Lamb: A Novel

Product Information

Hertz, Barry (October 5, 2021). "Review: Wild horror film Lamb will do mutton for your parental anxieties". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved October 15, 2021. Lamb was a very disturbing book to read. On the surface it appeared to be a story about a connection between a middle age man and a 12 year old girl. There was no overt sexual abuse involved. But under the surface, Lamb was a pedophile. He stalked and subsequently took a vulnerable 12 girl to groom for his obsession. Their 7 days on the road discovering exciting places was in fact a slow preparation of Lamb's ulltimate plan. In the end Lamb, for some reason, did not complete his plan. Instead he returned the girl home. The reader is asked to 'really' look inside the head of a man who is a 'possible' pedophile. Readers are also asked to consider Lamb as a decent man who only wants to help a girl from a broken home. Moore writes with a kind of reverent irreverence—he’s got a keen eye for the absurd but leavens it with a child’s sense of wonder … [Lamb is] his best book so far.”

Lamb (2021 film) - Wikipedia Lamb (2021 film) - Wikipedia

What I found disturbing about this book, but also brilliant, is the fact that Nadzam took us into the mind of a pedophile and almost convinced us (the readers) of all his reasons and justifications. We, as readers, were manipulated by the fifty-four year old man just as much as Tommie was. A man who basically groomed and then kidnapped a child, taking her halfway across the country to an isolated cabin, all the while persuading her as well as us that it is for her own good, and it will just be for a short period of time - five days, he said. And therein lies Moore’s best insight into the heart of God, embodied in the person of the Messiah. Whenever there is a moment of doubt, Joshua errs on the side of compassion and empathy; it is simply his nature to do so. This occurs again in two very troubling passages in which horrific violence leads to rampant death. In the face of the brutality of the world, Joshua heals people, saves children from the carnage of sacrificial death, and screams out, “No more!” In his love for the world, Joshua simply cannot bear to see suffering, and ultimately decides that he must take it on himself.Catsoulis, Jeannette (October 7, 2021). " 'Lamb' Review: Oh No, Not My Baby!". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021 . Retrieved October 15, 2021. David Lamb is a 50-something partner in a vaguely defined business whose main occupation appears to be the anticipation, practice and concealment of sex, with practice being the least important part. I could carry on like this for some time. The final thing to be said about this book is that it's wonderfully written. Lyrical, brisk and evocative, Nadzam's prose brings the environment and details of the story to life, to gorgeous effect. Tommie sedeva a gambe incrociate sul sedile del passeggero e Lamb le lanciava occhiate di sbieco, pensando che, se avesse voluto davvero uscire dal furgone, l’avrebbe lasciata andare.

Lamb | Christopher Moore

I'm probably just as gullible as Tommie, but leading up to that kiss there were many uncomfortable moments for me but I still held on to the hope that all this man wanted was to give her a better life to look forward to. However, months have passed, and this sweet, ugly child became beautiful in this old man's eyes. He wooed her until she grew attached and fell in love with him, and when he does fulfill his promise to her at the end (albeit months too late), it is she who wants to stay. David Fear of Rolling Stone described the film as "the odd, unsettling, soon-to-be-your-cult-movie-of-choice straight outta Iceland", and wrote: "It's the sweetest, most touching waking nightmare you've ever experienced." [22] Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times called the film an "atmospheric debut feature", and added that it "plays like a folk tale and thrums like a horror movie." She wrote: "Slow-moving and inarguably nutty, Lamb nevertheless wields its atavistic power with the straightest of faces". [23] Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post also described the film as a "haunting, atmospheric feature debut", and wrote: "Johannsson has a way of imbuing everything — animate and inanimate, even an empty doorway — with a kind of living, breathing spirit." He gave the film a score of 3/4 stars. [24] Katie Walsh of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Ominous mountains look down upon the pastoral arena where this fantastical yet meditative rural drama plays out; it's a modern folk tale about the strange realities of life and death that such a closeness to nature affords." [25] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal described the film as "a shaggy lamb story expertly told." [26] Kevin Maher of The Times gave the film 4/5 stars, writing, "The director, Valdimar Johannsson, treats the admittedly ridiculous material with a convincing, deadpan seriousness and is supported at every step by his star performer on impeccable form." [27] Another bold choice Ms. Nadzam makes it to “get out of voice” – increasingly more as the novel progresses. Whose voice is it? The author’s? David’s? Or the grown-up Tommie’s? There is evidence that points to the last theory, especially when we briefly learn what grown-up Tommie thinks about her transformational experience.

Reader Reviews

Like all narcissists, Dave objectifies the people he encounters. He describes his nominal girlfriend thus: A heart-stoppingly beautiful young woman. An expensive and well-educated system of reactions and responses, and he knew them all. Had known them, frankly, since years before she was born.” Yet, his affection for Tommie seems genuine. Is it? Or has he created a virginal ideal he can use to gain some feeling of power by conquering? His narcissism causes him to believe his own BS. He sells Tommie a fantasy, but even that pitch is off, beginning with natural beauty in a high, sage-filled valley, but mixing in oddities like a cooler full of Mexican beer and a braided rug on a concrete floor. David Lamb’s language is elegant, but the undertone is creepy, and Nadzam reaches poetic heights when writing his dialogue. Lamb is what Robert Greene categorizes as a “rake” in his book, Art of Seduction: “He chooses words for their ability to suggest, insinuate, hypnotize, elevate, infect…The Rake’s use of language is demonic because it is designed not to communicate or convey information but to persuade, flatter, stir emotion turmoil, much as the serpent in the Garden of Eden used words to lead Eve into temptation.” We get the sense that Lamb’s mistress Linnie also fell victim to his rakish words. That I found myself almost taken in by the way Lamb so plausibly elicits Tommie's complicity is part of Nadzam's great skill. Nowhere does she moralise.

Lamb by Christopher Moore: Summary and reviews - BookBrowse

I guess most people's first thought upon hearing of a fifty-four year old man and an eleven-year old girl is to think of Lolita-like scenarios. But honestly, I was personally thinking and expecting more of Mel Gibson in The Man Without A Face or Hugh Grant in About A Boy. Quindi vedete, nulla di tutto ciò era pianificato. Era esattamente il tipo di scenario imprevedibile che si rivela piano puano, un dettaglio per volta. Il segreto è rilassare i muscoli della fronte e lasciare guidare il cuore. E non è facile come sembra." Now, on the surface, you would think this is a story about David Lamb, a man in his fifties going through some sort of mid-life crisis, whose father just passed away, who's in the midst of a divorce, is estranged from his children, and is having an affair with a younger colleague. His life is a mess, and as such, he finds himself making a series of ill-advised, rash, and strange decisions. In steps eleven-year old Tommie, who was dared by her cruel friends to dress scantily and walk up to this man to ask for a cigarette. Lamb decides to teach Tommie and her friends a lesson by showing her what could have happened if he were any "other" sort of man.Either way...we know a few things. David Lamb, might be gentle as a 'lamb'....( as a reader I explored this thought)... but I wouldn't call him innocent. He is a 'down--and out' insecure middle age old fart. Whether or not he is aware of manipulating Tommie, ( the young 11 year old girl), it's what he is doing. Nadzam's narrative is clever the way she influences us. Upfront she guides us through Lamb's grooming of Tommie---yet a window is open for different points of interpretation. It's as though Nadzam has designed into the plot for us ( the readers), to be objective -- not endorsing --but understanding -- ( and learning) how a similar situation could develop. So do they or don’t they? There is one scene in which I suspected they had, but a GR friend whose opinion I respect believes otherwise. So, it is ambiguous. I confess that I did have certain standard expectations for the ending, but I was surprised at the direction the author chose. Barraclough, Leo (February 8, 2019). "Noomi Rapace Boards Supernatural Drama 'Lamb,' Sold by New Europe (Exclusive)". Variety . Retrieved July 5, 2021.