Author: A.J. Jacobs
Version: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780743291477
Published: October 9th, 2007
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Memoir
Voice: First
Number of Pages: 388
SYNOPSIS: A.J. Jacobs is a father, husband, author of one slightly successful memoir and straight forward agnostic. For him growing up Jewish in New York meant that his family would put a Star of David on top of their Christmas tree. When it came time for Mr. Jacobs to start writing his next memoir he was unsure of what he was going to do. Searching his brain for an idea A.J. remember his ex-uncle Gil. A man that was sort of the black sheep of his family, well really more of a cautionary tale. Gil was a man who according to A.J. "was a spiritual omnivore" (pg. 5.) Gil started out as a Jew, became Hindu, after this Gil appointed himself a guru, sat in silence on a bench in Manhattan for 8 months, started a hippie cult in upstate New York, became a born-again Christian and then settled as an ultra-Orthodox Jew living in Jerusalem. At one point in his religious career Gil decided he was going to follow the Bible as literally as possible. This sparked A.J. Jacobs's interest and decided that this was going to be his next book.
Mr. Jacobs decides to take a year, read the Bible and follow all the rules it contains to the letter. And so with his wife's less than enthusiastic approval he begins. He starts reading the Bible that he has on hand, and then goes on to buy other versions, as well as commentary on the many versions. He lines up experts and Rabbis, priests and pastors. A.J. takes things slowly, beginning with making sure he wears no mixed fibers and from there takes it one day at a time. Some of the rules he finds rather easy to observe, such as the commandment of 'honor thy father and thy mother,' others are more difficult, like the one that says a man cannot touch a woman for a week after their menstrual cycle. This rule becomes even more difficult when living with a secular wife.
Through the ups and downs, the strange rules and the beautiful ones A.J. Jacobs stays true to his course. He lets his beard grow, changes his diet, does charitable work and tries to be fruitful and multiply. He even prays to God every day hoping to find some connection to this almighty being that has supposedly launched an unprecedented following. A.J. takes a year out of his life during which his wife gives birth to twin sons, he takes a trip to Jerusalem and even begins to understand the whole faith thing.
REVIEW: I found this book thoroughly enjoyable. Mr. Jacobs's story was one that I never thought I would get into at all. I am agnostic myself and so reading about someone reading the Bible didn't appeal to me all that much. However I had heard good things about this book and for some reason I was drawn to it. I guess my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to go out and find myself a copy. I went to The Strand used bookstore here in New York and found myself a nice hardcover copy for $7.95 that just happened to be signed. I was now even more excited about reading it.
A.J. Jacobs's writing was hilarious and well thought out. He had insight, humor, and poetry. I didn't want to put the book down when I was reading it, in fact my half hour subway ride went by in a flash while I was reading, and when I did have to put it down all I could think about was picking it back up. Reading about his journey was moving in itself but the way he wrote it put the whole thing over the top.
The story turned out to be a really good one, it had in it insight and amusing anecdotes that helped moved the whole thing along nicely. I was a little nervous to be honest about reading this mainly because of all the Bible talk but it turned out to be pretty interesting. When Mr. Jacobs learned something new, we learned something new. Sure a lot of the rules in the book are strange and at times even mean to certain groups but if you dig a little deeper than the surface they may have understandable reasons.
By the end of the book I found myself almost wanting to pick up the Bible and read it. That was how powerful his journey was and how well it was conveyed. This is a rather interesting tale and I would suggest it to anyone who is looking for a humorous and well written memoir. It may not be for everyone but it is an excellent book and one that I loved. It is quite the read and a rather incredible journey to follow along with. And I have to admit that it is an interesting way to learn a few things about the Bible.
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