Reviews for Reading Genesis
by Marilynne Robinson
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
A deeply thoughtful exploration of the first book of the Bible. In this illuminating work of biblical analysis, Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Robinson, whose Gilead series contains a variety of Christian themes, takes readers on a dedicated layperson’s journey through the Book of Genesis. The author meanders delightfully through the text, ruminating on one tale after another while searching for themes and mining for universal truths. Robinson approaches Genesis with a reverence and level of faith uncommon to modern mainstream writers, yet she’s also equipped with the appropriate tools for cogent criticism. Throughout this luminous exegesis, which will appeal to all practicing Christians, the author discusses overarching themes in Genesis. First is the benevolence of God. Robinson points out that “to say that God is the good creator of a good creation” sets the God of Genesis in opposition to the gods of other ancient creation stories, who range from indifferent to evil. This goodness carries through the entirety of Genesis, demonstrated through grace. “Grace tempers judgment,” writes the author, noting that despite well-deserved instances of wrath or punishment, God relents time after time. Another overarching theme is the interplay between God’s providence and humanity’s independence. Across the Book of Genesis, otherwise ordinary people make decisions that will affect the future in significant ways, yet events are consistently steered by God’s omnipotence. For instance, Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, and that action has reverberated throughout the history of all Jewish people. Robinson indirectly asks readers to consider where the line is between the actions of God and the actions of creation. “He chose to let us be,” she concludes, “to let time yield what it will—within the vast latitude granted by providence.” In this highly learned yet accessible book, Robinson offers believers fresh insight into a well-studied text. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Publishers Weekly
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Novelist Robinson (The Death of Adam) offers a dense yet immersive close reading of the book of Genesis. Employing literary and theological lenses, the author frames the biblical book as an exemplary narrative and the figures within it as characters with agency, motive, and backstory. For example, Jacob is a trickster who schemes with his mother to steal his brother’s blessing, while his “young, bright, and self-infatuated” son, Joseph, proves “blind or indifferent to the resentment that is stirring around him... in literary terms, a great character.” Writing that “the text perfected very early the art of showing rather than telling,” Robinson skillfully melds her literary interpretation with her theological one, offering a Christian Calvinist reading that centers God’s goodness and grace (“Grace modifies law. Law cannot limit grace”). From that theological stance, she explores God’s willingness to form a covenant—and generally put up—with imperfect humans, his “too-brilliant creatures.” Like the biblical book it explicates, Robinson’s offering is demanding, intense, and best read slowly. Patient readers will be rewarded. Agent: Ellen Levine, Trident Media Group. (Mar.)
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Robinson, of Gilead trilogy renown, offers a literary, scholarly, and personal reading of Genesis. It is also holistic in that she considers the opening book of the Hebrew Bible in its entirety (the complete text is included) and in contrast to the beliefs of surrounding contemporaneous cultures. Drawing on her experience as a novelist, Robinson explores the use of repetition and parallel stories and traces the core themes, from the (then) wholly new statement that “God is the good creator of a good creation” to the desire for and love of children and the contrariness of humankind. Robinson marvels over “the remarkable realism” in depictions of the emotional turmoil catalyzed by family conflicts and shocking acts of deceit, betrayal, and revenge. She considers the women in Genesis, the relationship between God and Abraham, tales of righteousness and forgiveness, how God "decided to accept humanity as it is," and the Hebrew writers’ “willingness to record and to ponder the most painful passages in their history." Throughout this deeply involving and enlightening exegesis, Robinson links Genesis to the profound dilemmas of our time.
