The God of Our Fathers

"I began reading the Bible at my father's bedside." During the last weeks of his father's life, Aldo Cazzullo begins rereading the Bible to better understand the world his devout father inhabited. While recognizing its spiritual and religious value, he finds a book that "speaks of us. To read it—or to revisit its stories, as we are about to do—is not just a spiritual journey. It is a pleasure for mind and soul." The best-read book in the world has never had a more wide-ranging and fascinating presentation.

Until a few generations ago, people of the Western world believed they lived under the watchful eye of God. His existence was as certain as that of the rising sun, and quoting passages and verse from the Bible was common. But that familiarity with the Bible is no longer a mainstay of the contemporary secular world. In The God of Our Fathers, the bestselling international author and Italy's most prominent journalist Aldo Cazzullo takes us through the key stories of the Old Testament, mining them for their beauty, insights, and mysteries.

Cazzullo begins much the way many of the readers of The God of Our Fathers will: As someone who knows their culture has been indelibly shaped by the Bible but knows very little of what exactly is within its pages. He finally begins reading it at his father's deathbed, as a way to connect to the life of a beloved believer. The famous painter Marc Chagall referred to the Bible as "the colored alphabet" into which all Western painters dipped their brushes. In both the Old and New Testaments, billions have found inspiration, solace, and joy. Beginning with the Creation, Cazzullo retells many of its stories, from those of its great women—including Judith, Jael, and Esther, who, by killing an evil man or by having him killed, saved millions of just people—to the triumphant ode to love that is the Song of Solomon. He connects these stories to modern day experiences, the histories of the world's religions, as well as to art, philosophy, and other great literary works both ancient and new.

An exciting and illuminating journey that takes readers to the roots of Western culture and identity, The God of Our Fathers reveals the Bible as a stunning literary achievement, containing the full breadth of the human experience. This book will fascinate anyone who loves story, mystical texts, and comprehensive histories, and will enlarge our sense of how we fit in today's world.

Translated from the Italian by Sylvia Notini