The Life of God (as Told by Himself)

“Blessed are the readers, for this tale of God’s long insomnia will keep them happily awake . . . An extraordinary story.” —Umberto Eco, international bestselling, award-winning author

At the center of Franco Ferrucci’s inspired novel is a tender, troubled God. In the beginning is God’s solitude, and because God is lonely he creates the world. He falls in love with earth, plunges into the oceans, lives as plant and reptile and bird. His every thought and mood serve to populate the planet, with consequences that run away from him—sometimes delightfully, sometimes unfortunately.

When a new arrival emerges from the apes, God believes he has finally found the companion he needs to help him make sense of his unruly creation. Yet, as the centuries pass, God feels more and more out of place in the world he has created; by the close of his memoir, he is packing his bags.

Highly praised and widely reviewed, The Life of God is a playful, wondrous, and irresistible book, recounting thousands of years of religious and philosophical thought.

“‘God’s only excuse is that he does not exist,’ wrote Stendhal, but now Franco Ferrucci has provided the Supreme Being with another sort of alibi.” —James Morrow, The Washington Post Book World

“The Life of God is, in truth, the synthesis of a charming writer’s . . . expression of his boundless hopes for, and poignant disappointments in, his own human kind.” —Jack Miles, The New York Times Book Review

“Rather endearing . . . This exceedingly amusing novel . . . is a continuous provocation and delight; there isn’t a dull page in it.” —Kirkus Reviews

© 2013 The University of Chicago Press (E-bog): 9780226074825

Release date

E-bog: 26. april 2013