God's first foray into the world of literature has made quite a splash. People the world over are talking about this book (or series of books if you want to get pedantic) and for good reason; It makes some grandiose claims, it purports to be the complete authority on almost all areas of human endeavor (aside from how to choose an internet service provider), and even makes threats to the reader.
Of course, English is not God's native tongue and this book has been translated from the original aramaic and hebrew. It was then further translated to greek and didn't even have a proper English translation until the late 1600s. I have to say, either something was lost in the translation or the translator was going for a heavily stylized prose. There's lots of "thy," "thou," and "begat"s throughout the book.
As for the story itself, I was absolutely riveted. From the auspicious beginnings ("let there be light" -- what a clever way to get the ball rolling) to the exciting ending with the horses and the destruction the story is full of violence, incest, adultery, begetting, and flaming bushes. It never lets up.
It does get a little preachy at times and I must admit to being quite bewildered at what God's *real* message is. There are contradictions in the rules handed down (gay sex is bad but love your brother, shrimp was not OK but now it is, etc.) and unraveling the books mysteries is going to be a not insignificant task for any reader.
Taken as a whole, it's really hard to look past its faults. I really wanted to like it and gave an honest attempt to understand its teachings. But it seems to me that, if you're going to claim to be the source of all truth in the universe, you'd have to do a lot better than this book does.
One star
