What Would Jesus Buy?: Fabulous Prayers in the Face of the Shopocalypse Paperback โ March 12, 2007
Product ID: 96307585
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From Publishers Weekly Billy, the ringleader of the "Church of Stop Shopping"-whose protests have gotten him arrested multiple times-presents his philosophy and plan of action in this tongue-in-cheek guide to buying less and loving more-what Billy calls the "Love-a-Lujah Revival." Despite this welcome thesis, Billy's mission barely gets off the ground amid his slim volume's jokey tone. With a sermon-like delivery, Billy can prove amusing in small doses, but quickly overwhelms readers with too many odd phrasings, vain attempts at comedy and random capitalization: "Let me ask you a question. IS THERE ANYONE HERE AMONG US WHO HAS NOT BEEN CHASED DOWN AND KILLED BY A DISCOUNTED LUXURY ITEM?" Paradoxically, Billy's plea for honest expression gets mired in new-age vagary: "We have learned in the Church of Stop Shopping that memory reclamation is key, then sharing and comparing." Even when these kinds of statements get proper support, they're undermined by Billy's punch-line-happy prose, making it tough to take the actor/activist/author seriously. Relentlessly sarcastic, deadly repetitive and almost entirely reference-free, this book feels more like an attention-getting device than an earnest attempt at either social change or satire. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Read more Review "A comic manifesto on how to avoid consumerism with a serious look at the problems it causes." -- The Observer, June 3, 2007"It's all in good fun, yet it's deadly serious... Bless you, Rev. Billy." -- Hartford Courant, April 8, 2007"Rev and his choir now enrapture large audiences...with sermons such as those in this collection...to which...Jesus Himself would have said, `Amen.'" -- Kurt Vonnegut, January 2007"Reverend Billy leads the `Church of Stop Shopping,' a politically-minded band of pranksters dedicated to taking on the likes of Starbucks and Wal-Mart. They've been organizing hilariously absurd street theater they call `retail interventions' since the mid-`90s, hiding tape recorders playing the voices of sweatshop workers on shelves at a Disney store or creating `commercial-free zones' on crowded city streets." -- Boston Metro, July 13, 2007"an unconvential yet fresh perspective on the issues that surround widespread commercialism." -- Morning Star, Aril 8, 2007 Read more See all Editorial Reviews
B**
Excellent.
Excellent. How many more words must I write to be polite? Seriously, if one is satisfiedstop with the word requirements!
J**P
This book saved my soul!!!
While I consider myself to be a reasonably conscientious person, I have found myself slipping over the years. It starts with a quick stop in at the Home Depot because the local hardware shop is closed for the night. Slowly but surely I stopped noticing that my money was supporting all of the wrong things. This book helped me to remember to be a responsible human being again. It reminded me that Starbucks profits are made on the backs of child slavery, and that my support of that company equatres to my support of their methods.Thank you, Rev. Billy, for saving my soul!
T**R
would'nt make it to Hollywood
I gave 3 stars because I haven't actually read the book. I saw him on C-Span at a book presentation for this book. Let's just say that this were American Idol...he would'nt make it to Hollywood.
K**Y
A wonderful Christmas gift
Despite all the good intentions in buying locally, I ended up purchasing several gifts from Amazon. At least I tempered such purchases with a little sardonic kicker.
J**S
Silly and profound, like all the best surrealists
'What Would Jesus Buy?' is a book of thoughts and sermons released to coincide with the film of the same name. There are prayers and songs, letters, and instructions for flash-mob style shopping 'interventions'. And then there's the Reverend's thoughts from a California jail after he got arrested in Disneyland on Christmas day, after one such intervention.It's all classic Reverend Billy in full manic flow, his righteous indignation expressed in a torrent of mixed metaphors, quasi-spiritual psychobabble, and street corner philosophy. At times you have to imagine him preaching it in order to understand it, as he fires off an enthusiastic "strange-a-luja!" at the mystery of life, calls readers to "back away from the product", or warns us all to flee the coming "shopocalypse".Some of it is inspired, some of it rambling and odd. It's certainly fabulous - silly and profound at the same time, as the best surrealists are.Perhaps its not a book to read through in one go, but to dip in and out of, to make you laugh, to make you dream. And of course, to make you stop shopping.
N**I
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