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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
What a wonderful way to spend the Lenten season-reading this novelisation of the Bible. This made it so easy to understand and remember all of the great stories we all know. I still had to make lists to keep the primary characters straight, but it was an easier read than my previous attempts at my stand-by Bible. I remarked to my friends more than once while reading it-Man, this is one juicy book!
WW takes several liberties (sometimes changing details altogether) in his conversational retelling of the Bible. Most of them were inconsequential and I chalked it up to poetic license. I very much enjoy his use of language and the passion for God that is evident in all of his works.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really should have DNF'd this book after the first few sections. This ultimately felt like a book that just didn't need to exist. Large chunks of the source material were paraphrased with no real addition, refinement, or indeed any characteristics I would associate with a novel. Characters that seem interesting but are poorly fleshed out in the original are just as poorly characterized here, events that seem arbitrary and out of place have no additional context or ramifications, and the slightly more modern prose just serves to highlight what a Lovecraftian horror the god of the Old Testament is.
There are brief parts of the final section, covering the New Testament, that show where the book could have gone. The courtship between Joseph and Mary is charming and the brief PoV sections for Simon Peter and Mary Magdalene start to make them feel like coherent characters at times. But then the adherence to the narrative makes them behave any which way and doesn't build on any relationships or dynamics. You're frankly better off reading the original...
There are brief parts of the final section, covering the New Testament, that show where the book could have gone. The courtship between Joseph and Mary is charming and the brief PoV sections for Simon Peter and Mary Magdalene start to make them feel like coherent characters at times. But then the adherence to the narrative makes them behave any which way and doesn't build on any relationships or dynamics. You're frankly better off reading the original...
When I was younger I used to love novelizations of movies because "you get to see what everyone's thinking in the different scenes". The problem with doing a novelization of the Bible is that no one person is the expert for knowing what anyone who wrote or is characterized in the Bible was thinking or even saying. For most of my life people have been bickering over what every verse in the Bible actually meant through tons of translation.
I enjoyed this regardless, but a lot of the words were pronounced oddly in the audiobook, Philistines in particular, and it really made me question how well the narrator knows these characters and concepts, enough to, as I understand the narrator is the author, write this book.
I enjoyed this regardless, but a lot of the words were pronounced oddly in the audiobook, Philistines in particular, and it really made me question how well the narrator knows these characters and concepts, enough to, as I understand the narrator is the author, write this book.
This fine narrative retelling of the Old testament and Gospels has kept me company the last couple of years as I pull passages for my prayer journal.
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Reads more like a history of the Jewish people as told in the Bible than a comprehensive retelling of the Bible itself. No creation story or Noah's ark, but plenty of judges, prophets, and kings.
Review and Notes on The Book of God
By Walter Wangerin Jr.
The Bible (Old and New Testament) is already a story of a people selected by God for that God’s purposes. What ancient writing lacks for modern readers is more than supplemented by Wangerin. Internal thoughts and character arcs are most beautifully developed in Abraham, Mary Magdalene, and Tamar–the sister of Solomon. Reading this book will offer an enriching view of the Biblical story and teach the apprenticing Bible reader–as I consider myself– to color the Bible with healthy assumptions about the characters described in the Bible.
Wangerin does not begin at the beginning, but starts with Abram and his struggling relationship with Sarah. He ends not at the end of the Bible but with Peter proclaiming the good news of the Messiah at Pentecost. Wangerin is able to craftily and creatively tell the stories within the Bible from a myriad of viewpoints, and do an astounding job at digging into the characters’ hearts, ethnicities, culture, and position and society. Applause must be given for his range in insight: David to Mary the Mother of Jesus, Pilate to Nicodemus, Jesus to Judas.
Wangerin’s strength is brevity in detail. Brevity in anything can be dangerous, but who can fault him? Distilling the Bible into a novel is challenge enough. Leaving out critical stories like the rape of Dinah, Solomon’s overconsumption of concubines, and the quirky tale of Jonah make the story not lacking, but less full. However, what it lacks in side story details, it makes up for with immense insight into characters.
Solomon’s distance from his people due to to his avarice is spot on. Jeremiah’s insanity and suffering while proclaiming the word of God to an everlost people is beautiful and tragic. The disciples reconvening in anger, confusion, distrust– the opposite of Jesus’ kingdom– is beautifully told and triumphantly interrupted by the risen King himself. My personal favorite is the hatred and spite harbored by Mary Magdalene: authentic humanity interacting with full divinity is not intricate, but raw and horrifying.
Any material, when consumed multiple times can become monotonous. The greatest image, the richest food, the finest experience can lose its novelty and become trite. Hearts and minds struggle to reencounter the best, not because of the object of desire but because the subject is faulty. Something in humans takes the mysteriousness from the mystery, abstracts the complexity from the complex, and calls the magnificent simple and the simple magnificent. Wanergin offers a retelling of the wondrous Biblical story that caused me to cry, laugh, hope, and shudder.
We never need a new story, but the old story must be retold with different voices in different ages using different utensils. A great dinner is never not great, but the food must be remade again and set on a different table. Wangerin offers a feast to those who are hungry for the retelling of the Word.
By Walter Wangerin Jr.
The Bible (Old and New Testament) is already a story of a people selected by God for that God’s purposes. What ancient writing lacks for modern readers is more than supplemented by Wangerin. Internal thoughts and character arcs are most beautifully developed in Abraham, Mary Magdalene, and Tamar–the sister of Solomon. Reading this book will offer an enriching view of the Biblical story and teach the apprenticing Bible reader–as I consider myself– to color the Bible with healthy assumptions about the characters described in the Bible.
Wangerin does not begin at the beginning, but starts with Abram and his struggling relationship with Sarah. He ends not at the end of the Bible but with Peter proclaiming the good news of the Messiah at Pentecost. Wangerin is able to craftily and creatively tell the stories within the Bible from a myriad of viewpoints, and do an astounding job at digging into the characters’ hearts, ethnicities, culture, and position and society. Applause must be given for his range in insight: David to Mary the Mother of Jesus, Pilate to Nicodemus, Jesus to Judas.
Wangerin’s strength is brevity in detail. Brevity in anything can be dangerous, but who can fault him? Distilling the Bible into a novel is challenge enough. Leaving out critical stories like the rape of Dinah, Solomon’s overconsumption of concubines, and the quirky tale of Jonah make the story not lacking, but less full. However, what it lacks in side story details, it makes up for with immense insight into characters.
Solomon’s distance from his people due to to his avarice is spot on. Jeremiah’s insanity and suffering while proclaiming the word of God to an everlost people is beautiful and tragic. The disciples reconvening in anger, confusion, distrust– the opposite of Jesus’ kingdom– is beautifully told and triumphantly interrupted by the risen King himself. My personal favorite is the hatred and spite harbored by Mary Magdalene: authentic humanity interacting with full divinity is not intricate, but raw and horrifying.
Any material, when consumed multiple times can become monotonous. The greatest image, the richest food, the finest experience can lose its novelty and become trite. Hearts and minds struggle to reencounter the best, not because of the object of desire but because the subject is faulty. Something in humans takes the mysteriousness from the mystery, abstracts the complexity from the complex, and calls the magnificent simple and the simple magnificent. Wanergin offers a retelling of the wondrous Biblical story that caused me to cry, laugh, hope, and shudder.
We never need a new story, but the old story must be retold with different voices in different ages using different utensils. A great dinner is never not great, but the food must be remade again and set on a different table. Wangerin offers a feast to those who are hungry for the retelling of the Word.
I first picked this up because my pastor had mentioned it a few times over the past couple of years, and I found that, unlike many such books, this really does put the central text of the Bible into novel form, lifting the Biblical text and surrounding it with descriptions and characterizations to ignite your imagination.
Mostly written with the traditional third-person omniscient narrator, there are some sections that change to the first person, enabling us to really understand their point of view. Historical and geographical details are added to give context to the narrative, enriching the text and helping the reader really understand what's going on. Some pieces are fictionalized, but I found it fairly clear what was historical or biblical and what was not. (Those unfamiliar with the history of the time might find Herod's actions even worse than previously imagined.)
Seeing the parables in a more timely context was also enlightening, offering insight into the disciples' words and actions as well as Jesus'. Even Judas became more three-dimensional, with a possible aspect/interpretation that I had not previously considered.
I found myself devouring it... right up until I got into the New Testament. At that point I slowed down, often putting it down for a few days. I realized I was postponing the inevitable: the end was approaching, and I didn't want to stop.
Obviously it can't cover *everything* in just 633 pages, and has pruned the "storyline" (for want of a better word) down to the central characters and stories. It starts with Abraham, and readers familiar with the Bible will notice the lack of furnaces, lions, large fish, characters such as Dinah and Mephibosheth, and certain miracles; some are pruned back to the main branch, while others were only reported in one Gospel.
Through these pages, I learned to see Jesus the man, to see his changing perspective as the time grew near for his death, and even to see the disciples as individual personalities rather than a collective. I've learned to pay more attention to the details of time and location for Jesus' parables and sermons, and to appreciate the whole time frame even more. This is one I'll read again, because it draws me back to the Bible itself as I reread passages and surprise myself by discovering parts I'd previously missed.
Mostly written with the traditional third-person omniscient narrator, there are some sections that change to the first person, enabling us to really understand their point of view.
Spoiler
Leah, Simon Peter, Andrew and Mary Magdalene were among them.Seeing the parables in a more timely context was also enlightening, offering insight into the disciples' words and actions as well as Jesus'. Even Judas became more three-dimensional, with a possible aspect/interpretation that I had not previously considered.
I found myself devouring it... right up until I got into the New Testament. At that point I slowed down, often putting it down for a few days. I realized I was postponing the inevitable: the end was approaching, and I didn't want to stop.
Obviously it can't cover *everything* in just 633 pages, and has pruned the "storyline" (for want of a better word) down to the central characters and stories. It starts with Abraham, and readers familiar with the Bible will notice the lack of furnaces, lions, large fish, characters such as Dinah and Mephibosheth, and certain miracles; some are pruned back to the main branch, while others were only reported in one Gospel.
Spoiler
(I was a little surprised that Jesus' first miracle was excluded though.)Through these pages, I learned to see Jesus the man, to see his changing perspective as the time grew near for his death, and even to see the disciples as individual personalities rather than a collective. I've learned to pay more attention to the details of time and location for Jesus' parables and sermons, and to appreciate the whole time frame even more. This is one I'll read again, because it draws me back to the Bible itself as I reread passages and surprise myself by discovering parts I'd previously missed.