''Towing Jehovah'' is a 1994 fantasy novel by American writer James K. Morrow, published by

Harcourt Brace Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City a ...

.BOOK REVIEW / NOVEL : Wild, Witty Yarn About the Death of God
by Michael Harris; published July 25, 1994; retrieved May 27, 2015 The book is about the death of God and the subsequent towing of his body across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1995 it received the

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

for best novel, with two additional best novel awards. It was followed by two sequels in 1996 and 1999.

Synopsis

God is dead "God is dead" (German: ; also known as the death of God) is a statement made by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche's first use of this statement is his 1882 ''The Gay Science'', where it appears three times. The phrase also app ...

, and now God's two-mile-long cadaver is floating in the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of Africa. As a result, the

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

hires

supertanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined ...

captain Anthony Van Horne to tow the cadaver into the Arctic, with the intention of having it be preserved by the cold.

Reception

''Towing Jehovah'' won the 1995

for best novel,World Fantasy Award: Award Winners & Nominees
, at WorldFantasy.org; last updated November 2014; retrieved May 27, 2015 and was nominated for the 1995

Hugo Award for Best Novel The Hugo Award for Best Novel is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published in, or translated to, English during the previous calendar year. The novel award is available for works of fiction of 40,000 ...

1995 Hugo Awards
at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved May 27, 2015 and the 1995

Nebula Award for Best Novel The Nebula Award for Best Novel is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy novels. A work of fiction is considered a novel by the organization if it is 40,000 words or longer; a ...

,The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1995 Nebula Awards
, at ''

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

''; retrieved May 27, 2015 shortlisted for the 1995

Arthur C. Clarke Award The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award i ...

,The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1995 Arthur C. Clarke Award
at ''

''; retrieved May 27, 2015 and ranked second for the 1995

Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel The Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel is a literary award given annually by '' Locus Magazine'' as part of their Locus Awards. Winners References External links The Locus Award Index: FantasyThe Locus Award: 2011 winnersExcerpts and summaries ...

.The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1995 Locus Awards
at ''

''; retrieved May 27, 2015 As well, the French translation, ''Remorquant Jehovah'', won the 1996 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire for best foreign-language novel.GPI - Palmarès 1996
at GPI.noosfere.org; retrieved May 27, 2015

Jo Walton Jo Walton (born 1964) is a Welsh and Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She is best known for the fantasy novel ''Among Others'', which won the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2012, and '' Tooth and Claw'', a Victorian era novel ...

has described it as "brilliant but weird", and "terrific",Revisiting the Hugos — Hugo Nominees: 1995
by

, at

Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...

; published August 7, 2011; retrieved May 27, 2015 while Steven H Silver has called it "interesting" and "intriguing", and commended Morrow's skill as a religious satirist, but criticized him for the quality of his satires of non-religious topics, saying that " en he turns his attention to satirizing other aspects of society, orrowtends to fling his darts at random."James Morrow: Towing Jehovah
by Steven H Silver, at the

SF Site SF may refer to: Locations * San Francisco, California, United States * Sidi Fredj, Algeria * South Florida, an urban region in the United States * Suomi Finland, former vehicular country code for Finland In arts and entertainment Genre ...

; published no later than January 10, 1997 (date of earliest version on archive.org); retrieved May 27, 2015 The ''

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'' praised Morrow for his "light-handed sense of satire", and said that "(''Towing Jehovah''s) title alone is enough to send your imagination racing off into the cosmos."Fantasy Meets Theology In James Morrow's 'Towing Jehovah'
by David E. Jones, in the ''

''; published July 31, 1994; retrieved May 27, 2015 The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' compared it to the works of

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, and

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

, but stated that the novel was "buoyant" for the same reason that it is "ultimately, a little disappointing": namely, "Morrow doesn't care as much s Vonnegut.

Sequels

A sequel, ''Blameless in Abaddon'', was published in 1996,Science Fiction
by Gerard Jonas, in ''

the New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''; published September 15, 1996; retrieved May 27, 2015 and a second sequel, ''The Eternal Footman'', was published in 1999.THE ETERNAL FOOTMAN by James Morrow
, by Steven H Silver, at the

; published no later than January 18, 2000 (date of earliest version on archive.org); retrieved May 27, 2015

References

{{World Fantasy Award Best Novel World Fantasy Award for Best Novel-winning works Fiction about God 1994 novels Religion in science fiction