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A review by rachelhelps
The Book of Genesis by Robert Crumb
4.0
The book of Genesis, in comic form: "everything graphically depicted, nothing left out!"
Reading this comic version of Genesis made me think about how... bizarre some things in Genesis are. Lot's daughters, the "she's my sister" act, the concubines, etc. Crumb, the author/illustrator, makes a few notes in the back about how remnants of a matriarchal culture are still intact, which makes me really curious about matriarchies for one, and also opened my eyes to how little I understand Genesis. Joseph's constant weeping is endearing, but why did he make them go back and forth so much? I was also reminded that the Isrealites became Egypt's slaves because of the famine: they themselves suggested that they could be slaves if they would at least let them live.
A note about the art: There are a few bare-breasted women. Crumb draws some beautifully ugly people, recalling the different standard of beauty they had and how these were just people. Crumb also mentions that he did real research to figure out what people would be wearing, and I appreciate that effort.
Reading this comic version of Genesis made me think about how... bizarre some things in Genesis are. Lot's daughters, the "she's my sister" act, the concubines, etc. Crumb, the author/illustrator, makes a few notes in the back about how remnants of a matriarchal culture are still intact, which makes me really curious about matriarchies for one, and also opened my eyes to how little I understand Genesis. Joseph's constant weeping is endearing, but why did he make them go back and forth so much? I was also reminded that the Isrealites became Egypt's slaves because of the famine: they themselves suggested that they could be slaves if they would at least let them live.
A note about the art: There are a few bare-breasted women. Crumb draws some beautifully ugly people, recalling the different standard of beauty they had and how these were just people. Crumb also mentions that he did real research to figure out what people would be wearing, and I appreciate that effort.