The Dirty Parts of the Bible: A Novel-- free at Amazon

[Brendan Moody]

Not sure how to classify this one, so gave it its own thread...

It's 1936, and Tobias Henry is stuck in the frozen hinterlands of Michigan. Tobias is obsessed with two things: God and girls.

Mostly girls, of course.

But being a Baptist preacher's son, he can't escape God.

When his father is blinded in a bizarre accident (involving hard cider and bird droppings), Tobias must ride the rails to Texas to recover a long-hidden stash of money. Along the way, he's initiated into the hobo brotherhood by Craw, a ribald vagabond-philosopher. Obstacles arise in the form of a saucy prostitute, a flaming boxcar, and a man-eating catfish. But when he meets Sarah, a tough farm girl under a dark curse, he finds out that the greatest challenge of all is love.

Free on Amazon at the moment: http://www.amazon.com/The-Dirty-Part...dp/B003K15MO0/. And you can add the Whispersync audio for $2.99 afterward. Also free are the companion poetry collection, The Book of Craw: A Hobo's Testament, and the same author's translation of The Song of Songs. (No audio for either of those.)

The Dirty Parts of the Bible was an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semifinalist, apparently. No idea if it's any good, but for free I'll give it a shot.

[carpetmojo]

The title, and the fact it's free, is probably all the classification needed really.....

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

The title, and the fact it's free, is probably all the classification needed really.....

Seriously?

Are you struggling with it being free or that it has a religious slant?

Every single book in this particular forum fits the "classification" you just pointed out.

[Critteranne]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

The title, and the fact it's free, is probably all the classification needed really.....

Uhm... It's actually not what it's title leads you to believe. According to the descripion, it's a satirical novel set during the Depression, and a Semifinalist for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. "The Dirty Parts of the Bible is a humorous novel set during the Great Depression---a rollicking tale of love and liquor, preachers and prostitutes, trains and treasure, sure to appeal to fans of Water for Elephants, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Mark Twain, and Johnny Cash."

Is it any good? I don't know that. Some reviewers found it entertaining and funny and offbeat. OTOH some reviewers thought it was too cute, some thought it was too offensive. Novelists can't win!

[BenG]

I liked it. It's based on the apocryphal Book of Tobit (or Tobias).