The Bible: A Book Review
The Bible: This No. 1 bestselling book has garnered much attention recently; in the news media and in book clubs the world over. It has been optioned into movies and miniseries countless times. It is practically a cultural phenomenon!
But is it, as many have claimed, a “good book”?
As it turns out, no. No, it is not. As disappointing as this many be to its many fans to hear, the Bible is poorly written, lazily constructed, relies on premises too wildly improbable to bear belief, and is, if fact, riddled with too many flaws to be blamed on a mere poor translation.
First off, the entire first half is of the book is entirely exposition. This, alone, is completely inexcusable. When one must devote one half of one’s book to backstory, in this case many hundreds of pages, it reveals a woefully shaky foundation. This particular critic believes much of the backstory could have been snuck (yes it is a word) into the main narrative.
Secondly, the entire focus of the book is on one character. Consequently, the other characters feel truncated and flat. Barabas, a character with the potential to be one of the best and most compelling characters in the entire work, seemed almost deliberately underdeveloped. Towards the end, it felt like the author purposefully shaded Barabas as a despicable character, and that he should be devalued in favor of the main character, one “Jesus Christ”. Yet, looking at the events described, this Barabas fellow was clearly undeserving of such a view, to such an extent that he may be a better character than the main.
The villains in this piece were one dimensional, at best. The work would have been far more interesting if the pressures and motivations of the villains had been fleshed out. The protagonist, also, was mainly static, and seemed too virtuous, and too perfect, and in the end will have a hard time relating with any but the shallowest of readers. Overall, a poor effort in character development.
Additionally, its attempts at humor were poor and largely morbid. As a child, the young Jesus, a student of carpentry, remarks “All this wood will be the death of me!”, and while I don’t want to give away the ending, this comes off rather droll and flat.
Furthermore, the ending makes no sense. A good writer knows that the resolution must stem from the characters themselves, and yet the author resorts to the most egregious example of Deus ex Machina I have seen in years.
And while seeming to have a positive, uplifting message on the surface, on closer examination much of the text appears devoted almost exclusively to right-wing propaganda. Indeed, conservative groups have embraced this book as a more eloquent justification of their positions, quoting select passages whenever their views come under scrutiny.
In conclusion, this critique was an excuse to end a word in “que,” which is the desire of all writers.
by Humble B. Wonderful
But is it, as many have claimed, a “good book”?
As it turns out, no. No, it is not. As disappointing as this many be to its many fans to hear, the Bible is poorly written, lazily constructed, relies on premises too wildly improbable to bear belief, and is, if fact, riddled with too many flaws to be blamed on a mere poor translation.
First off, the entire first half is of the book is entirely exposition. This, alone, is completely inexcusable. When one must devote one half of one’s book to backstory, in this case many hundreds of pages, it reveals a woefully shaky foundation. This particular critic believes much of the backstory could have been snuck (yes it is a word) into the main narrative.
Secondly, the entire focus of the book is on one character. Consequently, the other characters feel truncated and flat. Barabas, a character with the potential to be one of the best and most compelling characters in the entire work, seemed almost deliberately underdeveloped. Towards the end, it felt like the author purposefully shaded Barabas as a despicable character, and that he should be devalued in favor of the main character, one “Jesus Christ”. Yet, looking at the events described, this Barabas fellow was clearly undeserving of such a view, to such an extent that he may be a better character than the main.
The villains in this piece were one dimensional, at best. The work would have been far more interesting if the pressures and motivations of the villains had been fleshed out. The protagonist, also, was mainly static, and seemed too virtuous, and too perfect, and in the end will have a hard time relating with any but the shallowest of readers. Overall, a poor effort in character development.
Additionally, its attempts at humor were poor and largely morbid. As a child, the young Jesus, a student of carpentry, remarks “All this wood will be the death of me!”, and while I don’t want to give away the ending, this comes off rather droll and flat.
Furthermore, the ending makes no sense. A good writer knows that the resolution must stem from the characters themselves, and yet the author resorts to the most egregious example of Deus ex Machina I have seen in years.
And while seeming to have a positive, uplifting message on the surface, on closer examination much of the text appears devoted almost exclusively to right-wing propaganda. Indeed, conservative groups have embraced this book as a more eloquent justification of their positions, quoting select passages whenever their views come under scrutiny.
In conclusion, this critique was an excuse to end a word in “que,” which is the desire of all writers.
by Humble B. Wonderful