The Jesus Cow by Michael Perry

Hello, everyone! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Michael Perry's latest, The Jesus Cow.

When Harley Jackson's cow Tina Turner gives birth to a calf sporting a Jesus shaped birthmark, on Christmas Eve no less, he knows he's in for trouble. Harley isn't one to go looking for attention, in fact it's exactly the opposite. He loves the quiet life. But as much as he'd like to keep this holy cow under wraps, the calf is soon out of the bag. And with a local land owner harassing Harley in hopes of drawing attention away from his own failing investment, the small time cattle farmer has no choice but to take advantage of the Jesus cow's discovery. Of course this miracle quickly becomes exactly the burden Harley knew it would be!  

Sorry! Sorry! I just can't help it with the cheesy puns on this one! It's appropriate, I think, considering the kind of humor featured in The Jesus Cow. It's part feel good, part slapstick, and just a hint of dark humor as well. Just a hint. Think Christopher Moore with less pessimism. I mean it is written by a man who's website is SneezingCow.com after all.

But again, Perry has that feel good thing going on too. Harley is a charming and lovable character, in spite of his shyness and his attempts to fly under the radar. We as the readers get to know him, though, warts and all. And frankly he's just a really good guy! From his clumsy attempts to hide the cow to his even clumsier attempt at a relationship, you kind of just want to hug him.

Of course he's not the only character in the book. There's Klute Sorensen, the man who's trying to get both Harley and Maggie, the longtime widow who runs the salvage and tow business, to cave to his commands. There's Billy, Harley's neighbor and best friend, who lives in a trailer full of cats and uses a sighted shotgun to try and protect Harley and the cow from the frantic faithful. There's Carolyn Sawchuck, the heavy handed academic who thinks she's going to bring culture and change to the town of Swivel. And that's just the main few. Perry populates Swivel with fabulous people, good and bad, well meaning and misguided, and pretty much all fun.

Reading The Jesus Cow is pure entertainment. It's perfect for anyone looking for a good laugh and some sarcastic wit laced with a positive outlook.

Rating: 4/5

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Michael Perry and his work, you can visit his website here. You can also like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter and Instagram.