Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bible!

It’s been a while since I read the Old Testament and I certainly don’t remember it sounding like this satirical interpretation, by Jonathan Goldstein, broadcaster, writer, and author of Lenny Bruce is Dead!

This version, told by a father to his questioning son, after their weekly Friday night visit to the neighbourhood, kosher-style restaurant takes twelve popular Biblical stories and recounts them using modern characterization and an irreligious modern dialogue. Thus, we meet versions of Noah, Cain, Abel, Jonah, David, and Samson etc. that we have never seen before!

As I found myself laughing uproariously at its cleverness, sardonic humor, and impudence, I also initially found the irreverence and slapstick nature of it shocking. Phrases such as “… a new rain came and it made the old rain look like an old lady making pee-pee” or “Get your naked asses out of there” seemed almost heretical. Nevertheless, once you become familiar with Goldstein’s facetious writing style, you lose that sense of shock and can’t help but enjoy the silliness and humanity of these versions of ancient heroes, despite their departure from the original models. 

The emphasis of this retelling is strictly burlesque and not intended to bring us glimpses of the grandeur and majesty of the original, but it is a pity that Goldstein focuses only on the ridiculous, making all his characters social misfits whose human foibles are suffused with the most shallow characteristics and motives. It could have been tempered with some genuine appreciation of the work he satirizes. 

However, in this situation one should suspend judgment based on religious belief and simply enjoy the stories as a strangely thought-provoking and entertaining experience. 

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