tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857882.post2412078502453703422..comments2023-11-17T11:08:31.857-06:00Comments on Michael May: 3 Non-Fiction Books I Read in 2018Michael Mayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514945570212261283noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857882.post-41676405641730064362019-01-11T17:57:06.866-06:002019-01-11T17:57:06.866-06:00I haven't! And they all sound fascinating.
I...I haven't! And they all sound fascinating. <br /><br />I've done some study on the way Yahweh presents himself in the Old Testament, so it would be cool to compare notes with Bloom.<br /><br />And while I'm a big fan of historical fiction, I've done surprisingly (to me) little reading of stories set in the ancient Middle East. <i>The Red Tent</i> has been on my To Do pile for ages, but I've never picked it up. Possibly because I added it at a time when I wasn't reading like I am now and just never bumped it up in line once I started making time to read again. I'll add Saramago's books to the list. I've heard of them and would love to check them out.<br /><br />Thanks!Michael Mayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12514945570212261283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857882.post-39403592082857512472019-01-10T07:13:20.308-06:002019-01-10T07:13:20.308-06:00In line with your interests, let me recommend one ...In line with your interests, let me recommend one non-fiction book and two fiction books which deal with the nature of God.<br /><br />Harold Bloom's Jesus and Yahweh: The Names Divine, a comparison of the two from a literary standpoint, i.e. as literary characters. I knew a lot more about Jesus than Yahweh going in, being well versed in my catechism, but the God of the Tanakh (what Christians call the Old Testament) was a revelation (no pun intended). As usual, Bloom has his mannerisms (like repeating his thesis way too often), but he always always makes me want to reach for whatever books he's discussing, and that's a good thing.<br /><br />The other two are by Nobel Prize-winning author José Saramago.<br /><br />The Gospel According the Jesus Christ. I was immediately taken by Saramago's high wire act, which critics have called a kind of skeptical humanism. Telling the story of Jesus without contradicting the four accepted Gospels, he nevertheless reminds us of how far from the Bible's original context we now stand. His Jesus (and his Joseph and Mary, as the book is far more interested in his origins and early life than the Gospels are) lives in a real place and time, made real by sensual detail and cultural norms now alien to us. The novel is irreverently ironic, consistently shocking us with questions of how true any given account can be given human interpretation, but Saramago so loves his characters, it never turns into a take-down. He gives the story a literary bent with leitmotifs, for example, which are ironic in and of themselves (revealing Scripture as literature rather than History, which itself is an interpretative genre), and provides logic and psychological truth to the characters and events. Not to say it debunks the Bible - God and the Devil are manifest - but it does test your faith in the best way possible, by showing literal truth as improbable, and requiring a more thoughtful kind of faith that isn't about believing in "facts" but in ideas and ethical philosophies.<br /><br />Saramago's last novel before his death, Cain, is like a prequel to his Gospel. Though 18 years separate them, I found there the same skepticism and humanity. I loved the Gospel, but I think I love Cain more. Taking a similar tack, it starts with Adam and Even and their fall from Grace, but soon gets us to Cain and the first murder. From there, Cain is condemned to wander for eternity and the book that's a strange turn, becoming a kind of time travel adventure through the books of Genesis and Exodus. Cain goes back and forth through time, interacting with Abraham, Job, Noah, Moses, Lot and so on. Every incident makes him wonder why he was punished for a single murder, while the Old Testament God commits or encourages genocide. Skeptical Saramago attacks the Old Testament's hypocritical double standards, again asking literalists to question their beliefs, while Saramago the humanist paints the portrait of Cain as a psychologically believable character so he can act as reader identification figure. And no spoilers, but the twist ending is remarkable. Especially considering it was the writer's last book. I won't say any more. It's just 159 pages, an easier read than Saramago's other works (guy just doesn't break for paragraphs).<br /><br />And maybe you've read them already!Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com