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Nov 25, 2014euterpe2 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
The Good Lord Bird is a deliciously subversive perspective on the story of abolitionist John Brown, in the tradition of Mark Twain and yes, filmmaker Mel Brooks! This book is no respecter of halos, even when attached to iconic figures like Frederick Douglass (who sports a 'busted' halo in McBride's retelling). John Brown is an obsessive renegade and bible quoting fundamentalist, yet there is an otherworldly honesty in his red hot mission to destroy slavery. Mcbride has created real, flawed human beings, not caricatures. The result is a very funny, very moving story with a touch of the sublime.