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The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb |  | Author: R. Crumb
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $14.57
as of 11/20/2009 20:26 CST details
You Save: $10.38 (42%)
New (16) Used (7) Collectible (3) from $14.57
Seller: treebeardbooks
Rating:  41 reviews
Sales Rank: 53
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 11 x 8.8 x 0.9
ISBN: 0393061027
Dewey Decimal Number: 222.1105209
EAN: 9780393061024
ASIN: 0393061027
Publication Date: October 19, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
From Creation to the death of Joseph, here are all 50 chapters of the Book of Genesis, revealingly illustrated as never before. Envisioning the first book of the bible like no one before him, R. Crumb, the legendary illustrator, reveals here the story of Genesis in a profoundly honest and deeply moving way. Originally thinking that we would do a take off of Adam and Eve, Crumb became so fascinated by the Bibleâs language, âa text so great and so strange that it lends itself readily to graphic depictions,â that he decided instead to do a literal interpretation using the text word for word in a version primarily assembled from the translations of Robert Alter and the King James bible.
Now, readers of every persuasionâCrumb fans, comic book lovers, and believersâcan gain astonishing new insights from these harrowing, tragic, and even juicy stories. Crumbâs Book of Genesis reintroduces us to the bountiful tree lined garden of Adam and Eve, the massive ark of Noah with beasts of every kind, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by brimstone and fire that rained from the heavens, and the Egypt of the Pharaoh, where Josephâs embalmed body is carried in a coffin, in a scene as elegiac as any in Genesis. Using clues from the text and peeling away the theological and scholarly interpretation that have often obscured the Bibleâs most dramatic stories, Crumb fleshes out a parade of Biblical originals: from the serpent in Eden, the humanoid reptile appearing like an alien out of a science fiction movie, to Jacob, a âkindâve depressed guy who doesnât strike you as physically courageous,â and his bother, Esau, âa rough and kick ass guy,â to Abrahamâs wife Sarah, more fetching than most woman at 90, to God himself, âa standard Charlton Heston-like figure with long white hair and a flowing beard.â
As Crumb writes in his introduction, âthe stories of these people, the Hebrews, were something more than just stories. They were the foundation, the source, in writing of religious and political power, handed down by God himself.â Crumbâs Book of Genesis, the culmination of 5 years of painstaking work, is a tapestry of masterly detail and storytelling which celebrates the astonishing diversity of the one of our greatest artistic geniuses. .
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 41
 A Gorgeous Take on a Famous Original November 20, 2009
R. Hardy (Columbus, Mississippi USA)
On the cover of the newest edition of the book of Genesis, there is a warning: "Adult supervision recommended for minors." It is an appropriate warning, but it is also as close to a joke as R. Crumb comes in the whole work. _The Book of Genesis Illustrated_ (Norton) is not Zap Comix, it is not Fritz the Cat, it is not "Keep On Truckin'". What it is is a retelling of all the chapters in Genesis, with enormous seriousness. It is not facetious to compare Crumb's illustrations with the work of Bible illustrators like William Blake or Gustave Doré. These drawings are beautiful. Fans of Crumb's work will immediately recognize his style of hatching and stippling, and the meaty, heavy-legged look of his figures. The black-and-white pictures, laid out in comic-book form on 200 large pages, are simply gorgeous, as expressive as paper and ink can ever be.
Crumb has taken around four years to bring out the book. That he might illustrate such faith-laden material struck many as outrageous. In his introduction, he writes, "If my visual, literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis offends or outrages some readers, which seems inevitable considering that the text is revered by many people, all I can say in my defense is that I approached this as a straight illustration job, with no intention to ridicule or make visual jokes." He has been astonishingly successful. There are objections that Crumb as unbeliever should not touch this text, but perhaps what the faithful ought to be objecting to is that Crumb has not exscinded any parts of the book; if a couple "know" each other, that picture is going to get its panel just as surely as will Jacob seeing the ramp of angels going up and down. Those who like their Bibles unillustrated might have a point; it is one thing to verbally describe something distasteful or distressing, but such a thing may be even more so if it is depicted. It is especially upsetting to see men, women, children, and animals trying to save themselves from the Noachian deluge, which, if it happened, was far more severe than any of the extinctions scientists tell us really did happen in past eras. Every illustrated Bible has a picture of the ark, and animals two by two; Crumb's does, too, but his is the only one that also shows a little of the multi-species lethality of the flood. Crumb's drawings can only emphasize the peculiar, vengeful, and primitive tribal behavior of these people, whose environment and social culture might have analogies with our own, but only by the greatest of stretches. Crumb has always been competent at drawing outsiders and cranks, and here does so just because the text demands it; the drawings show the differences from our world more strikingly than mere words do.
Crumb has taken the labor of illustration seriously. He has attempted to show realistic geographic and urban settings of the time, and he has had consultant friends to help him, including one who told him that in his original drawings the clothing looked like bathrobes and the tents looked like something you'd get at your local outdoor camping store. He redrew. The pictures, while obviously in his own style, are realistic and (what is most important in any illustrated text) they emphasize and help us understand the words of the story. It isn't Crumb's fault the story includes sex and violence and brutishly primitive or superstitious behavior. His book is an ambitious and surprising artistic endeavor, and anyone interested in the famous original ought to enjoy this new way to look at it. Including minors.
The beginning of mankind, whadda a story, now with illustrations! November 20, 2009
Donald W. Gwyther (Creswell, OR USA)
R. Crumb outdid himself with this one. Excellent quality, arrived quickly and in perfect condition, great price.
Crumb is good... November 20, 2009
E. Siu
The detail in this books is absolutely amazing. I have always like Crumb's style, but not so much his content. This is an example of a versatile artist who is able to "illustrate", and age old story with due reverence. I was actually shocked that he was able to control his artistic interpretation and tame the perverse we know Crumb has inside.
I recommend this book and would encourage the readers to cross-reference accuracy with multiple versions of the Old Testament. There is a great deal lost in translation, but further more we don't understand the context of such text, so it is always hard to have an objective view of the stories, and second of the artists work. The book is as Crumb says "an illustration", which he does an excellent job being faithful to his work.
The Book of Genesis, R. Crumb November 20, 2009
Stephen Lemberg
Wonderful! First rate illustrated re-telling of the Book Of Genesis. My 92 yer old mother loved it.
 A Literal Translation November 20, 2009
Jesse Haller (Minneapolis, MN USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I enjoy Crumbs work. So when I heard he was going to do the book of Genesis, I thought "This should be good." I was hoping of Crumb PERSONAL interpretation of the first book of the Old Testament. Instead it's a verbatim illustration. Very say-and-see, as in, we are TOLD that God made Adam, then we SEE God make Adam.
The translation of the text seems very Christian. That is to say, it doesn't seem that the translator, that Crumb worked with, used any Jewish scholars' interpretations. This can be seen in the first two chapters, which here, is very literal. Many Jews however view it as a metaphor, like a poem.
The art is, of course, very good.
If you want to see Genesis in comic form, or are a great lover of Crumbs work, this book is for you. If you want someone's personal interpretation of Genesis, look else where.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 41
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