Response to Rebecca's Crowley Post:

It took me at least three Books of Paradise Lost to begin to understand remotely what John Milton was trying to say.  After that, however, I began to read Paradise Lost in a way unique to such an epic poem and have become accustomed to that style of writing.  As I began reading Good Omens, the same feelings of confusion and frustration from Paradise Lost came rushing back to me.  Good Omens is supposed to be a "much easier read", so I am confident that such confusion is simply a style transition, rather than an inability to understand Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's spinoff of Paradise Lost.

Much like Rebecca, I too was reminded of Paradise Lost and the battle of "which is the lesser of two evils?" when I read the passage on page 23 of Good Omens.  Right before this debate within himself, the narrator describes Crowley thumping the wheel and taking on a sort of "when it rains, it pours" outlook on life.  Apparently things had been going so well for Crowley, and now all of a sudden, the world is apparently ending.  As I read this, I was immediately reminded of my time here at Uconn, only a month ago.  I feel as though we, as college students, can more easily relate to Good Omens in comparison with Paradise Lost because of its satirist irony and ability to mock such a serious topic.  At times we all have felt like we were on top of the world...livin' the dream, and then suddenly we are told that Armageddon is going to happen a week from today.  (I say 'we all' in hopes of reassuring myself that I am not alone on this one...you've got a major psych exam the next morning, you are deciding whether or not to continue something in your life that could potentially change your college career, and your boyfriend comes to break up with you at 11 pm...)

So the question remains; Heaven or Hell: which one is worse?   On a side note, the fact that the authors put in, "You couldn't get a decent drink in either of them, for a start" (23), incorporates the idea of making Good Omens something that we can enjoy because of it's laid back style.

In my opinion, the answer to this question is entirely context dependent.  If you have a more rebellious attitude towards life, Heaven of course, is not the place for you.  And on the other hand, if you are one who likes to follow rules and structure, Hell should not be your goal.  Of course, this is not a black-or-white topic.  Most people fall in the middle, making this an unanswerable question...

Kellie M.