Review of Killing Abel

[Elenimo Chembe]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Killing Abel" by Michael Tieman.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Killing Abel is a novel that draws its inspiration and narrative from the biblical story in the first chapters of Genesis. Knowledge of the biblical book of Genesis is a prerequisite to a better understanding of the story in the book. The author, Michael Tieman, is obviously a deeply religious person and throughout the book, he endeavours to advance some theological lessons – suffice to say the book is not just a mere novel but it is a subtle work of theological exposition.

The book starts with an encounter between the biblical Eve and the serpent (Lucifer) who entices her to disobey God by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge. From there on, Tieman uses his imagination to set out a series of conversations between Eve and the serpent and subsequently, Adam. The conversations are vivid and captivating. Tieman does a good job at setting out conversations that fit the general Christian worldview so much so that you would think that it’s all written in the Bible. Those conversations reveal the dilemmas, fears, conflicts, uncertainties, pains and sorrows that Adam and Eve confronted after being deceived by the serpent. Tieman makes the book very relatable and brings life to the book of Genesis.

Throughout the book, Tieman attempts to fill gaps that are contained in the story of the book of Genesis. This in turn answers important theological questions like how did Adam and Eve birth the human race? Who did Cain and Abel marry? What exactly was the tree of knowledge? Did Adam and Eve have daughters? How did the human race relate during the era of Adam and Eve? Even though the answers provided by the book are not based on any theological basis but mere imagination, they offer satisfactory explanations to those elusive theological questions.

Killing Abel is a masterpiece – a triumph of good and creative imagination – a theological exposition masked as a novel. Being a very religious person I really enjoyed this book and learnt a lot from it. I have always struggled with explaining the gaps left in the story of the book of Genesis – Tieman does a good job of helping me out. The writing style is simple and easily comprehensible and moreover, the book is well proofread and I didn’t find any errors. The only problem with the book is that people averse to religious ideas or those who do not know the story of Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis would not enjoy the book. However, despite this, I would still rate the book 4 out of 4 stars.

I would recommend the book to every Christian or religious person because the book is full of sound theological advice and lessons. The book can even be read to Sunday School kids since it unravels the story of Adam and Eve in a simple but extremely insightful manner. If you are not fond of religious ideas, then this book is not for you but if you are curious and open-minded this book may be helpful. All in all, I really enjoyed the book and I think most people would enjoy it.

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Killing Abel
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