The Year of Living Biblically: A Book Review

I had previously attempted to read A.J. Jacob's previous book about reading the encyclopedia all the way through. It was amusing, but at times felt a bit too much like I was reading the encyclopedia all the way through, and I confess I didn't have the fortitude to continue. In this book Jacobs also said he sometimes googles his name to read reviews. On the small chance that he should stumble on mine, I should add that I read Know-it-All in a book club and my opinion was in the minority. And it may also have been influenced by the fact that I disagreed with the selection of the book based on the fact that it was book club for young adult book club and I didn't believe that Know-it-All was ever intended for a teen audience. At least, not specifically for them. This isn't to say teens cannot read and enjoy just about anything, but if one makes the argument that any book a teen can read is a teen book, then there hardly seems any point in making it a category at all.

But I digress.

I thought I might only read passages of The Year of Living Biblically, but I did actually read and enjoy this book from cover to cover. Unlike the encyclopedia, I have always wanted a better understanding of the Bible, but have never had the discipline to teach myself. Jacobs made it easy with his sometimes hilarious and sometimes moving personal journey. Even when I didn't agree with Jacobs' interpretations, I appreciated that he supplied as much information as he could. A blurb on the back calls it a cliff-notes version of the Bible, and that it is, mixed in with autobiography and comedy--my favorite sort of non-fiction.

One also has to admire the open-mindedness with which Jacobs approached this quest. As I said, I may not have always agreed with his conclusions, but you have to respect someone who treats other people with so much respect--particularly when so many others simply think they're crazy.

I also really enjoyed how much this quest involved Jacobs family. Perhaps it was because I didn't get much further than half-way in his previous book, but his family was something I felt lacking. He would mention how he and his wife were trying so hard to get pregnant that sex had become a chore (another thing I thought a teen would have trouble relating to), but his quest to read all the encyclopedias was so totally unrelated to his personal life that it just wasn't the same as his desire to seek religion in hopes he could raise his son better. And perhaps it's voyeristic, but I was pleased to hear so much about his wife and how she was responding to the things he would do. Though I also could not help but feel that it would be an entirely different, and much darker, quest for a woman to take the bible literally. Particularly from the bits of sexism that Jacobs could really only note indirectly or after the fact, such as the Hasidic women not being included in joyous dancing or women not being touched while they're "impure." However, I did enjoy it immensly when his wife had sat in every seat in the house while she was impure.

I also enjoyed the intern/slave towards the end and laughed out loud at dozens of other things I can't quite recall.

Still, I was expecting something a little harsher, but I was pleased to find that it would be difficult to become angry or offended with Jacobs for so honest a quest. At the same time, it still had its hilarious moments along with the insightful ones. I would feel comfortable recommending it to just about anyone, regardless of their stance on the Bible.