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utah_mustacheman 's review for:
The Book of God: The Bible as a Novel
by Walter Wangerin Jr.
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.