According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (the world's only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner.
So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon—both of whom have lived amongst Earth's mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture.
And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist . . .
MY INITIAL TAKE
I first read this book eight years ago, and it was one of the first Neil Gaiman books I ever read, with the exception of Coraline. Since then, Gaiman and Pratchet have become two of my favorite authors. Pratchett always makes me laugh with his charming characters and witty dialogue, and Gaiman has a talent for crafting beautiful fairytale stories that remind me of playing in the woods behind the baseball fields, hunting for fairies. As a thirteen-year-old, I loved Crowley for his dramatic flair and his grudging love for humanity, and the comedy of it all made me laugh. Today, I still love those parts, but I can appreciate the philosophical discussions and debates of the book more than I could back then.
WHAT I LOVED MOST
Crowley's reluctant goodness is still one of my favorite parts of the book. A demon cast down from Heaven for his curious and questioning nature, Crowley works as Hell's agent on Earth, and he finds he rather likes his job. At the beginning of the book, he meets with two other demons who share their evil deeds for the day: temptations for holy men, luring them down the path of sin. When asked about his own deeds, Crowley admits, with pride, that he cut the telephone wires in London that morning for a brief period. The other demons are completely flabbergasted, and Crowley explains the evilness of his actions: that minor inconvenience means that thousands of people were inconvenienced and their frustration would fuel more evil actions. These people would take out that frustration on friends, family, coworkers, and even strangers, who would take it out on others still--corruption on a mass scale. Crowley doesn't have to do real evil deeds--the humans will do them for him. This ties into my absolute favorite part of the book: Crowley's internal monologue on the nature and origin of evil.
See, he argues that Hell and its demons are not the creators of evil, though they do push people in that direction. Rather, humans themselves create evil through their own choices to be selfish or cruel. I love this point, because cruelty, whether through action or violence, is a choice. Evil doesn't exist as an external force, but in an internal philosophy that one's own needs and desires are inherently and objectively more important than those of others. This is something often addressed in fiction, but what I like about Gaiman and Pratchett's approach is that this is never said to be all there is. Crowley also says that humans, while capable of "skin-crawling" acts of evil that drive demons to drink, are also capable of grace and kindness beyond Heaven's wildest dream. All that really matters is the choice.
This message, that humans are not predisposed towards good or evil, is important to me. I believe that the power of the choices we make, even if it is a choice to do nothing, determines who we are as people. There is always a choice, even when the answer seems obvious or like the only one, and "Good Omens" shows us a cast of characters making choices, from Anathema Device following a book of prophecies to the letter, to Crowley and Aziraphale working against the Great Plan, even though it seems hopeless.
MY FAVORITE CHARACTER
If I'm being honest, my favorite character has always been Crowley. He's funny and over-the-top, and I loved David Tennant's portrayal of him in the 2019 miniseries adaption. Tennant captured the fun and the humanity of Crowley. One of my favorite moments between him and Aziraphale is when he transforms a team of office workers' paint guns into real ones. Aziraphale admonishes him for it, insisting that he undoes it, and reminding him that someone could seriously get hurt. After some prodding, Crowley reluctantly admits that he never planned for anyone to get hurt, and he used his infernal influence to ensure everyone had miraculous escapes because it "wouldn't be any fun otherwise."Crowley does not want to be evil or to do evil things. He is a character who enjoys mischief and a hedonist, but real, widescale suffering is abhorrent to him, and the idea of wiping out all life on Earth is unthinkable. While his motivations are mostly selfish--he enjoys the life he has--there is good in him. He doesn't just run from the disaster, and he hesitates to truly or permanently hurt anyone.
Beyond being fun and relatable, Crowley, along with his angelic counterpart Aziraphale, provide much of the driving philosophical discussions, beginning with their theorizing on whether the Antichrist is destined to follow in his father's footsteps, that is to fall. They discuss nature versus nurture, the absolutes that the Bible presents, and if fate exists. One of the reoccurring discussions they have is about demons and angels, and whether angels are capable of evil while demons are capable of good.
It is Crowley that questions the Great Plan, as he is wont to do. This is something I admire about his character. Even when everything seems hopeless, he just can't give up. Even though he professes to be a hard-hearted demon, he can't help but love the world around him, and he can't help but look for a solution.
SHOULD YOU READ THIS BOOK?
If you're a fan of either Gaiman or Pratchett (or both), then the answer is a resounding yes. I believe this is their best work, and as much as I love their other titles, none of them can top this in my mind. This one just speaks to both a loving exasperation with humans and hope for the future. If you haven't read either author before, then I recommend it to anyone who likes books that can both make them laugh and make them think. There is so much to love about this story, and if you don't like one character, you're bound to love another.
You can buy "Good Omens" on Amazon or your favorite bookstore.
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