Towing Jehovah (Harvest Book) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "THE IRREDUCIBLE STRANGENESS of the universe was first made manifest to Anthony Van Horne on his fiftieth birthday, when a despondent angel named Raphael, a..." (more)
Key Phrases: glory grease, bridge binoculars, central catwalk, Van Horne, Father Thomas, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

God is dead, and Anthony Van Horne doesn't feel very well himself. Van Horne--whose captaincy of a mammoth oil tanker during an Exxon Valdez -type spill has left him unemployed, estranged from his family and suffering nightmares--is hired by the Vatican to pilot his former vessel as it tows the Supreme Being (found dead of unknown causes) to a tomb in the Arctic that His angels have built for Him. Van Horne's task would be difficult enough without the well-intentioned efforts of devout atheist Cassie Fowler and her compatriots from the Central Park West Enlightenment League, whose reactions to God's corporeality belie their organization's quaint name. Morrow (winner of a World Fantasy Award for his novel Only Begotten Daughter ) describes a captivating voyage. As complication builds upon complication--including a shipwreck, an island that appears to be the abode of pagan gods, a mutiny, acrimonious dealings with Van Horne's father and contretemps from both the reappraising Vatican and the WW II Reenactment Society--Van Horne's journal reads like that of a modern-day Odysseus. There's an unnecessary death that deprives the narrative of the perspective of one of its potentially most interesting characters, but this clever novel still stands as a wry, boisterous celebration.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Anthony Van Horne, the disgraced captain of an oil tanker that spilled its cargo, is approached by the angel Raphael at the Cloisters in New York to command his former ship on an important mission. It seems God has died, and his two-mile-long corpse has fallen into the ocean at 0 latitude, 0 longitude. The Vatican would like the captain to tow God to a remote Arctic cave for a quiet burial. Naturally, things don't work out this simply, and the complications form the events of this splendid comic epic. As more and more folks with varying perspectives become aware of the covert mission, more hell, if you will, breaks loose. The author, an sf crossover, puts the weighty subject and its possible ramifications to clever use on many levels. He packs the story with sailing matters, cultural criticism, theology, physics, and more but still manages to keep the encounter bubbly and inviting. Recommended for general collections.
- Brian Geary, West Seneca, N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harvest Books (April 24, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156002108
• ISBN-13: 978-0156002103
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #212,593 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who you gonna believe?, October 18, 1999

By	Micah R. Sisk (Frederick, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's very odd. No, not this book, I'm speaking of the reviews I'm reading about it here.

I must say that I find very little humor in Towing Jehovah--or at least not the guffaw kind of humor. Read Stephen Fry for that. No, James Morrow has woven a thoughtful and provocative tale around a most improbable premise (the physical demise of God Almighty). And yet I also find little sacrilege in this, unless perhaps you are endeared with the notion that the Catholic Church is not very much like any other human institution, seeking to perpetuate its own dogma and ideology. Also, I must confess to finding little real satire here, too. Yes, there are the inevitable, and quite brilliantly done, jabs at the foibles of modern man and the society we have built--and especially at the diet we choose to eat--but these jabs are not delivered so as to ridicule or demean. There is no sense that Morrow wants us to join him in holding ourselves aloof from the rest of humanity in snobbish repose and declare solemnly "We are so much better than all that." Read Douglas Adams for that. What I did find was an intellectual, though never daunting work that displays a profound understanding of--and sympathy for--Man at the turn of this century. We may smirk at the idea that the best chef in the Merchant Marines is classified as such not because he prepares gourmet meals, but because he is capable of producing exact replicas of the world's leading fast food (no matter what the meat source). But doesn't that say an awful lot about us and our society? In Morrow's gifted hands it does. Morrow's intent seems less to ridicule Man and his institutions than it does to express faith in our inherent moral fiber. It's less a blaspheme against God of the Old Testament than it is a praise of Emmanuel Kant. In killing off God, and in writing the Jesuit physicist's final deduction of why God has died, Morrow is suggesting a humanist future for Mankind, a future in which we have passed by the need for a governing deity, grown to maturity and cast away the bonds that tie us to our Heavenly Father. Or rather, God has cast aside the bonds for us. If you love someone, let them go. This is not sacrilege, but a kind of theocratic Darwinism. Oh, there now, I went and said that awful name didn't I. Okay, maybe it IS sacrilege. Towing Jehovah: an intelligent and well written tale that DOES make sense no matter what else you read here about it.

P.S. Contrary to at least one opinion, I found most of the characters very 3 dimensional. Any author who can take a character like Anthony Van Horne (gruff old sea dog with a penchant for wearing mirrored sunglasses, a down parka and John Deere hat, and who keeps his ships log in a Popeye the Sailor notebook) and make them not only interesting, but believable and compelling deserves respect and admiration. Morrow did, and does.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Irreverant and entertaining., January 26, 2001

By	mirope "mirope" (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

James Morrow's story is startingly original. God is dead, and his lifeless and massive body has fallen into the Atlantic Ocean. Anthony Van Horne, a disgraced oil tanker captain, is recruited by the angel Raphael to tow His body to a final resting place in the Arctic. The ensuing Odyssean voyage challenges the crew's perceptions about God and morality. The result is a divine exploration of the theory that religion is the opiate of the masses.

As original as the story is, it never quite rises to the grandeur of its themes, which isn't necessarily a criticism. This is a pleasant and entertaining reading experience, not a dour theocratic and philosophical analysis. Morrow seems to have sacrificed a degree of depth in exchange for loads of irony and dark comedy - not a bad trade.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top-Notch, Unique Fantasy!, March 9, 2001

By	John C. Snider (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

Sea captain Anthony Van Horne, who blames himself for an ExxonValdez-style oil spill years ago, is suddenly visited by an angel whobears the most profound - and disturbing - tidings of all time. GodHimself is dead, and His two-mile-long corpse has fallen into theAtlantic Ocean! The Host of Heaven are dying of grief, the angelexplains, and as their last act of worship they've prepared a tomb forJehovah in a huge iceberg in the Arctic. Van Horne can achieve somevindication by towing the late Creator's body to His frozencrypt.

At the helm of the supertanker Carpco Valparaiso (the shipinvolved in the earlier maritime disaster), and flying the flag of theVatican, Van Horne leads a ragtag crew on a secret mission to find Hiscorpse and steer Him to His final resting place. Along the way, theyrescue a militant feminist-atheist who, when she discovers the natureof their mission, secretly decides that she must find a way to preventthis "proof" from becoming known to the world atlarge.

Morrow's Towing Jehovah is an absolutely brilliant and oftenqueasily unsettling satire that explores many of the great issues ofreligion, faith, and skepticism. Using the tanker's crew as amicrocosm of society, Morrow takes jabs at Catholics, Jews, skeptics,feminists - just about everybody. How would the Catholic Church reactto the news that God really is dead? What would atheists do if theydiscovered they'd been wrong all along? Would there be any reason toadhere to morality, knowing that God is no longer watching? And thegreatest mystery of all - why did He die?

I can't recommend thisbook highly enough for fantasy lovers who are tired of the eternalTolkien rehashes. If you're looking for a book that will make youthink about your life, laugh out loud, and groan with embarrassment -sometimes all at once - this is the book for you. Both Believer andSkeptic will enjoy the ideas mulled over in Towing Jehovah - but thethin-skinned should be warned to proceed at their own risk.

JohnC. Snider...