Ill will toward men

A warm-hearted atheist is difficult to find | Janie B. Cheaney

The season of Peace on Earth, Good Will toward Men has swiftly passed, so it's OK to resort to road rage and gloom. Or if you're more inclined to savage laughter, a book by novelist Meg Rosoff might be just the ticket.

There Is No Dog, published a few months ago in the UK (available here in January), imagines God as a lazy, sex-crazed teenager named Bob, whose mother volunteered him for the creation gig. Since Bob is incompetent on top of his other faults, he requires some middle management to ensure he doesn't destroy the world in a thoughtless moment. This would be merely dumb in the adult market, but the novel is intended for teenagers.

Last fall, after learning about the content of her latest book, a Christian school in Bath revoked an invitation for Rosoff to speak during a literature festival. This prompted the author to remark, "It's disappointing that some schools feel that the subject of my book is unsuitable for their pupils as I consider it part of my job as a writer to explore sensitive issues, and to let my adolescent readers find hope, humour, and redemption in a world full of danger and loss."