. Looking at what he's missed, He particularly doesn't like the 20th century. God makes up his mind to send Jesus back down to Earth to remind everyone of his one and only rule - "Be Nice" - a rule that Moses decided to ignore and come up with 10 of his own.
Down on Earth, Jesus is 31 years old, in a band, something of a stoner, and being nice to everyone. And then one day "American Pop Star" starts looking for new contestants and Jesus decides to audition. What better way to tell people to "Be Nice" than on the platform of the biggest show on television? After getting accepted, there's a road trip to LA, the rise of Jesus as a music phenomenon, and the inevitable ending...
There was so much I liked about this book. First off, while the opening chapters in Heaven might seem a bit too cartoonish, John Niven quickly establishes strong characters in God and Jesus, the biting dialogue shooting back and forth. Then the dinner in Hell with the Devil was an utterly marvellous scene, the Devil being a superb character in Niven's hands, I would've liked to have seen more of him. You can tell Niven had a fun time populating Hell with some of humanity's latest horrors, now deceased. What he has Hitler doing is especially funny but not as brutal as some of the KKK members or hypocritical Christians.
Speaking of excellent characters, Jesus goes from being a Bill-and-Ted-type stoner to a more rounded person as the chapters fly by and I ended up really liking him. He's funny, well grounded, and is basically a good dude. Niven doesn't have him be overly preachy, or overly good, just be a decent person. And on the flip side is Steven Stelfox (the name is the only thing separating this character from Simon Cowell) who is the nasty British judge on American Pop Star. His rants and screaming sessions before and after the shows were particularly brilliant and reminded me of some of the scenes from Niven's last novel, the superb "Kill Your Friends".
I could write 2000 words on what I liked about this book easily but I'll keep it short. The scenes on the road trip from New York to LA were fantastic, clever, and touching; the scenes on American Pop Star were exciting and funny; and the scenes following in Texas shows Niven's ability to go from comedy to drama to high octane action effortlessly - Niven is a true master of fiction and this book showcases his abilities fantastically.
And the music! You wouldn't believe how well Niven writes music, about how it's performed, how it sounds, without even needing to hear it, you hear it on the page, and it's exhilarating!
I recently read another "Jesus returns!"-type story called "The Final Testament of the Holy Bible" by James Frey, and while that was a decent book, I felt it took itself too seriously and that this lack of humour spoiled the overall message of the book. John Niven's "The Second Coming" is different in that it doesn't question the basics of Christianity - there is a Heaven and Hell, a God and Devil, etc - but it does question some of the dogma of the religion and does so with humour and intelligence. More importantly, it's never repetitive or predictable (except for the end of course), and never once was I bored reading it.
If you're looking for a good book this Easter, hell anytime of the year!, you couldn't do much better than "The Second Coming".
Down on Earth, Jesus is 31 years old, in a band, something of a stoner, and being nice to everyone. And then one day "American Pop Star" starts looking for new contestants and Jesus decides to audition. What better way to tell people to "Be Nice" than on the platform of the biggest show on television? After getting accepted, there's a road trip to LA, the rise of Jesus as a music phenomenon, and the inevitable ending...
There was so much I liked about this book. First off, while the opening chapters in Heaven might seem a bit too cartoonish, John Niven quickly establishes strong characters in God and Jesus, the biting dialogue shooting back and forth. Then the dinner in Hell with the Devil was an utterly marvellous scene, the Devil being a superb character in Niven's hands, I would've liked to have seen more of him. You can tell Niven had a fun time populating Hell with some of humanity's latest horrors, now deceased. What he has Hitler doing is especially funny but not as brutal as some of the KKK members or hypocritical Christians.
Speaking of excellent characters, Jesus goes from being a Bill-and-Ted-type stoner to a more rounded person as the chapters fly by and I ended up really liking him. He's funny, well grounded, and is basically a good dude. Niven doesn't have him be overly preachy, or overly good, just be a decent person. And on the flip side is Steven Stelfox (the name is the only thing separating this character from Simon Cowell) who is the nasty British judge on American Pop Star. His rants and screaming sessions before and after the shows were particularly brilliant and reminded me of some of the scenes from Niven's last novel, the superb "Kill Your Friends".
I could write 2000 words on what I liked about this book easily but I'll keep it short. The scenes on the road trip from New York to LA were fantastic, clever, and touching; the scenes on American Pop Star were exciting and funny; and the scenes following in Texas shows Niven's ability to go from comedy to drama to high octane action effortlessly - Niven is a true master of fiction and this book showcases his abilities fantastically.
And the music! You wouldn't believe how well Niven writes music, about how it's performed, how it sounds, without even needing to hear it, you hear it on the page, and it's exhilarating!
I recently read another "Jesus returns!"-type story called "The Final Testament of the Holy Bible" by James Frey, and while that was a decent book, I felt it took itself too seriously and that this lack of humour spoiled the overall message of the book. John Niven's "The Second Coming" is different in that it doesn't question the basics of Christianity - there is a Heaven and Hell, a God and Devil, etc - but it does question some of the dogma of the religion and does so with humour and intelligence. More importantly, it's never repetitive or predictable (except for the end of course), and never once was I bored reading it.
If you're looking for a good book this Easter, hell anytime of the year!, you couldn't do much better than "The Second Coming".
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
This isn't my favourite John Niven book but it's still an extremely entertaining read. As a bit of an atheist, I found God and JC's views on Christians very funny. I loved the exchange between JC and Pastor Glass on the subject (that poor pastor's in for a rough time in the afterlife).
There are a few plot holes that I would have loved to have seen develop more. For instance, after the talent show and the build up about the presence of the fantastically resurrected character of Steven Stelfox from Kill Your Friends, Stelfox all but disappears and all we hear of him again are a couple of titbits at the end of the book; and Satan was so wasted as he was so entertaining at the beginning.
That said, the book thunders along and I found it hard to put down. If you've ever received any sort of religious education, you'll know how it ends but the social commentary is the focus of this book's message and the vehicle of this story was perfect for it.
Definitely worth a read!
There are a few plot holes that I would have loved to have seen develop more. For instance, after the talent show and the build up about the presence of the fantastically resurrected character of Steven Stelfox from Kill Your Friends, Stelfox all but disappears and all we hear of him again are a couple of titbits at the end of the book; and Satan was so wasted as he was so entertaining at the beginning.
That said, the book thunders along and I found it hard to put down. If you've ever received any sort of religious education, you'll know how it ends but the social commentary is the focus of this book's message and the vehicle of this story was perfect for it.
Definitely worth a read!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A short, sweet read.
I'd never read John Niven's books before this one and going by the more negative reviews this may have been a good thing.
I have to say i really enjoyed this book. I read it on holiday and passed it on to my girlfriend who really enjoyed it too.
Yes, it lost its way here and there and we could debate whether the ending had to be so inevitable. But, the good definitely outweighed the bad in my opinion. It was touching and very funny in equal measure and even the 'inevitable end', for me, was excellent.
Can't help thinking that this would make a great movie too!!!
Enjoy it, but don't take it too seriously.
I'd never read John Niven's books before this one and going by the more negative reviews this may have been a good thing.
I have to say i really enjoyed this book. I read it on holiday and passed it on to my girlfriend who really enjoyed it too.
Yes, it lost its way here and there and we could debate whether the ending had to be so inevitable. But, the good definitely outweighed the bad in my opinion. It was touching and very funny in equal measure and even the 'inevitable end', for me, was excellent.
Can't help thinking that this would make a great movie too!!!
Enjoy it, but don't take it too seriously.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Another great book from John Niven
A always with John Niven if you're of a sensitive nature, easily offended or don't like swearies, this book probably isn't for you. Read more
Published 5 days ago by Mark WIlson
Excellent
I really enjoyed this! Don't bother with it if you are an "angry God" believer or fundie -it's not the usual portrayal of God and Jesus but its hilariously funny and very touching. Read more
Published 18 days ago by wendy
Decent time passer
Niven deploys a pleasant, conversational style in this story about the Second Coming. Essentially a book like this, in which Jesus meets the modern world, and show-biz in... Read more
Published 1 month ago by DTop
A morality that's all its own
For the first time in a long time, I bought a book because I liked the cover...I was so pleased to have discovered John Niven. He writes with a distinctive and compelling voice. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Heide Goody
Fantastic
I really enjoyed reading this - If I believed in god I'd like him to be like the one in this book.
In summary, god's been on holiday. Read more
In summary, god's been on holiday. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ian Wright
OH MY GOD!
As an avid and practising Christian, i take absolutely no offense to this book. It should be sold alongside every copy of the bible to remind people that God is not some... Read more
Published 3 months ago by shadow_soldier.25
A superb novel
As someone who absolutely loved John Niven's first two novels, I picked this up with enthusiasm. It's good to see that he's decided to push himself beyond the narrative boundaries... Read more
Published 3 months ago by JT
Childish and Pointless
This book say's it all on the cover; childish and immature.
Content is pointless, dull, and offensive. Read more
Content is pointless, dull, and offensive. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. R. L. Moores
An awesome beginning becomes a total letdown
Around the time of the Renaissance God decided the human race was in good shape, thought it was high time he took a holiday and went fishing. Read more
Published 3 months ago by R. A. Davison
Be Nice
I read this book a few months ago and it has stayed in my mind all that time. I really enjoyed this book and the description of hell was brilliant. Read more
Published 5 months ago by PC
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