The Book of J

Scholars agree that the first strand in Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers was written by an author whom they call J, who lived in the tenth century before Christ.

In The Book of J, accompanying David Rosenberg's startling new translation, America's greatest literary critic, Harold Bloom, asserts that J was a writer of the stature of Homer, Shakespeare, and Tolstoy and puts forth the revolutionary idea that J was very likely a woman.

J was a genius with unmatched powers of irony and characterization, as shown in her unforgettable and very human portraits of Abram and Sarai, Rebecca, Jacob and Rachel, Joseph, Tamar, and Moses -- and, above all, God, or Yahweh. The Book of F reclaims the Bible's first and greatest author and presents us with the full grandeur of her creation.

"A great book...Rosenberg has produced a superb piece of translation...Bloom wrestles with the Angel of Literature, and walks away with the Blessing." -- Village Voice Literary Supplement<"Beguiling...In The Book of J, bright ideas gleam, vanish, and are replaced by more." -- Frank Kermode, The New York Times Book Review

"David Rosenberg has given a fresh interpretative translation....[Bloom's] scatterings of earthly delights have considerable allure...mixing erudition with poetic leaps of the imagination." -- Washington Post Book World