Robert Alter

Strong As Death Is Love Robert Alter

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references.; These five late biblical books offer readers a range of pleasures not usually associated with the Bible. They are artful, entertaining literary works - innovative, even startling. Women often stand centre stage. The Songs of Songs, a celebration of young love, frankly sensuous, with no reference to God, offers some of the most beautiful love poems of the ancient world. The story of Esther's shrewd triumph is a secular entertainment that mixes farce with sly sexual comedy. The character of Ruth embodies the virtues of loyalty, love, and charity in a harmonious world. Enigma replaces harmony in Daniel, whose dreams envision the end of time. And the traditions of prophecy are recast in the tale of Jonah. Alter's translation restores the original power of these popular books. Publisher Marketing: The Song of Songs; Ruth; Esther; Jonah; and Daniel offer readers a range of pleasures not usually associated with the Bible. As distant in time from the Five Books of Moses as Updike is from Shakespeare, these Late Biblical books are innovative, entertaining literary works. Women often stand center stage. The Song of Songs is a celebration of young love, frankly sensuous, with no reference to God or covenant. It offers some of the most beautiful love poems of the ancient world. The story of Queen Esther s shrewd triumph is also a secular entertainment, with clear traces of farce and sly sexual comedy. The character of Ruth embodies the virtues of loyalty, love, and charity in a harmonious world. Enigma replaces harmony in Daniel s feverish night dreams. The apocalyptic strangeness of Daniel echoes in works from the New Testament s Book of Revelations to the lyrics of Bob Dylan. And Jonah, the tale of a giant fish who, on God s command, swallows the prophet and imprisons him in his dark wet innards for three days, ends with a question that lingers, unanswered, leaving the reader to ponder the many limitations of humankind." Review Citations:

Publishers Weekly 02/09/2015 (EAN 9780393243048, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Alter, Robert Robert Alter's ongoing translation of the Hebrew Bible, the magnificent capstone to a lifetime of distinguished scholarly work, has won the PEN Center Literary Award for Translation. His immense achievements in scholarship ranging from the eighteenth-century European novel to contemporary Hebrew and American literature earned Alter the Robert Kirsch Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Los Angeles Times. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley.