Product Description

Envisioning the first book of the Bible like no one before him, R. Crumb, the legendary illustrator, retells the story of Genesis in a profoundly honest and deeply moving way. Originally thinking that he would do a takeoff of Adam and Eve, Crumb became so fascinated by the Bible's language, 'a text so great and so strange that it lends itself readily to graphic depictions', that he decided instead to do a literal interpretation using the text word for word, assembled primarily from the translations of Robert Alter and the King James Version. Now, readers of every persuasion - Crumb fans, comic book lovers, and believers - can gain astonishing new insights from these harrowing, tragic, and even juicy stories. "Crumb's Book of Genesis" reintroduces us to the bountiful tree-lined garden of Adam and Eve, the massive ark of Noah with beasts of every kind, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by brimstone and fire that rained from the heavens, and the Egypt of the Pharaoh, where Joseph's embalmed body is carried in a coffin, in a scene as elegiac as any in Genesis. Using clues from the text and peeling away the theological and scholarly interpretations that have often obscured the Bible's most dramatic stories, Crumb fleshes out a parade of biblical originals: from the serpent in Eden, the humanoid reptile appearing like an alien out of a science fiction movie, to Jacob, a 'kind of depressed guy who doesn't strike you as physically courageous', and his bother, Esau, 'a rough and kick-ass guy', to Abraham's wife, Sarah, more fetching than most woman at ninety, to God himself, 'a standard Charlton Heston-like figure with long white hair and a flowing beard'. As Crumb writes in his introduction, 'the stories of this people, the Hebrews, were then something more than just stories, they were the foundation, the source, in writing, of religious and political power, handed down by God Himself'. "Crumb's Book of Genesis", the culmination of five years of painstaking work, is a tapestry of masterly detail and storytelling that celebrates the astonishing diversity of the one of our greatest artistic geniuses.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #761 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-29
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Review
"an extraordinary, even an inspired book". --Saturday Times

`faithful recreation of Christianity's original story' --Daily Telegraph

About the Author
Born in Philadelphia, R. Crumb lives in the south of France with his wife and daughter.

Customer Reviews

beautiful illustration with only one problem...
I think this book should appeal across the board, Christians should welcome it as a new insight into an ancient foundational text, and others can welcome it as a beautiful work of art even if they completely reject the 'inspired' nature of the text.

In comic book terms of course, Crumb is already a justly famous artist, his mastery of pencil and pen is amazing, and the artwork in this version of the Genesis text is incredible.

Moreover to put some fears at rest, he doesnt take any liberties with the text. It's basically `as is' (albeit with the mandatory additions of chapters, and the occasional Crumb footnote).

It's a beautifully illustrated book, and the illustration is very well researched, adding a new dimension to the text in places.

My only grumble with the book is that in my opinion Crumb has over-sexualised some of the female characters. I think he does this to try and emphasise their power and importance, but I think the pneumatic breasts and rounded buttocks which appear clothed and unclothed as the the stories demand, are at times unneccesarily exagerated.

Textual literalists may also complain that while Crumb doesnt add or subtract from the words, he does add some new layers of meaning (although well researched of course) via facial expressions and background contexts in certain scenes.

In all, an excellent book, really beautifully drawn. There are issues surrounding sexualisation, and in my opinion this is a consistent issue with Crumb, but if you can ignore that, then there is the real possibility that this will open up the ancient and awesome book of Genesis in a new way for the reader, and that is always welcome.

Parental advisory: contains sexual and violent content.

Smash Hit Inspired Birthday Gift
This book seemed like an inspiration to give for a birthday circa 50 for someone knowing a lot about art litarature, and being a composer and very savez about most things. It proved to be spot on, I now have the reputation of being telepathic. I sneaked a look before sending it off, and think I should maybe get a copy for myself, it struck me as being witty, informed, funny and exactly the right kind of religious thing for an atheist. The author has genius.

Excellent
Robert crumb illustrates the first book of the bible with fabulous artwork. He keeps rigidly to the bible deviating only for clarity and taking care to avoid adding any taint of his own interpretation to his "translation" into images.
I showed the book to my neighbour, who as a devout Christian was impressed with it as a teaching aid for children.
As an Atheist, I plan to use it for much the same reason. The first chapter of the bible deals with the creation of the universe, the earth and man and the animals. The second chapter deals with the creation of, er man, and the subsequent fashioning of woman from part of the man. When you can see the contradictions of the bible laid bare in images, it's easy to see how ridiculous it is.
I'm surprised religions don't ban illustrations of their holy books to prevent this! Wait a minute....