So dull. Did not care to finish this one. Didn't connect to any of the stories, did not enjoy.

Tried reading this, but just got too bored to finish it. Some of the personal stories are interesting, but it was a little weird to read about people who grew up almost secular rhapsodizing about the Bible (and not always just because they think it a great piece of literature.) I only got about halfway through, but the first story that postulates that the Snake in the Garden if Eden was not an animal at all... but Adam's brother. That the Fall was a tale of familial strife. Kinda intriguing, I must admit.

A mixed bag, but I absolutely loved some of the essays in this collection. The last Coover piece, "The Bad Book" kind of ruined it for me. A dismissive and snooty criticism of the Bible as "mere literature of disputed quality" and a "bad book mostly."

I don't necessarily think it shouldn't have played a part in this collection of otherwise beautifully honest and personal reflections, but why conclude on such a sour note? Felt like a trick played on the reader.

I like the idea, and a few of the essays spoke to me (Edwidge Danticat, most notably) but I'm rankled the book features so few women writers; in a collection of 33 essays, just 7 are written by women.