First line: "When the Lord, also known as god, realized that adam and eve, although perfect in every outward aspect, could not utter a word or make even the most primitive of sounds, he must have felt annoyed with himself, for there was no one else in the garden of eden whom he could blame for this grave oversight, after all, the other animals, who were, like the two humans, the product of divine command, already had a voice of their own, be it a bellow, a roar, a croak, a chirp, a whistle or a cackle."
Mr. Saramago hates the Old Testament. He wrote a novel about how much he hated it before he died.
He hates it so much he decided to reinterpret some scenarios realistically*, which made for some whimsical explanations behind why some biblical stories ended the way they did. If you're a Christian who's very merrily Christian = can't take a fucking joke, don't read this book.
Oh who am I kidding, just read it. An atheist wrote about God so expect fireworks.
Our protagonist is that third guy on earth (according to Christian theology) to majorly fuck up--like father like son--and the first guy ever to murder his brother. All of which is cool, because let's face it, nobody has heard Cain's side of the story the way this author tells it. Every Christian ever has felt bad for Abel because he was murdered in good ol' cold-blooded jelly but with Cain in the limelight and pandering to common sense, it's hard not to like the kin-slayer.
*An example of a realistic reimagining of a biblical narrative would be this: Cain explains to the Almighty how it's the Almighty's act of playing favorites/hating on crops that caused him to commit manslaughter. To which God says: "Hmm. Very True." There's your teaser you lazy fart.
I enjoyed how Saramago portrayed this supposed embodiment of evil. In the bible itself Cain's role is a minute yet prominent one, but in the novel we follow his journey through time, watching his wrath for God grow, and for good reason. The best part is that Cain, along with the other characters have been humanised by Saramago's efforts to depict the human condition: we are repulsive, narcissistic creatures, and we fuck up, but in rare wonderful moments, are capable of much sacrifice and good.
Great thing about Novel Cain, as opposed to Bible Cain, is that he isn't just doomed to wander the earth with a curse mark on his forehead, never to be seen or heard of again. He goes around foiling God's plans because God has some pretty questionable planning in the old testament if you ask me.
I would recommend brushing up on your bible knowledge to understand the novel, because it is satirical in nature. We'll see some household names like Abraham, Lilith, Noah and the like all fleshed out.
Cain is a parody of biblical proportions (pun absolutely intended), but with the class of a Nobel prize winner.
tl;dr
Are there animals in the novel?: Yeah, but none too interesting
Are there sexy times in it?: Oh yes you perv, you count your blessings there are
Are there dead people in it?: Yes because God
Is it lengthy?: Short and sweet
Rating: 4/5 meows
Pun: Oh my God I just Cain't even
 |
| Translated into English by Margaret Jull Costa |
Mr. Saramago hates the Old Testament. He wrote a novel about how much he hated it before he died.
He hates it so much he decided to reinterpret some scenarios realistically*, which made for some whimsical explanations behind why some biblical stories ended the way they did. If you're a Christian who's very merrily Christian = can't take a fucking joke, don't read this book.
Oh who am I kidding, just read it. An atheist wrote about God so expect fireworks.
 |
| Last I heard, he was cool with Jesus though |
*An example of a realistic reimagining of a biblical narrative would be this: Cain explains to the Almighty how it's the Almighty's act of playing favorites/hating on crops that caused him to commit manslaughter. To which God says: "Hmm. Very True." There's your teaser you lazy fart.
I enjoyed how Saramago portrayed this supposed embodiment of evil. In the bible itself Cain's role is a minute yet prominent one, but in the novel we follow his journey through time, watching his wrath for God grow, and for good reason. The best part is that Cain, along with the other characters have been humanised by Saramago's efforts to depict the human condition: we are repulsive, narcissistic creatures, and we fuck up, but in rare wonderful moments, are capable of much sacrifice and good.
Great thing about Novel Cain, as opposed to Bible Cain, is that he isn't just doomed to wander the earth with a curse mark on his forehead, never to be seen or heard of again. He goes around foiling God's plans because God has some pretty questionable planning in the old testament if you ask me.
 |
| Didn't socialise for a millennium. Makes sense. |
Cain is a parody of biblical proportions (pun absolutely intended), but with the class of a Nobel prize winner.
tl;dr
Are there animals in the novel?: Yeah, but none too interesting
Are there sexy times in it?: Oh yes you perv, you count your blessings there are
Are there dead people in it?: Yes because God
Is it lengthy?: Short and sweet
Reread?: Aw yeah!
Judge the book by its cover: SuitableRating: 4/5 meows
Pun: Oh my God I just Cain't even
No comments:
Post a Comment