I'll begin by saying I really enjoyed this book. I found it generally amusing and quite funny at points. I can't say I was incredibly attached to the characters, but the basic plot line was well done. What makes this book better than an "amusing read," in my opinion, is how it goes beyond simply being funny or being a novel of ideas. There are complexities within the simplicities. First of all, it's a book by an atheist in which the protagonist, an atheist, is writing a book "against God," i.e. for atheism. And the man's father is an Anglican priest. Sounds simplistic or even poor, but that's only the surface. The protagonist is a selfish, self-serving, lazy liar, without too many redeemable qualities. The father, in my opinion, was far and away the "best" character in the story, the most loving, selfless, and genuinely happy person. Wood's attempt to avoid easy simplicity pays off. ( )

I found the protagonist inaccessible and the prose too studious to be enjoyed. It simply didn't work for me on any level. ( )

Thomas Bunting, the "protagonist" of this book, is one of the most pathetic novel characters I have come across. He is his own worst enemy. He's a habitual liar, and about things that are not even remotely worth lying about. He has an uncanny ability to avoid any introspection, which is funny because he is so self-absorbed. He puts his foot in his mouth constantly. I'm sure he has more personality flaws, but you get the picture.

For years, Thomas has been working on his Ph.D. but without much progress. Instead, he fills most of his time writing his atheistic masterwork, The Book Against God (or BAG, as he shortens it), attempting to prove that God does not care for humankind. His father is a well-loved and intelligent parish priest that Thomas lies to continuously about his true feelings of God and religion. When his father falls ill, he hopes to be able to finally communicate with him honestly, but it turns out that Thomas has seemingly lost all ability to speak truthfully to his father - and his mother, and his wife, and his best friend for that matter.

Thomas's views are interesting, and his Book Against God has some intriguing points. He has lied to so many people for so long, though; he does not even see what is directly in front of his face. While he keeps telling himself that there is no God and if there is one He may even hate us, his BAG is actually more of a testament to why exactly there is a God. He pours all of his time and energy trying to disprove something that he is too egocentric to see that he is proving instead.

Quite good. Wood is a critic, and you can kind of tell because, in the first half of the book at least, every sentence seems to have hidden meanings, to be dripping with significance. It doesn't give his prose room to breathe. It gets better, though. It gives a complex picture of faith, without giving any solutions, which I liked. ( )