I had tried to read this book a few years back and was completely fumbling through it. I am not very well acquainted with the bible and was not able to connect to the matter. Then last year Amazon released the tv series Good Omens. I fell in love with Aziraphale (angel) and Crowley (demon). I decided to read the book again and this time I understood it. I did some research and found it more enriching. The story superficially is good, goofy, engaging, and weird. Don’t be misled by those who class this as fantasy, humor, or just fiction it is all of those and much more.
This is actually a profound philosophical and theological treatise, exploring good and evil, nature versus nurture, free will, war, pollution, and organized religion. 😉
It’s cleverly disguised as a madcap caper featuring angels, demons, the M25 motorway, Manchester, raining fish, dolphins, Atlantis, aliens, the Apocalypse, the young Antichrist, witches, witch-finders, whales, Hell's Angels, junk food made of junk, nuclear power, a flaming car, satanic nuns, an inadvertent baby-swap, a book of prophecy, and more besides. Lots of ineffability, too.
It echoes a line in the book:
“The Devil hardly ever made anyone do anything. He didn’t have to.”
The weight is smuggled into a plot that is simultaneously simple, complicated, and counter-intuitive.
The plot in gist
The Antichrist is born but accidentally goes to a boringly normal, rural couple, rather than the intended Satanists. With the Apocalypse due around his 11th birthday, opposing forces try to ensure they’ll win, which requires first realizing there’s been a mix-up and then fixing it. On that simple trunk, a plethora of sub-plots and an even larger number of larger-than-life characters twist, and climb, and intertwine.
Amidst the chaos and the warring factions, the fundamental question is whether Adam, the young Antichrist, will fulfill his destiny, whether
“Birth is just the start... Upbringing is everything”. After all, the Devil started off as an angel.
The Odd Couple
Aziraphale (angel) and Crowley (demon) have been on Earth a long time, developed a grudging fondness for it, its inhabitants, and even each other. Their tetchily co-operative, affectionately teasing relationship is central to the plot, the philosophy, and the humor.
They’ve reached an “Arrangement” after realizing “they have more in common with their immediate opponent than their remote allies… tacit non-interference… made certain that while neither really won, also neither really lost.” Heaven wants to win the war; humanized Aziraphale comes to realize that he would prefer to avoid it. The couple's relationship is portrayed very nicely making you fall in love with them.
Bibliophilia
“Aziraphale was an angel, but he also worshiped books.”
“Aziraphale collected books. If he were totally honest with himself he would have to have admitted that his bookshop was simply somewhere to store them. He was not unusual in this. In order to maintain his cover as a typical second-hand bookseller, he used every means short of actual physical violence to prevent customers from making a purchase. Unpleasant damp smells, glowering looks, erratic opening hours - he was incredibly good at it.”
Few best Quotes
1.“I don’t see why it matters what is written… It can always be crossed out.”
* “He was left alone! He grew up human! He’s not Evil Incarnate or Good Incarnate, he’s just… a human incarnate.”
2. * “No one around Adam was ever in full control of their own mind”.
3. * “DON’T THINK OF IT AS DYING, said Death. JUST THINK OF IT AS LEAVING EARLY TO AVOID THE RUSH.”
4. * “Many people, meeting Aziraphale for the first time, formed three impressions: that he was English, that he was intelligent, and that he was gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide.”
5. * “A rain-swept courtyard full of righteous dustbins.”
6. * “Her spelling… was not so much appalling as three hundred years too late.”
Similarly, if anyone questions something my father says or writes, he claims it’s just archaic; impossible to disprove!
7. * “Every dog is still only two meals away from being a wolf.”
TV Adaptation
The fabulous cast and crew made the show very interesting. Both the lead actors played the role so well that I am now checking out their other projects. The timing of both the actors was amazing and wonderful to watch. Unlike many disasters ( movies/ tv-shows adaptions from books) this one was interesting to watch and you enjoy it rather than lamenting how it has disrespected the book/story.
You can watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUZwrWs5eSQ where amazon has explained the amazing story 2 minutes song.
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