Good Omens: The Nice And Accurate Prophecies Of Agnes Nutter, Witch (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
In my personal hierarchy of books, this one comes a close second after Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita. What can I say - like (diabolical) father, like (infernal) son. "It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people."In a way, I can view this book as my own personal therapy session¹ - that is, in addition to it being a hilarious dry-humor take on Armageddon and the ever-dual nature of humanity, its highs and lows and our ability to be both, frequently almost at the same time.¹ As a kid, I had a habit of getting into the books clearly not meant for my age - like, for instance, The Omen, featuring the world's most infamous tricycle. My eight-year-old self was petrified. For months, I had nightmares, was scared of dogs, mistrustful of tricycles and had an irrational dislike of the number "666". Eight-year-olds with overactive imaginations were really NOT the intended audience of *that* book, after all.WARNING: THERE WILL BE MILD SPOILERS. BECAUSE I CAN.As predicted by the titular 17th century witch Agnes Nutter in her extremely nice accurate book of prophecies, handed down through centuries to her last living "professional descendant" Anathema Device, Armageddon is quickly approaching. The four Horsepersons of the Apocalypse have set out on their way, and that must mean things are getting serious. - You're Hells Angels, then? What chapter are you from?"[...]- REVELATIONS, CHAPTER SIX.-----------“Death and Famine and War and Pollution continued biking towards Tadfield. And Grievous Bodily Harm, Cruelty To Animals, Things Not Working Properly Even After You've Given Them A Good Thumping but secretly No Alcohol Lager, and Really Cool People travelled with them.” And this upcoming major event is a source of some serious worry for eternal-enemies-turned-reluctant-friends Aziraphale (An angel, and a part-time rare book dealer) and Crowley (An Angel who did not so much Fall as Saunter Vaguely Downwards), the duo who, after six thousand years, have "gone native" and would infinitely prefer this world to the future where either side wins - the future (oh the horror!) without good music or bookshops or sushi restaurants. And so the unlikely allies decide to band together to prevent the end of the world."That's how it goes, you think you're on top of the world, and suddenly they spring Armageddon on you." Except things do not go as planned....(The lovely images above can be seen here and here).You see, the young 'Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called Dragon, Prince of This World, Father of Lies, Spawn of Satan, and Lord of Darkness', due to an unforeseen turn of circumstances, happens to grow up outside of the influence of either celestial/underworld force. Aptly named Adam, he grows up - as his name suggests - perfectly human, in a little corner of paradise - the English village of Lower Tadfield. But Agnes Nutter is never wrong, and as her prophesies suggest, shortly after Adam's eleventh birthday (on which he DOES get a much wanted Hellhound Dog) the events of the end of the world are set in their inevitable, ineffable motion. But Adam's essential humanity puts a new spin on this old story:"Something was happening inside his head.It was aching. Thoughts were arriving there without him having to think them. Something was saying, You can do something, Adam Young. You can make it all better. You can do anything you want. And what was saying this to him was ... him. Part of him, deep down. Part of him that had been attached to him all these years and not really noticed, like a shadow. It was saying: yes, it's a rotten world. It could have been great. But now it's rotten, and it's time to do something about it. That's what you're here for. To make it all better."The problem with the Antichrist Adam is that he, a human eleven-year-old boy, is fueled - unexpectedly - by Love and righteous indignation. He loves this world, and he, coming into his power, wants a very human thing - he wants to make it better. Don't we all? But do (and can?) his good intentions make any difference in the way things have been prophesied to go?"It's like you said the other day," said Adam. "You grow up readin' about pirates and cowboys and spacemen and stuff, and jus' when you think the world's all full of amazin' things, they tell you it's really all dead whales and chopped-down forests and nucular waste hangin' about for millions of years. 'Snot worth growin' up for, if you ask my opinion."If there is one thing this book gets through it's the belief in humanity. Not in its wickedness or goodness or anything like that. Just humanity, in all the multifaceted nature of it, in its righteousness and wretchedness, love and cruelty, strengths and weaknesses, stupidity and wisdom. "And just when you'd think they were more malignant than ever Hell could be, they could occasionally show more grace than Heaven ever dreamed of. Often the same individual was involved. It was this free-will thing, of course. It was a bugger."Sometimes, maybe, when left to our own devices, when not preached to in one way or another, we can perhaps develop into flawed but hopefully decent beings - like Adam, named after the first human in the prophetic fashion, after all. Because what makes life interesting, as a particular angel and demon would loudly attest to, is precisely the combination of good and evil, nice and nasty, mean and kind that we all possess, in the precarious and miraculous balance that is the true treasure of humanity. Because it makes us act like people."I don't see what's so triflic about creating people as people and then gettin' upset 'cos they act like people,” said Adam severely. “Anyway, if you stopped tellin' people it's all sorted out after they're dead, they might try sorting it all out while they're alive."And maybe, just maybe, due to our always-balancing nature on the borderline between two conflicting universes that we, humans, inhabit, we will be able to eventually figure it out - without anyone messing with our heads, filling them with the Good or the Evil, endlessly preaching what they believe to be true - but simple letting us be ourselves. Maybe we will figure things out on our own."Adam stood smiling at the two of them, a small figure perfectly poised exactly between Heaven and Hell.Crowley grabbed Aziraphale's arm. "You know what happened?" he hissed excitedly. "He was left alone! He grew up human! He's not Evil Incarnate or Good Incarnate, he's just ... a human incarnate."==============================........The brilliant Pratchett/Gaiman duo provides everything these two authors are famous for - easy readability, dry intelligent sarcasm-infused humor, seamless plot that pushes the limits of imagination while staying perfectly grounded in (albeit fantastical) reality, and first and foremost, very apt observations about human nature, as well as (in a true Pratchett-like way) a complete irreverence for the set-in-stone beliefs and ideas. At times it's easy for those familiar with their respective styles to tell which one of them penned which part, at times it's impossible - but it doesn't matter as their writing styles blend together so well, so seamlessly, so seemingly effortlessly.This is an excellent book - both funny and serious, at times utterly unpredictable, at times baffling, at times logical. It's a pleasure to read, and a pleasure to seriously reflect upon after having a good laugh. And for all of that it gets the ineffable five stars. He stared down at the golden curls of the Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called Dragon, Prince of This World, Father of Lies, Spawn of Satan, and Lord of Darkness."You know," he concluded, after a while, "I think he actually looks like an Adam."--------June 2013: I just listened to this one on audiobook - AGAIN. I love it more and more with each time I do. I have to advise - if you plan to listen to this one, please get the British version with Stephen Briggs as the narrator (Isis Publishing) - it is lightyears better than Harper Audio. Stephen Briggs is amazing!
Remember back when funny books were funny? Back before you went to college and found out that Dave Barry and Carl Hiaasen weren't funny after all, but Samuel Beckett and Charles Dickens were hilarious? Remember when the words on the page didn't just make you smile wryly and shake your head in shame for humanity, but actually made you laugh out loud? Well, that's the kind of humor that Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's 1990 release Good Omens brims with, and it is so damn good.The two British authors were both relatively unknown at the time of their partnership, having met when Gaiman (working as a journalist at the time) interviewed Pratchett on the success of his first major novel, The Colour of Magic. The two became quick friends and proceeded to write the 398 pages of the now cult classic novel by sending floppy disks through the mail and calling each other on the phone. Of course, that story is all explained in the appendix, provided you don't pick up an original printing of the book (if you do do that, however, you can probably sell it for quite a bit of change, so don't be discouraged by your lack of author interviews).But the real story at hand is, of course, the narrative of Good Omens itself--the tale of two friends, a demon named Crowley and an angel named Aziraphale who have spent all of human existence on earth and have rather come to like it, so when it comes time for the Apocalypse, they try to do whatever is in their powers to stop it. The cast of co-stars can only described as "vast," with some characters only popping in long enough for Aziraphale to take over their body or to go on a shooting rampage. The main other characters though, include: the Antichrist himself, a young boy named Adam, and his gang of friends; a witchfinder named Newton Pulsifer and his love interest, Anathema Device, who just happens to be a witch (and one whose ancestor, Agnes Nutter was burned at the stake by Newton's great-great-etc. grandfather, Thou-Shalt-Not-Commit-Adultery Pulsifer.Perhaps you're beginning to pick up on that sense of humor I mentioned?That's what makes this book so great. I'm sort of a sucker for religious humor (and religious horror movies), and I've read a lot of books about the End Days. This one has to rank near the top, maybe even as the downright finest. It's humor ranges from simple little comedic bits to social commentary on religion and the human race--but no matter how big or small the joke is, every one of them is attended to equally, and they are all funny because of that. Though some of the British jokes and references flew by me (a problem the authors usually account for in their humorous footnotes), I really did enjoy this book, all the way from the plot down to how it was written. It really is an impressive feat for a co-authored book to feel so seemless (this honestly almost puts shame to the excellent Stephen King/Peter Straub double-ups, The Talisman and Black House).So let down your guard, pack away that condescension that your professors poured into you Lit class after Lit class, and resist the urge to turn up your nose at any novel you can buy in trade paperback form in airports for $7.99 (but higher in Canada--oh wait, not anymore!). I actually laughed out loud as I read Good Omens. A few times, to be completely honest. And that's pretty impressive for a cynical, jaded old bastard like me.
What do You think about Good Omens: The Nice And Accurate Prophecies Of Agnes Nutter, Witch (2006)?
Executive Summary: Not as good/funny as the Discword books, but still pretty enjoyable. 3.5 Stars.Audio book: Martin Jarvis was a fine narrator, but nothing really sticks out for me. He has a good clear voice and decent inflection when reading. He makes listening to the book a fine option, but not a required one. Full ReviewI haven't read much Neil Gamain, and before this year, I'd barely read Terry Pratchett. After his unfortunate passing however, I started reading a lot of Discworld.I was looking for a new audio book to fill some time and this seemed like a good fit. It took me a little bit to get into, but not too long. I've often enjoyed stories involving angels living on earth, so the premise was good.I liked the contrast between Crowley and Aziraphale, what little there was. I was kind of indifferent towards most of the other characters though. I did enjoy the Life of Brian homage with the mixed up birth of the Anti-Christ. Really the whole humorous take on the of the world, and the commentary about the eternal struggle was pretty good.It's possible I just didn't get the jokes in this as much as I seem to with Discworld, or maybe they just aren't as prevalent. I was never bored, but I was never fully engaged either.Overall I'm glad I read it, but I think it's likely to be one of those hit or miss books for most people.
—Rob
“I don't see what's so triffic about creating people as people and then gettin' upset cos' they act like people", said Adam severely. "Anyway, if you stopped tellin' people it's all sorted out after they're dead, they might try sorting it all out while they're alive.” Neil Gaiman + Terry Pratchett = PerfectionLet me start this review with saying that if you're not so open minded hardcore religious person. do yourself a favor and don't read this book 'cause you might end up really, really hating it.Now off to the real review.I can positively say that (at least in my opinion) this is one of the best books ever written (okay, maybe I'm being a little subjective).I feel like when reading Gaiman's books, there is always a positive and a negative thing (at least in my case). The positive is: The book you are reading might just be one of the best book you've ever read. And a negative is: That book has to finish, and when it does, you don't have a clue what to do with your life. And I feel that the humor Pratchett brought to the story, just made it that much harder to finish the book and say goodbye to this brilliant story.Like I already said, this book was brilliant. I can easily say that a book never made me laugh as hard as this one did (I physically laughed my ass off multiple times while reading). But apart from that, this book was also very dark (and I didn't realize that until the very end). There are quotes in this book that just make you stop reading and think for a second. I feel like that through humor, they made some really good points about religion.And also, this book had one of the best characters ever created. Crowley: A demon who always wear glasses, drives a Bentley and listens to Queen. I mean, whats not to love?! I also loved chemistry between Crowley and Aziraphale. Actually, Aziraphale was my second favorite character.This was my first Pratchett's book (now I feel ashamed to say that), but it certainly won't be my last. I can already say that Pratchett was as big of a genius as Gaiman is. I don't think that there's anything else to say, except that if you haven't read this book but you like either Gaiman or Pratchett, do yourself a favor and go read it. I can guarantee that you won't regret it.
—Mario
I find if very difficult not to like a book about how plans for Armageddon hit a snag when a scatterbrained Satanic nun misplaces the Antichrist. Many of the reviews of Good Omens compare it to Douglas Adams. There are some similarities in that much of the story occurs outside the bounds of normal reality, it's genuinely funny, and very British. But I found the overall tone to be softer, less snarky, and more intentionally philosophical in nature. While the book is very entertaining, it also asks some exceedingly interesting questions. In particular: does the Antichrist have free will?
—Lena
