Started out with the same small-town feel as his non-fiction, a little less charitable since these are fictional characters, then the plot kicks in and it becomes manic and at times hilarious, leading to the ending, which is both brutal and preposterous. I much prefer his memoirs, his musings on his life and his family and his neighbors. Worth reading if you're a fan, but the essential stuff is in the non-fiction aisle. ( )

Amazing! This book made me laugh out loud and text lines to my husband and post them on-line. ( )

Still in the middle of reading. My first impression is that it is lighter fare than his nonfiction writing. Less weighty. Yet Mike has put the hours into this book. I still find insights into the things I care about. He still uses exact, beautiful language to entertain his readers.

Final thoughts ( )

This is a satire of the first order. Being skewered is small-town WI life, religion, land developers, artsy-fartsy types and a few others who get in the way of Michael Perry's ruthless pen. Truth-be-told, he is rather gentle in his generalizations and most of the characters are very likeable folks. Harley Jackson is a middle-aged man, living on the remains of his parents' farm in rural Swivel, WI pretty content in the pace of his life, though he has his head in the sand about a pending lawsuit and land-grab for the rest of his estate. Enter the Jesus cow. On Christmas eve, Harley's one milk cow gives birth to a calf with one marking that looks exactly like Jesus Christ. "That'll be trouble" is Harley's laconic response and he immediately consults his best friend Billy over a beer. Billy pushes for Harley to capitalize on it, get the money to ward off evil developer Klute Sorenson, but Harley dithers as he does in most things in his life and consequently, the cow gets out of the barn, literally and the news is available to the world. Harley eventually signs on with a CA image group who maximize all the profits from this miracle and help him control and deal with the millions of pilgrims who come to see Jesus (cow). This has some benefit for Swivel and some detriment, but does keep Klute at bay. The outrageous climax happens on the 4th of July -- let's just say it's explosive and order is restored in an apocalyptic way. Billy observes: "Life is a rough approximation of things hoped for. You need to revel in the misfires. In the scars and dings. YOu need to develop a taste for regret. It's the malt vinegar of emotions -- drink it straight from the bottle and it'll eat your guts. Add a sprinkle here and there and it puts a living edge on things." Funny female characters include Meg Jankowski the local scrap and salvage woman, her best friend Carolyn Sawchuck who lives in the water tower on Harley's property, and Mindy, the gun-toting, motorcycle-riding, art welder who becomes Harley's girlfriend for a time. The best part of this book for me was being in the know about the real inspiration for this little town and its WI surroundings. Just follow Highway 53 North and you'll find the clues too -- and exit County M to find Jesus. ( )

I have enjoyed Michael Perry's nonfiction. It took me awhile to pick Jesus Cow up, afraid that fiction might not be his forte. I'm delighted to say he is a master! Loved these characters, loved this wild story. Crazy story, but down to earth at the same time. Wonderful small town drama. Very like some of the best Southern fiction though it takes place in Wisconsin. A good selection for Fannie Flagg and Rita Mae Brown fans. I highly recommend. Now I'm off to get more of Mr Perry's writing. After this I will pick up anything he has authored with eager anticipation! ( )