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When Waugh gets around to sort-of making an argument, it is that Christians are crazy for believing that the Gods of Old and New Testaments are one and the same, or, for that matter, that God is love. Waugh tries to keep his distance in the set-up exchange between Nietzsche and Christian theologians, but he gives the German madman all the best lines. The book ends with a composite speech, not so very different from Job's, in which a cocky Deity boasts of his great accomplishments and then casts scorn on pious attempts to tame him (including, one assumes, the Crucifixion).

It's a pity that Alexander's late father Auberon left the Catholic Church over the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, because it appears to have rendered religion as nothing but an intellectual experience for his son. If young Waugh had bumped up against the actual traditions and rhythms of regular churchgoers, he might have learned that they don't think of God exclusively as meek or mild, safely domesticated. They look into the same swirling cloud that baffles and fascinates Waugh. The difference is, they see beyond the whirlwind to something on the other side.

Jeremy Lott is assistant managing editor of The American Spectator.

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Books & Culture Corner appears every Monday. Earlier editions of Books & Culture Corner and Book of the Week include:

Mystery and Message | Must they compete? (May 10, 2004)

Celebrating Faith in Writing | A dispatch from Calvin College's biennial event. (April 26, 2004)

Shabbos, Sheitels, and Yarmulkes | A novel set in the world of Orthodox Judaism. (April 19, 2004)

The Naked City | The story of the 1977 blackout in New York-the occasion of widespread looting and destruction-has some surprisingly timely lessons for America in 2004. (April 19, 2004)

A Curious Contingency | Confessions of a wordsmith. (April 05, 2004)

"Trust but Verify" | Ronald Reagan's faith. (March 29, 2004)

Baseball Preview 2004 | Plus a look back with some Negro League veterans. (March 29, 2004)

How Do You Live with a Torturer? | A novel of Haiti by the brilliant young writer, Edwidge Danticat. (March 08, 2004)

God Is in the Details | A scientist affirms his faith. (Feb. 23, 2004)

History Repeats Itself, Sort of | How the fate of Eugene McCarthy's insurgency against LBJ sheds light on the 2004 presidential campaign. (Feb. 16, 2004)

The Worst President Ever? | Former Nixon aide John Dean attempts to rehabilitate the reputation of Warren G. Harding. (Feb. 09, 2004)

Wholly, Wholly, Wholly | Calvinists and conga drums in Grand Rapids: a report from the seventeenth annual Calvin Symposium on Worship and the Arts. (Feb. 02, 2004)

The Doom of Choice | Fate, free will, and moral responsibility in Tolkien. (Feb. 02, 2004)

A Rose Among Thorns | A new novel by the author of Father Elijah illumines the spiritual consequences of our simplest decisions. (Jan. 26, 2004)

Baptized in Fire | A new book on Martin Luther King, Jr., emphasizes his spiritual transformation. (Jan. 19, 2004)

O'Connor v. the Antichrist (Jan. 12, 2004)

Moody, the Media, and the Birth of Modern Evangelism | A cautionary tale. (Jan. 05, 2004)

A Few Coming Attractions from 2004 | Plus: What to buy with those gift cards, and some of the books in my to-read stacks. (Dec. 29, 2003)

The Top Ten Books of 2003 | Plus: The Worst Book of the Year, more good reading, digital books, and a little Christmas music. (Dec. 22, 2003)

Books at Warp Speed | We continue our annual roundup of noteworthy books. (Dec. 15, 2003)

Is "Sensual Orthodoxy" a Contradiction in Terms? | Read this unconventional collection of sermons and judge for yourself. (Dec. 8, 2003)

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May (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48