Reading Genesis
Engaging with the original context
Reading Genesis
By Marilynne Robinson
Publisher: Virago
ISBN: 978-0-349-01875-1
Price: £12.99
Marilynne Robinson’s Reading Genesis comes highly recommended, the quotes on the front cover being from Dr Rowan Williams and Barack Obama no less!
Reading Genesis is divided into two parts, the first ‘Reading Genesis’ and the second, the book of ‘Genesis’ (the King James Version). Robinson has chosen not to divide the book into chapters, nor use sub headings, leading me to presume that she assumes the reader will start at the beginning and follow through in a logical order. Consequently if one wanted to see what she says about a particular narrative (there are few chapter/verse references), one needs to flick through to the appropriate story. The style is that of literary criticism and is far from being a commentary on the book of Genesis (as I naïvely presumed on hearing the title!)
Robinson draws on historical literature and myth to compare and contrast with the narratives in Genesis, placing the stories within the context that they were originally written. This grounding helps the reader to engage with the original context, rather than the one from which we currently read, reminding us that “It is surely reasonable to assume that we are not always the Bible’s primary audience.” (Robinson, p.117) A helpful reminder to each of us as we engage with the Bible as a whole.
A book, I'd suggest, that needs to be read slowly, from the beginning. To have time to sit with and ponder the complex links to both the historical and wider literary context that Robinson makes. It’s not an easy read and to enjoy it at its best I suspect the reader would need a prior degree of literary and theological knowledge; complex terms being regularly used without explanation. As I read and contemplated, having revised my expectations as to the purpose of Reading Genesis my engagement with it grew too. Reading Genesis would likely appeal to those used to engaging with the genre of literary criticism and I'd recommend it to such a group.
Revd Becky Evans