Customer Reviews

The Book of Lilith

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Book of Lilith is a work of serious fiction. You should find
it entertaining, and it should make you think. The general category for
the work is magical realism, or perhaps satiric fantasy in the spirit of
Barth's Chimera. It is a story set in a pseudo-academic framing
story involving the supposed discovery of lost scrolls in war-torn Iraq
by a somewhat mysterious maiden.

These scrolls, when translated, turn out to be the oldest written
documents ever discovered, the first person story of Lilith
herself. Although the frame is of course just part of the story
(and yet told realistically enough that it fooled at least one early
reader into asking the author "so where are the real scrolls") the story
itself is carefully researched and spans four cultures from the
early Bronze or late Stone age. Lilith takes the reader with her
as the crazy course of her life ensouled carries her from its beginnings
in a magical Eden located in ancient Sumeria to Sidon in early
Phoenicia, to Mohenjo Daro and the Harrapan civilization, and finally to
a wicked and corrupt India in the years immediately preceding the
violent cleansing portrayed in the Mahabharata. It is lovingly
derived from many scholarly and historical works and epics, including
The Book of Genesis, the Epic of Gilgamesh, the
Upanishads, the Alphabet of Ben-Sirra, the Dead Sea
Scrolls and more.

Note well that the Lilith portrayed is not the "goddess"
worshipped by various cults, nor is she the she-demon portrayed
by various patriarchal writings. She is a real person -- the first,
untamed wife of Adam, with a surprising relationship with the more
submissive Eve. In fact, she is the first real person gifted
with a soul by God, and it is her appointed task to bring the gift of
Soul to all things in Creation (beginning with Adam) by means of her
love, just as it is Adam's task to bring about the rule of Law and hence
begin the process of evolving a just and ethical society. Lilith enjoys
both preternatural knowledge and a personal relationship -- one
that involves sharing sushi and shopping trips to early bazaars - with
Goddess in the metaphor of Inanna (given that any human
representation of God is at heart an anthropomorphic projection of a
genderless state of Perfect Knowledge and Perfect Being).

Many themes (some of them somewhat disturbing or even shocking, be
warned) are woven into the story. Lilith is in turn an eager young
bride in love, a young mother coping with what turns out to be a
possessive, insecure, and slovenly husband, a beaten and raped wife who
prefers to work as a harlot to feed herself and her children rather than
ever again be "owned" by any man, a miracle worker beloved by God and
granted the power to heal the sick or punish the wicked, a penetrating
judge who can plumb the depths of the darkest heart and consign its
possessor to freedom or a horrible death, and (throughout) a seductive
lover with the uninhibited knowledge of sexual pleasure she is ever
willing to share -- as long as she gets to be on top, or at least
to take turns.

At the end of all this -- eventually -- she turns out to be neither more
nor less than an extraordinary human being who suffers from her pride
and mistakes, who struggles with her appointed task (sometimes
succeeding and sometimes failing) and who learns from the pain and
reward of a life well spent that knowledge and wisdom are not the same
thing.

There are surprises and adventures, wickedness and great good, laughter
and tears, and -- perhaps -- a nugget or two of wisdom, so give it a
try. I think you'll enjoy it!

What an amazing book! It's really hard to categorize, and at first I didn't think I was going to like it, but all of a sudden I "got" it. It is alternately really funny -- some of the footnotes are hysterical -- and serious. I'd be laughing out loud and four or five pages later I'd be angry or sad.

Two groups of people are going to really like this book: the first and most important is anyone who just plain wants a fun read. I could see this one becoming a best-seller really easily simply because it is so entertaining. However, the general crowd of feminists, humanists, goddess worshippers and so on will really like it because it paints an inescapable picture of how the entire Judeo-Christian-Muslim culture derived from the book of Genesis hammers on women from the get-go. Lilith in this book isn't a vampire or succubus or slayer of children -- she's just a very modern woman who gets stuck with a relatively weak and insecure man. Although it is a lot more complicated than "just" that -- I don't want to spoil the surprises in the plot but suffice it to say that Lilith and Eve are not who you think they are if all you are familiar with is the standard myth.

The ending of the book is really powerful. It reminded me a little bit of Siddhartha, but at the same time it was quite different. A really interesting tie-in to Hinduism and Buddhism, but really that wasn't the point. The book is a strange sort of love story, and somehow all of the threads of love get pulled together in a very satisfying way.

The prose could probably be improved -- I think it is the author's first published book -- but it isn't obtrusive and sometimes it is really good or even poetical. The story itself is pure magic -- even the framing story is appealing once you get over the shock and realize that you're reading black humor satire directed against both the war in Iraq and the mistreatment of women in that entire culture. Highly recommended.

WARNING! Fellow readers, if you pick up this book on Lilith, the least explained woman in the bible, you end up either screaming or even cussing - if you can only accept the literal interpretation of the Bible espoused by the "born again" fundamentalists - or else you will be captured by a new vision of creation and the roles of women and men. You will be intrigued by the author's vision and very readable literary style as he "translates" the archeological discovery of a young Iraqi girl in a crater created by the war still ongoing. In the process you will meet a "new" interpretation of some age old questions about the roles of men and women. Who was created first? Adam, or was it Eve, or was it really the mysterious and erotic Lilith. Other questions raised are: Why does God allow us to make choices and perhaps screw up? Why do bad things happen to us? Can things get better? Why did Cain slay his brother Abel and many more. There are answers given.

Professor Brown makes both the modern archeological, geopolitical story and his vision of the history of our world from the "original creation" through Genesis and on ...back up to today's geopolitical problems very interesting and plausible. He raises some very real ethical questions and shows his readers some possible answers. If he teaches his classes with equal facility, his students are lucky. Read and enjoy!

The Book of Lilith is an extraordinary fictional account of the life of Lilith, here portrayed as the first woman of Creation rather than the succubus or demoness of certain myths. The story begins with the somewhat exasperated account of a college professor, perplexed at why he has been chosen as a key contact for the Iraqi woman who has salvaged a collection of scrolls she believes are valuable. The woman has been beaten, raped, and enslaved, but she still manages to trick her captor into allowing her use of the Internet--not so she can seek asylum, but so she can share her find with someone who will appreciate it. She scans in photographs of the ancient scrolls to ensure a record of their discovery in the event of their untimely destruction.

Upon translation, the professor and his colleague realize the magnitude of this incredulous find. The scrolls are the account of the creation of man, told from the point of view of Lilith, the mother of all. Lilith's tale places a feminist spin on the story of Creation, purporting the weaknesses of Adam and his naturally tendency toward sin. As seems to be a pattern in this tale, Lilith is beaten and raped by Adam, and quickly flees Eden, refusing to accept his aggression. Thus, Lilith is also the first single mother. On her own, she accepts her duty from God (portrayed as Inanna to Lilith, though God takes on a masculine form when "it" appears to Adam), which is to provide the empty vessels of humanity with souls. Lilith's task is not an easy one, as Adam will be a constant inhibitor of her higher purpose due to his obsession with sin. Eventually, Lilith will come to represent two feminine archetypes: her own independent self and Eve, self-chosen submissive to Adam.

If any of the story seems outrageous or disturbing, it isn't at all because the author's own brand of sarcasm makes every aspect of the tale completely plausible. Brown's suggestion that shopping is actually a form of worship or that Adam's key hangup with Lilith was her refusal to be on bottom during intercourse is just a taste of the tongue-in-cheek humor that follows the reader on this journey. When the story begins, Brown eases the reader into the plot with wit, but as Lilith's story evolves, the sarcasm actually begins to fade. By the end of the book, the depth of the theology involved is such that the reader will find themselves immersed in contemplation of the meanings suggested, leaving the humor behind. Through Brown's fiction, he brings to light some of the true inconsistencies and irrelevance of the tenets of major religions.

I found myself emotionally involved in Lilith's tale, at times laughing out loud, at times brimming with joy or seething with anger. At some points, I was lost in the story so much that it seemed real to me, and when I brought myself back to reality, I longed for it to have been a true account. It's a wonderful work of fiction that encourages the reader to examine humanity's existence and the sacred feminine from many perspectives.

The Book of Lilith is Dr. Robert G. Brown's unique retelling of what is perhaps the most central human mythology: the story of our origins. A blend of satire of orthodox scripture and the ancient tales of the little-known first female, this entertaining book narrates a both literal and figurative trek from west to east.

The Book of Lilith presents, in modern vernacular, a translation of the Book of Lilith, a long lost but recently discovered manuscript found in Iraq. The introductory story by which the document is first discovered and communicated to the author involves a uniquely 21st-century twist on the age-old scheme of holy instruction revealed through unexpected methods (like burning bushes or buried golden plates). Once the translation itself begins, it rapidly grows clear that the originators of Christianity certainly wouldn't want this "holy book" included with the others that they chose to include.

Lilith is the first woman - and not only the first woman, she even precedes Adam. Fashioned to be the physical agent of the goddess Inanna, she has the function of giving souls to living beings, which prior to her arrival had all been mindless automata developed through evolution. Her primacy as first human, as well as her soul-giving power, soon rankle the First Man to no end, and only worsens his self-centered and piggish nature. From that point on, the story develops an interesting contrast between religious ideas as males and females would conceive them--and those of us that were raised in a western religion will recognize even more just how male-centric our spiritual traditions are. There is much humor here as well, especially in the retelling of a certain famous scene in Eden involving a snake.

Covering a time span that precedes and follows the events in Genesis, the familiar landscape of the bible eventually recedes as Lilith treks eastward, encountering both wisdom and savagery (there is a series of public executions at one point that will make your sphincter automatically tighten, for good reason). There is a pleasing melding that eventually takes place with a number of eastern religious ideas, as well as a chance at redemption for the First Man himself.

I recommend this book to readers that enjoy irreverent fiction or new stories spun from a variety of mythological threads. Or anyone that appreciates profound ideas vibrantly expressed, such as in my favorite passage from the book:

"I finally began to see the necessity of suffering. It was the cry of the metal as it was sharpened by the stone, the sighing of the clay as it was shaped upon the wheel, the cracking of the fire as it revealed its inner light, the moving darkness that made light a thing of ever changing beauty."

While fascinated by the Lilith mythology, I found this book unpleasurable. The frequent use of anachronisms was disturbing. While the author tries to explain the anachronisms, their presence was so jarring it seemed to disrupt the flow of the story. Lilith becomes so "hip" and contemporary, she loses her universality and symbolism. Not sure why I disagree with the other reviewers, but I just did not enjoy this book.

Item received in great shape and as advertised. It came in short amount of time. Looking forward to reading it. Thank you!

I was initially disappointed when I found that I had inadvertently purchased a novel about Lilith. I do enjoy a good story based in actual myth and lore, however, my intended purpose for the book was research. While the background of the story really was a bit much, the remainder of the book more than makes up for it. The book still aided me in my research, as it shows Lilith from a different perspective than what I'm used to seeing. Also, the appendix and sources cited in the end gave me some good leads. Excellent book overall.

WOW! Just WOW! A fictional tale of the First Woman, Lilith, that sounds so credible, it may just join our group collective consciousness of Lilith. The points put forth as the basis for Adam's role for humanity, the concept of the original sin, and Lilith's growth of spirit are insightful and interesting.

Aside from the spiritual aspect for all of us, divorced women of controlling husbands will identify with Lilith and perhaps understand a little more clearly what was going on with their ex-husbands. At times I found it astonishing that this book was written by a man.

This book will make you laugh; it will make you cry, and it will make you think.

Loved this book and highly recommend it.

This is the true Book of Lilith, recently discovered beneath Iraqi soil and dated to about 4,000 BC. It's been painstakingly translated by Professor Brown, and an unnamed accomplice who prefers anonymity to unparalleled fame. (Do not confuse Brown's publication of the Book of Lilith with the forgeries of more noted scholars).

If you've never heard of Lilith, you're in for a treat. In Mesopotamian mythology, she is related to a class of demons, and in Jewish midrash, she's the first wife of Adam, before Eve came along. Lilith herself penned the words of this book, and her story is both sensual and intelligent. Also a tad graphic, but you may not notice this; readers of ancient holy books become experienced in glossing over sex and violence.

Professor Brown is an avowed atheist, or so I imagine he once a-vowed, before a-writing this book. His atheism lends credibility to the truth of Lilith; if you are familiar with biblical criticism, you know the strength of the Criterion of Embarrassment. This basically proves the authenticity of the Lilith story, for here we have an atheist repeatedly acquiescing to discuss religious concepts such as God and Soul. (God, bless Her soul, seems to have chosen Professor Brown for this task; how could he refuse?)

Lilith is modern, hardly subservient, a libber before the term was coined, and rightfully so, for she is much more interesting than Adam--and knows it. Her job is to dispense souls to the world's people, while Adam's job is to make up all the rules. Needless to say, friction develops, and Adam and Lilith separate. Both head their own direction in what becomes a quest for enlightenment. Lilith's writing style is also strikingly modern--witty and occasionally satirical toward the religious ideas she knew would evolve thousands of years later. Yes, luckily for 21st-century readers, Lilith possesses a preternatural knowledge of the future, and often expresses herself in idioms like "movies" and "skyscrapers," concepts quite unfamiliar to ancient readers, but which make the text read more contemporary. (Curiously, Lilith seems to have no knowledge of events and inventions further in the future or scientific concepts beyond our current understanding, save one: an upcoming slaughter of billions in the name of God. Might the time have come?)

Like any holy book, Lilith's theological wisdoms must be teased from its depths, and ... well, let's just say it's a captivating book, whether the cover is open or closed. You might even come to see life's purpose a little differently.