Bible Stories for Adults

A former psychology professor of mine who has more PhDs than any man I know happens to be my next door neighbor. A voracious reader, particularly when it comes to science fiction and fantasy, "Uncle Howard" has continued to broaden my education with recommendations on a regular basis.The Professor introduced me to James Morrow, lending me his copy of "The Last Witchfinder," which is shelved and reviewed elsewhere. I recommend it highly. The fact that one of the main characters in TLW is Isaac Ne [...]

3.3 stars

A wonderful collection of short stories, including:"Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge"--Not for the squeamish, this retelling of the Flood touches on some of Morrow's recurring themes. Why is it murder when humans kill, but not when God kills? What is the value of life? How should we live our lives? I did not find this as disgusting as when I first read it, but I'm also 10 years older."Daughter Earth"--I've written about this story before, and it was a pleasure to reread it. It is one [...]

Short fantasy stories, many of them reworkings of biblical or other classical stories, with very lefty atheist politics. Job challenges God to a rematch, a prostitute is accidentally saved from the Flood, Helen of Troy curtails the Trojan War, etc.Some of the stories are really quite effective, but as a group they begin to take on an unpleasant tone of crowing. (I speak as someone who shares pretty much all of the political stances displayed here.) There's a lack of restraint that makes the rhet [...]

I would probably give this book two-and-a-half stars, but GoodReads does not offer that option. The reason is that I found the quality of the stories to be variable. A couple of them were very good, but others sort of dragged and did not seem very substantial at all. Out of the bunch, the one about the androids believing in evolution was probably the best one. It looked at a relevant topic, had a nice take on it, and it had a touch of humor. "Daughter Earth" was poignant and moving; I think many [...]

Picked up Bible Stories for Adults at Half-Price Books a few months ago I'd read two novels by James Morrow (Towing Jehovah & Blameless in Abbadon) and wanted to see how he did with short stories. I was not disappointed. Morrow's work certainly isn't to everyone's taste - an interest in satire and a healthy skepticism regarding religion and morality are key, as well as an interest in speculative fiction. There is some dark humour to be found (tho I don't know if I'd say "cheerfully blasphem [...]

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. Each one took about a half hour to read so they are nice bite-sized pieces. Funny, biting, irreverentA theme among many of the stories is Godly irreverence and how silly - or murderous - God and the bible would seem if events occurred in modern times.Quick hits on some of my favorite stories: "Daughter Earth" and "Diary of a Mad Deity" both offer a novel perspective on how God came to be."Spelling God with the Wrong Blocks" may have been my favo [...]

If you know me you know I like me a good bible story, one of my favorite movies is the 1956 version of The Ten Commandments (I used to really like The Greatest Story Ever Told, but I saw it recently and it's really underwhelming. It used to seem so majestic, but in the cold light of not being 10 years old the magic has dissipated) and so on. So when I saw this book I was thinking, are these perhaps even saucier versions? Sorta! It's a collection of some damn good stories, and while only four of [...]

Not bad but didn't wow me. The first story (unless I've missed something) seems to suggest that the Chinese are descended from a diseased whore who escaped the Biblical Deluge. I can only hope I've misread that one. The rest are quite fun -- quirky, irreverent, pointed critiques of religion which I always love (being a pagan or possibly an atheist, depending on the news). Asimov would like them, I think, as several of them employ robots to prove the essential inhumanity of mankind. I especially [...]

This book wasn't as wryly amusing as I had thought it would be, though certianly some of the stories are very clever. There is one that I particularly liked, however. Actually, there are two, I discover as I trawl through to the find one I thought "I liked that!" about.The Assemblage of Kristin has a punchy beginning and some nice surprises along the way - a very funny take (and I can't say on what (except I can say it's a possibly controversial subject), otherwise I'd spoil it).Arms and the Wom [...]

two stories stand out: the family that gives birth to a planetary globe that emulates human history (ending with a near-utopian glimpse of the world utterly sold out to environmental protection because of the authors recounting of the episode in his little newsletteroohhhhhkay), and the Abe Lincoln story, in which Abe tries Burger King and sees an America not forever altered by the Emancipation Proclamation, witnessing the legal homicide of a Massachusetts golfers slave, right on the golf course [...]

Twists on biblical stories and more: implications of Moses destroying the tablets before reading the 10 commandments; a woman gives birth to a mini planet; God tries an improvement on his Tower of Babel solution to Man's hubris; the creationism versus evolution controversy is flipped on its head; and more. I really liked most of the short stories here. Morrow is insightful and funny.

I can't believe no one else named my favorite story - Diary of a Mad Deity! I wouldn't call the stories uneven in quality; they're all just fine, interesting, but not stellar. Until you get to that story, the second to last one. In that one, his style of writing and the ideas flow together perfectly and it all just works. Maybe it's not a Bible Story exactly, but it still worked for the theme of the book.

(More like 3.5 stars)James Morrow is a wonderful writer who examines deep truths about religion and our culture. This collection of his short stories shows his sharp mind at work, but unfortunately Morrow's mind needs more room to move. The best stories here feel like treatments for potentially longer works, good ideas that need development. Also, some of the work and references have become somewhat dated. Still, some strong, thought-provoking, and humorously blasphemous ideas.

I read a lot of short fiction and even when it'a writer I really like, it can be hard to maintain a constant high level of quality. This is one the best, most thought provoking collection of stories I have ever read. It should be required reading in all high schools (although it would probably give the censors a brain aneurysm).

Hahahaahahhaaaa!! Not every story is, strictly speaking, connected to the Bible or even Judeo-Christian-Islamic mythology, but some great satire here. Loved the final story where Helen finds out that the Trojan War is being fought over her. (This is toward the end of the war, when she's no longer so young and pixie-ish.) Great fun.

Interesting satirical take on Bible stories. Good for anybody who's ever asked too many questions in Sunday School or likes David Sedaris. As with most collections of short stories, some were stronger than others but definitely worth your time.

A clever and creative collection of parodied Bible and Mythology stories. Thought they would be funnier though. If I paid more attention to my bible and mythology studies then they probably would have been.

An amusing short story anthology, largely inspired from a literal reading of the Bible, but also philosophical ironies in general. A quick and entertaining read, but not lacking in erudition and research. Heavily sci fi influenced.

This was a pretty cool collection. Morrow has some very original/quirky ideas and most of the time he pulls them off. Some of them are on the absurd side and remind me of Frederic Brown. My favorites were -No. 31: The Covenant- and -No. 46: The Soap Opera-.

Like many short story collections, some were great and some were not so great. I expected more of the comedic side I enjoy from Murrow, not the sharper satiric stuff found here. The book is good, just not what I expected.

Excellent, thought provoking and imaginative. Small bite sized chunks of wit, wisdom and sarcasm. My favorite was the trump Tower as stand in for the Tower of Babel, although the Darwin- worshiping robot culture was a close second.

I have enjoyed several books by James Morrow. However, I don't feel that way about this one. Last night I read two of the stories in this collection (out of sequence, but still), and both included graphic rape scenes. I've decided that this isn't really what I want to be reading right now.

Yay Bibical fiction.

My review from February 6, 1997

cynical short stories, sorta SF in the way that J. G. Ballard was SF: 40% speculation and 50% misanthropy. Will read one of his novels eventually.

wry re-tellings. cynical but clever

a very entertaining and original mix of religious and psychologically themed short-stories. i hardly put it down.

Stories that riff on bible stories? Yes, please. I'm a sucker for this kind of thing. Morrow is a little dark even for me, though.

A collection of Morrow stories containing his signature skepticism and wit. The stories are a bit uneven, but overall very solid.