Review by Mdc229 -- Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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Mdc229
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Review by Mdc229 -- Who Told You That You Were Naked?
[Following is a volunteer review of "Who Told You That You Were Naked?" by William Combs.]
3 out of 4 stars
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William E. Combs revisits on of the most well known biblical stories in a new and engaging way in Who Told You That You Were Naked? A Refreshing Reexamination of the Garden of Eden. Mr. Combs employs an inventive narrative style which turns single lines of scripture into embellished page-long stories. This narrative style helps facilitate the retelling of a story that nearly every reader will have read before.
The first half of Mr. Combs book retells the story of the Garden of Eden. The book alternates between narrative and commentary in this portion. The commentary is not necessarily novel, but the narrative creativity helps the reader experience the story in a new light.
Halfway through the book, the focus abruptly shifts. The retelling of the story of Adam and Eve, including expanded narrative, does not warrant more than 100 pages of text. Therefore, Mr. Combs shifts to New Testament commentary for the latter half of this volume. The inventive narrative continues in this section and is equally as compelling. Mr. Combs continues to follow each innovative story with commentary. His commentary begins to delve deeper into the original language and the intricacies of translation. The writing in this portion continues to be captivating; however, the link back to the Garden of Eden is largely absent.
The book is well edited and contains extensive notes. Each chapter is followed by several discussion questions which could facilitate study group conversation. The book is also assembled in a way which facilitates revisiting portions of the text easily. Large quotes are placed carefully in each chapter highlighting key ideas. The discussion questions can also serve as a brief summary of the main points. This book is an excellent resource to have in one’s library and come back to year after year.
I rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars. The content was engaging and informative. The narrative style was unique and captivating. The diversion in the second half and failure to connect back to the first half was the sole reason for not giving the book a 4 out of 4 stars. I would eagerly read another book by Mr. Combs and would recommend this one to others. The theology discussed in the book was not overly pedantic and could be enjoyed by both religious and non-religious individuals. The author did not specifically try to make connections to eastern religions or secular society, but I believe a reader could discover those connections. The target audience seems to be primarily Christians and secondarily Jews. Overall, I believe Mr. Combs successfully achieved his goal of discussing the Garden of Eden in a refreshing way and I hope that others enjoy this book as much as I did.
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Who Told You That You Were Naked?
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3 out of 4 stars
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William E. Combs revisits on of the most well known biblical stories in a new and engaging way in Who Told You That You Were Naked? A Refreshing Reexamination of the Garden of Eden. Mr. Combs employs an inventive narrative style which turns single lines of scripture into embellished page-long stories. This narrative style helps facilitate the retelling of a story that nearly every reader will have read before.
The first half of Mr. Combs book retells the story of the Garden of Eden. The book alternates between narrative and commentary in this portion. The commentary is not necessarily novel, but the narrative creativity helps the reader experience the story in a new light.
Halfway through the book, the focus abruptly shifts. The retelling of the story of Adam and Eve, including expanded narrative, does not warrant more than 100 pages of text. Therefore, Mr. Combs shifts to New Testament commentary for the latter half of this volume. The inventive narrative continues in this section and is equally as compelling. Mr. Combs continues to follow each innovative story with commentary. His commentary begins to delve deeper into the original language and the intricacies of translation. The writing in this portion continues to be captivating; however, the link back to the Garden of Eden is largely absent.
The book is well edited and contains extensive notes. Each chapter is followed by several discussion questions which could facilitate study group conversation. The book is also assembled in a way which facilitates revisiting portions of the text easily. Large quotes are placed carefully in each chapter highlighting key ideas. The discussion questions can also serve as a brief summary of the main points. This book is an excellent resource to have in one’s library and come back to year after year.
I rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars. The content was engaging and informative. The narrative style was unique and captivating. The diversion in the second half and failure to connect back to the first half was the sole reason for not giving the book a 4 out of 4 stars. I would eagerly read another book by Mr. Combs and would recommend this one to others. The theology discussed in the book was not overly pedantic and could be enjoyed by both religious and non-religious individuals. The author did not specifically try to make connections to eastern religions or secular society, but I believe a reader could discover those connections. The target audience seems to be primarily Christians and secondarily Jews. Overall, I believe Mr. Combs successfully achieved his goal of discussing the Garden of Eden in a refreshing way and I hope that others enjoy this book as much as I did.
******
Who Told You That You Were Naked?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Mdc229's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: The Biblical Clock by Daniel Friedmann and Dania Sheldon
