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The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb |  | Author: R. Crumb
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $15.31
as of 3/10/2010 02:18 CST details
You Save: $9.64 (39%)
New (58) Used (22) Collectible (7) from $12.56
Seller: sbd-
Rating:  108 reviews
Sales Rank: 502
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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| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9780393061024 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
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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 Bible’s language, “a text so great and so strange that it lends itself readily to graphic depictions,” 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 persuasion—Crumb fans, comic book lovers, and believers—can gain astonishing new insights from these harrowing, tragic, and even juicy stories. Crumb’s 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 Joseph’s 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 Bible’s 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 “kind’ve depressed guy who doesn’t strike you as physically courageous,” and his bother, Esau, “a rough and kick ass guy,” to Abraham’s wife Sarah, more fetching than most woman at 90, to God himself, “a standard Charlton Heston-like figure with long white hair and a flowing beard.”
As Crumb writes in his introduction, “the 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.” Crumb’s 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 108
 For Those Who Love Crumb October 1, 2009
C. Riness (Wisconsin, USA)
166 out of 171 found this review helpful
Sorry to disagree with the previous review, but I think it needs to be said...if you love Crumb's art, you will love this book. I am stunned at the sheer volume of work it took to illustrate the thing. Awestruck, really. I've always loved Crumb's art and work, at first (when I was young) because he seemed so twisted and funny, but later, because I realized what a truly fine artist he is. I say, never mind the "is it passionate" crap.
In March of '09, some online articles were calling this upcoming work "subversive"... Not so. There's no intent to be comical here...or to insult Judeo-Christian theology. It seems, in every sense, to be a legitimate illustration of the Book of Genesis. And, I found it beautiful, because Crumb's attention to visual detail is beautiful.
Crumb relies on two sources for the translation including the King James version, and more so, Robert Alter's "The Five Books Of Moses". So, sure, there may be some disagreement in translation for individuals who are version specific. I would suggest we look past that and just enjoy the book for its merits and Crumb's talent.
One should be aware that a few panels may be considered "steamy" for younger children. Some nudity appears and, for instance, when in Chapter 19 it is written that Lot's daughters gave their father wine to drink and then lay with him, Crumb illustrates it. It is my belief, however, that Crumb's intent here is simply illustration, not subversion.
At any rate, it is an amazing work of art, not to mention a book of many important stories.
A cartoonist's Sistene Chapel October 19, 2009
Steve Reina (Troy Michigan)
46 out of 47 found this review helpful
When R. Crumb set out to create an illustrated Genesis, he planned two years for the project.
Five years later we have what amounts to a cartoonist's answer to the Sistene Chapel, audicious and bold I guess in the same way that great art always seems to be audacious and bold.
For those who would suggest that the work satirzes its material or attempts to demean the underlying Biblical text I would suggest they re-read their Genesis. Where the Bible says Judah had relations with his daughter Tamar thinking her a cultic prostitute, the illustrations show Judah having relations with Tamar thinking her a cultic prostitute. Where the Bible says Lot while drunk had relations with each of his daughters in a cave, the illustrations show Lot while drunk having relations with each of his daughters in cave.
In this way, and with all due respect, those offended by Crumb illustrations should probably in fact be offended by the text as well.
If this material was noteworthy only for its prurient value, it would be easy to dismiss but the work is filled with nuance and mood reflecting the nuance and mood of the underlying text. For example, the anxious confabulation of Adam and Eve when confronted by God for eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is readily revealed in their faces (including a glance of reproof by Eve at having been blamed by Adam). Later we see Abraham in sorrow as he contemplates the problems of his people, dimly depicted as the hallow faced of the Holocaust we have become so familiar with.
In all this work ably succeeds in doing what it set out to do: to provide an illustrated version of Genesis. That it was produced by an atheist does not rob it of any of its artistic potential nor does it prevent us from appreciating it on whatever level we may choose to do so.
Perfectly Serious October 9, 2009
Amos Lassen (Little Rock, Arkansas)
42 out of 45 found this review helpful
Crumb, R. "The Book of Genesis Illustrated", Norton, 2009.
Perfectly Serious
Amos Lassen
What an idea for a graphic novel--the book of Genesis. R. Crumb's book is perfectly serious and he has left nothing out. There is commentary as well. The characters come in all ages and all sizes and what they have in common is that they are all in the book of Genesis. All of the women are beautiful and young and the men are noble and Crumb gives us his interpretation of God as well--big beard and a bad temper.
Crumb lets us know how committed he is to the text and explains how Genesis needs constant reinterpretation. The God we know has become for many the one of Charlton Heston as Moses.
Crumb's Biblical characters have no internal lives and much is interpreted visually. Crumb's innovation here is his depiction of the deity which is an extension of the author's imagination. His Joseph is wonderful as we see a man subjugating Egypt and tired of his own powers. This is an interesting and rewarding look at the First of the Five Books of Moses and I only hope that Crumb does the other four as well.
Not Fritz the Cat or Mr Natural October 15, 2009
Louis Jaffe (San Francisco, CA USA)
22 out of 24 found this review helpful
Couldn't resist buying this as soon as it came out, then read through it in a weekend. Crumb is a genius. Yes he takes some liberties visually while including every word of the text. All the Biblical women, Eve, Rachel, etc, become R. Crumb women, and some incidents are luridly violent or sexual. End result: the Good Book comes vibrantly alive. Amazing, among other things, how he depicts as a distinct character every man and woman in the begats.
Not Funny October 1, 2009
Sanford A. Faden
37 out of 44 found this review helpful
To those of us who have been Crumb fans from the beginning, the first reactions must be: it's not funny; it's not revolutionary; it's not "Mr Natural Meets God". So what is it? It is exactly what the title proclaims, Genesis straightforward in text and illustration, without criticism or commentary, more a scholarly work than a comic book. Perhaps, in 2009, straightforward is radical, as parodies of religion have become the norm. That is the genius of the work. Of course, it is all Crumb with his attention to detail and direct depictions of violence and sex. And most happily for me, the Crumb Women are present in abundance. I am struck by the magnitude and thoroughness of the work, including imagings of the lists of Begats with each character distinct and notable. What is radical about the work is contained within the text itself. Crumb's work is more an illumination of the Word of God than a set of illustrations. Now that is radical.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 108
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