A review by matthewkeating
Reading Genesis by Marilynne Robinson

4.0

I'm not religious but I have an interest in theology. This book is a great primer for someone like myself who isn't intimately familiar with Genesis. I also suspect this would be rewarding for readers who are more familiar than I am but looking for some kind of explication. The digital advance copy that I read did not include the actual biblical text alongside Robinson's commentary, which made following the 'plotline' (for lack of a better word) sometimes confusing, because she doesn't seem to always move linearly(?). FSG's website claims the book will include the full King James version of Genesis, so I imagine readers of physical copies will have an easier time with this than I did. The biggest takeaways for me were Robinson's insistence on the point that through Genesis, vengeance, when expected, is not taken, and her note that these stories are unusually focused on the lives and follies of individual humans (the text's inclusion of so many domestic squabbles, and so many terrible decisions on the part of its ostensible heroes, is, as Robinson says, remarkable). A really enjoyable read.