GENESIS

Translated by Robert Alter

Read by Peter Coyote

Published by Audio Literature, abridged (May 1997)

Three cassettes, four hours


In this new translation, critic and author Robert Alter reveals a Genesis of extraordinary depth and complexity. Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, the great flood, and the covenant with Abraham; the stories that we have held close for their sacredness and philosophical weight now shine with all their power and beauty. Alter has recovered the eloquence of the ancient Hebrew and conveys it in striking literary English.

This program features an exclusive interview conducted by Michael Toms with Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul, about the meaning of Genesis for contemporary spiritual seekers.

Reviews

"Here is the Genesis for our generation and beyond." ... Robert Fagles, award-winning translator of "The Illiad."

"Alter's version of Genesis is extraordinarily sensitive to the nuances and elasticity of modern English while always attempting to maintain fidelity to the Hebrew... His achievement is most notable in his rendering of rhetorical speeches, blessings and curses, monologues and poetic inserts... Alter's translation is a splendid achievement... Alter brings a freshness, an idiomatic elegance, a precision to his task, but he has read the text carefully enough not to overreach." ... Boston Book Review

 

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