Nonfiction

The Book of All Books

The Book of All Books

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  • Create Date：2022-10-30 09:52:00
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Roberto Calasso
  • ISBN：0141992867
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Summary

'Beautiful， intellectually thrilling 。 。 。 unlike anything else' Telegraph

Promise and separation。 Grace and guilt。 The chosen and the damned。 Roberto Calasso's captivating retelling of key stories from the bible evokes the dramatic world of the Old Testament and casts one of the founding texts of Western civilization in an astonishing - and disquieting - new light。

The Book of All Books is the culmination of a lifetime's work and the tenth part of a series that began with The Ruin of Kasch。

'Engaging 。 。 。 enlightening' Financial Times

'Surprising 。 。 。 vivid' Spectator

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Reviews

Richard Anderson ，

Visionary， learned， perplexing- typically Calasso。

Pablo ，

At times brilliant， at times pseudo intellectual garbage， and at times very deep （not ashamed to admit that there were some parts I didn't understand）。 But all in all， an interesting book that gives food for thought regarding the Old Testament。 At times brilliant， at times pseudo intellectual garbage， and at times very deep （not ashamed to admit that there were some parts I didn't understand）。 But all in all， an interesting book that gives food for thought regarding the Old Testament。 。。。more

Dave ，

Excellent book， very clearly written。

Adam ，

Roberto Calasso’s legacy as a thinker， writer and publisher has yet to be truly reckoned with in our times。 After his passing in July 2021 at the age of 80， numerous posthumous translations of his later works are beginning to appear in English。 The Book of All Books （FSG， 2021） is the tenth entry in a gripping， sprawling， untitled series of tomes exploring connections between mythology， literature and the modern world。 The series began in 1983 with the publication of The Ruin of Kasch， which cre Roberto Calasso’s legacy as a thinker， writer and publisher has yet to be truly reckoned with in our times。 After his passing in July 2021 at the age of 80， numerous posthumous translations of his later works are beginning to appear in English。 The Book of All Books （FSG， 2021） is the tenth entry in a gripping， sprawling， untitled series of tomes exploring connections between mythology， literature and the modern world。 The series began in 1983 with the publication of The Ruin of Kasch， which creates a timewarp between an archaic African folktale and the French Revolution。 Subsequent volumes examine everything from the Vedas and Greek Mythology to Baudelaire and Kafka; and Calasso now turns his attention upon the Hebrew Bible。If you take the time to read the volumes of Calasso’s gigantic magnum opus [and no， they don’t need to be read in order -jump in where your interest lies！]， you will discover certain important and recurring themes， actually obsessions， to which Calasso always returns。 These include: that which is left unsaid/unwritten， erotic potency and intimate intensity， hidden connections and esoteric logics， echoes of mythic events which recur in world history， and most importantly， the central role of sacrifice。 Such as when Yahweh came down after the flood to the roasting smell of Noah’s burnt offering， the first holocaust。 The text centers around who offers what when， and how those offerings are received。Read the rest of the review， with photos of the book， quotes， and additional recommended reading at my website:https://asatkhora。com/2022/06/19/the-。。。 。。。more

Stefano Franke ，

“Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to cut his son’s throat”If after three days of thoughtful walking toward Mount Moriah， after dismissing the two servants who had walked with them，So that they wouldn’t be witnesses， after heaping the firewood around his son Isaac， bound on top of the altar， whom that Wordwas going to burn - if Abraham at this point had begged of Yahweh the grace to substitute Isaac with a ram that he could look for onthe mountainside and if Yahweh had agreed， “Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to cut his son’s throat”If after three days of thoughtful walking toward Mount Moriah， after dismissing the two servants who had walked with them，So that they wouldn’t be witnesses， after heaping the firewood around his son Isaac， bound on top of the altar， whom that Wordwas going to burn - if Abraham at this point had begged of Yahweh the grace to substitute Isaac with a ram that he could look for onthe mountainside and if Yahweh had agreed， then from that day on Abraham could have claimed that he had been the first to propose substitution。 And in so doing he would have failed the trial to which Yahweh was subjecting him and hence proved himself unfit to be the founding father of the children of Israel。 Substitution must come as a gift from Yahweh， not an invention of man。 If Abraham had been able to substitute Isaac with a ram， if Abraham had counted on the fact that the Angel would stay his hand， then from that moment on everything would be open to substitution with everything else。 And no one would have objected， since substitution is a constant companion of the mind， starting with the word， which is based on substitution。 If this substitution had been understood as a purely human device， Yahweh himself， in the end， would have been made redundant。 Men knew they could go a long way with substitution and hardly needed help。 Yahweh chose to destroy any such illusions at once， in the cruelest and most effective way。 Thus Abraham confirmed his role as the first of the patriarchs。The book of all books is a recount of the Old Testament well written as everything Calasso do with mastery an perfect storytelling， and just in the middle of the book he gift us a precious chapter’s about the work of Freud on Moises an Egyptian， as he say the most erratical work of freud。 I enjoyed the reading， easy to go trough “The book of all book” Roberto Calasso 。。。more

Dan Cassino ，

Calasso’s work reads， at first， like a commentary on the Old Testament， a response to Cassuto， Freud and others who take a literary tact on what’s normally the work of rabbis。 But it slowly becomes clear that Calasso’s interest is narrow， focused on the changing meaning of sacrifice and substitution， and the relationship between sacrifice and expiation。The analysis is far ranging， literate and deeply humane， engaging with other scholars in a way that doesn’t require a Divinity degree to understa Calasso’s work reads， at first， like a commentary on the Old Testament， a response to Cassuto， Freud and others who take a literary tact on what’s normally the work of rabbis。 But it slowly becomes clear that Calasso’s interest is narrow， focused on the changing meaning of sacrifice and substitution， and the relationship between sacrifice and expiation。The analysis is far ranging， literate and deeply humane， engaging with other scholars in a way that doesn’t require a Divinity degree to understand。 Parks’ translation is invisible- there’s no awkwardness to suggest that this wasn’t originally written in English。 If you like this sort of thing， this is certainly the kind of thing you’ll like。 。。。more

Jim Coughenour ，

When I read of Calasso’s death last summer my heart sank。 There is no one like him。 His books spanned the variegated worlds of mythology: Indian， Greek， Hebrew， modern （Tiepolo， Baudelaire， Kafka， Walser， Benjamin）。 The specter haunting many of his books is the unspeakable ritual of sacrifice， yet that’s only one of many presences。 His approach might be linked with the work of René Girard， but Calasso is more elliptical and （I’m tempted to say） more graceful。 The elegance of Italian humanism inf When I read of Calasso’s death last summer my heart sank。 There is no one like him。 His books spanned the variegated worlds of mythology: Indian， Greek， Hebrew， modern （Tiepolo， Baudelaire， Kafka， Walser， Benjamin）。 The specter haunting many of his books is the unspeakable ritual of sacrifice， yet that’s only one of many presences。 His approach might be linked with the work of René Girard， but Calasso is more elliptical and （I’m tempted to say） more graceful。 The elegance of Italian humanism infuses his research and presentation。The Book of All Books is not the equal of The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony but it is still full of revelations。 I’m writing this review after reading that of BlackOxford， and I happily refer any interested readers to his review for a sense of the whole。I grew up with these stories。 Long ago I spent a few years reading theology and enjoyed seeing forgotten scholars like Umberto Cassuto and Gerhard von Rad reappear。 None of this diminished the surprise I experienced in reading Calasso’s retellings of these tales。 What a bizarre， terrifying， alien world the Hebrews inhabited。 What a terrifying God they worshipped and feared。 One example: everyone knows the story of Moses at the burning bush， the revelation of YHWH， the instruction to go to Pharaoh， to demand of him “Let my people go！” Yet immediately following this passage in Exodus， we readAnd it happened on the way at the night camp that the LORD encountered [Moses] and sought to put him to death。 And Zipporah [Moses’ wife] took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched it to his feet， and she said， “Yes， a bridegroom of blood you are to me。” And He let him go。 （Exodus 4:24-25， Robert Alter’s translation）WTF？ These are the stories they don’t tell you in Bible school。One more excerpt， on the Prophets。 This is classic Calasso:If in the ancient world the Jews were accused of having instituted a “life hostile to humankind” — Hecataeus was already saying as much — many of the children of Israel felt the same way about their prophets。 These men shared a certain spitefulness， spoke with great vehemence， and as a matter of principle deployed only two registers: condemnation and consolation， vast deserts of condemnation， that is， relieved by rare oases of inconceivable sweetness。 There was no question of modulation。 Those who listened to them， on the other hand， shifted constantly from one register to another， taking care， whether by instinct or design， to avoid the extremes。I read Calasso not to learn about a subject but to rethink and reimagine everything I thought I knew。 Other writers spell things out。 Calasso reflects at depth， shifting perspectives so that thinking becomes felt experience， knowledge deepened into curiosity， reading alerted to the rustling metamorphoses of meaning。 Echos are everywhere。 If the world is a book， Calasso is one of the few who seems to have read it all。 。。。more

BlackOxford ，

Our StoriesThese are stories told by our mothers and fathers and our uncles and aunts around the campfire in the desert， by strangers from abroad put up for the night， and by the village elders in the communal meetings on holidays。 These are our stories and we love them。They are mysterious， and frightening stories。 Sometimes they are confusing in their portrayal of horrid acts by those whom we are meant to respect。 But they are always about about us， about who we are and what made us who we are。 Our StoriesThese are stories told by our mothers and fathers and our uncles and aunts around the campfire in the desert， by strangers from abroad put up for the night， and by the village elders in the communal meetings on holidays。 These are our stories and we love them。They are mysterious， and frightening stories。 Sometimes they are confusing in their portrayal of horrid acts by those whom we are meant to respect。 But they are always about about us， about who we are and what made us who we are。 They allow us to know the characters who inhabit them as if they could show up tomorrow - the aged Bedouin Abraham （the only one called ‘Jew’） and his wife Sarah （who lied to and then laughed at God）， the beautiful David and his foreign wife Bathsheba， the irascible Isaiah， and the woeful Ezekiel。 And they often do appear just like that in our dreams。But most of all these stories are about being chosen， being selected， being different。 This is nothing to brag about because what it means in practice is that we are always being judged， being subject to constant evaluation， if not by God then by people who resent our being chosen。 And the worst part is that we aren’t being judged individually but collectively。 We are held responsible for each other。 If our neighbours don’t tow the line， everyone suffers。 Sometimes it isn’t clear who screwed up， but we know everyone will get it in the neck。 Believe me， it’s no picnic being chosen。According to the stories， we are a fractious bunch。 We argue constantly。 We tried governing by a committee of wise men。 But you can’t fight wars by committee。 And our experiment with monarchy didn’t go well at all。 Lots of in-fighting， intrigue and murders among us - often at the behest of God， or so the bosses say。 They say it’s because we are disobedient。 Maybe it was the bosses who were disobedient。But sometimes even if we do what we’re told or make just some silly mistake， God gets really angry and takes it out on… guess who？ He seems awfully unpredictable，…and well， irrational on occasion。 Some say our grandfather Moses has seen him and talked with him but he had to spend forty years in Egypt， forty in the land of Midian， forty in the desert to get ready for that one conversation。 Mostly now we only get hearsay from the the prophets who seem to pop up out of nowhere。God used to live elsewhere until we made a home for him here。 He wasn’t all that keen but we wanted to make sure he was close by to help out， especially in a fight， of which there were many。 So we bought Jerusalem， evicted the residents， and built a first class temple。 But then we didn’t behave correctly and he sent people to destroy the sanctuary we built for him and he went to live somewhere else again。 It took a long time to get him to return。Meanwhile God was so angry that he made us move as well。 But he gave us the Torah so we would know how to live correctly even though we didn’t have a temple and weren’t in the land he had promised to us forever。 The Torah became our temple and our home。Then he gave us other writings as well but we weren’t always sure they were really his - like King Solomon’s Song of Songs （“a splinter driven into some chemically alien geographic strata，” some would say） and the book of Ecclesiastes in which God isn’t even mentioned。 So we argued a lot; but I don’t think we killed anyone about it。 I think we took Qoholeth to heart when he said “Calmness avoids great mistakes。” We tried to be calm but its clear we think too much， which leads to discussions， which creates arguments， which… well you get the picture。Truth be told， we like travel。 It seems like we’ve always moved around a lot。 The first words God said to grandfather Abraham were “Go away from your land， from your country and from the house of your father toward the land that I will show you。” But grandfather was already on a journey and wasn’t all that clear about where his homeland was anyway。 Since then it seems we’ve always been on the move。 We’re always packing up and “going away” or more likely being “chased away” - from Ur， from Egypt， from Judah and Israel， and only God knows how many places after that。 What holds us together as a family is the Torah，… and Wisdom， that presence of God which has been with us since we left Egypt and roamed in the desert。 This is the same Wisdom that “sat on the Father’s knee， singing together with the presiding Angels” and “played like a child at his feet。”And it is the same Wisdom that “issued from the mouth of the Father in the form of a cloud… and covered the earth like a cloud。” The Torah and Wisdom were with God before the world was created。 They will remain with God， and us， until it is destroyed。 This is why we were chosen。 。。。more

Davis ，

Reading a Calasso book for the first time is really just a preparation for reading it a second time。 So let me just say this:This book is a bit starker than his other books， most likely because the Hebrew Bible is itself a bit stark。 But it’s just as insightful and likely to incite daydreaming as any of his other books。 Maybe not the best place for a newbie to start， but it’s certainly everything one could want a Calasso book on the Bible to be and more。 For me， this felt almost like a continuat Reading a Calasso book for the first time is really just a preparation for reading it a second time。 So let me just say this:This book is a bit starker than his other books， most likely because the Hebrew Bible is itself a bit stark。 But it’s just as insightful and likely to incite daydreaming as any of his other books。 Maybe not the best place for a newbie to start， but it’s certainly everything one could want a Calasso book on the Bible to be and more。 For me， this felt almost like a continuation of his book on Kafka - as if Kafka had somehow given us a key to focusing in on the irrepressible mysteries of the Hebrew Bible。 Needless to say， many mysteries lie here。 。。。more

Riet ，

Net als zijn eerdere boeken magistraal， maar moeilijk om er een review van te schrijven。 Calasso ontleedt a。h。w。 het Oude Testament。 Vindt tegenstrijdigheden， soms zelfs fouten， en probeert het verhaal te duiden。 Niet altijd even makkelijk。 Hij deed al hetzelfde met de Griekse Mythologie en met de oude Hindoe boeken。 Ook nu weer denk je na lezing: wat moet ik nog geloven？ Ik heb weer eens een stukje nagelezen in de officiele versie van het Oude Testament， en ik vind het weer onleesbaar en ongelo Net als zijn eerdere boeken magistraal， maar moeilijk om er een review van te schrijven。 Calasso ontleedt a。h。w。 het Oude Testament。 Vindt tegenstrijdigheden， soms zelfs fouten， en probeert het verhaal te duiden。 Niet altijd even makkelijk。 Hij deed al hetzelfde met de Griekse Mythologie en met de oude Hindoe boeken。 Ook nu weer denk je na lezing: wat moet ik nog geloven？ Ik heb weer eens een stukje nagelezen in de officiele versie van het Oude Testament， en ik vind het weer onleesbaar en ongelofelijk bloederig。 Die conclusie trok Calasso ook wel。 。。。more

Caleb Ontiveros ，

Recommended if you like Calasso or philosophical retellings of the old testament。 Otherwise， stay away。

Jeff Mccurry ，

Calasso is always rewarding。 This book， on the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament， offers some rich meditations on its narratives and themes。 His interpretation of the binding of Isaac， for example， really provokes thought， as does his highlighting the tension in the biblical texts between different books， Ruth and Nehemiah （I think）， regarding the place of non-Israelites in Israel。 Calasso does get a little too fixated on the theme of blood sacrifice， and I didn't enjoy this book as much as either the Calasso is always rewarding。 This book， on the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament， offers some rich meditations on its narratives and themes。 His interpretation of the binding of Isaac， for example， really provokes thought， as does his highlighting the tension in the biblical texts between different books， Ruth and Nehemiah （I think）， regarding the place of non-Israelites in Israel。 Calasso does get a little too fixated on the theme of blood sacrifice， and I didn't enjoy this book as much as either the Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony or Literature and the Gods， but The Book of All Books was still well worth reading， and I'll definitely be exploring more Calasso in the future。 。。。more

Massimo Burioni ，

Rilettura colta e interessante del Vecchio Testamento， che contribuisce ad aumentare il mio （già enorme） scetticismo sulla veridicità e supposta autorevolezza della Bibbia。 Mi riesce difficile capire come persone colte， sagge e dotate di pensiero razionale， possano anche solo pensare che le storie narrate nel Libro dei libri siano state dettate da un qualche Dio。

Massimo Sacchi ，

Calasso ha fallito relegando la Bibbia nella Storia （tant’è che la successione dei capitoli è cronologica）。Così i personaggi vengono appiattiti sull’ebraismo， laddove la Bibbia - specie nelle sue parti sapienziali - è un universo iniziatico。

Stefano ，

Specie in là con gli anni e lodati come intellettuali， il rischio della hybris letteraria talvolta gioca brutti scherzi。 Una "riscrittura" di brani biblici "narrati" da Calasso non lascia nulla al lettore， se non una noia indicibile。 E quell'unica volta che Calasso sceglie di confrontarsi con qualche interpretazione 。。。 ecco un pippone di quasi 50 pagine su Freud！ Direi che si possono leggere direttamente i brani biblici。 Il testo è senz'altro più affascinante e le storie sono molto più avvincen Specie in là con gli anni e lodati come intellettuali， il rischio della hybris letteraria talvolta gioca brutti scherzi。 Una "riscrittura" di brani biblici "narrati" da Calasso non lascia nulla al lettore， se non una noia indicibile。 E quell'unica volta che Calasso sceglie di confrontarsi con qualche interpretazione 。。。 ecco un pippone di quasi 50 pagine su Freud！ Direi che si possono leggere direttamente i brani biblici。 Il testo è senz'altro più affascinante e le storie sono molto più avvincenti。Un libro che è davvero una perdita di tempo （data anche la lunghezza） 。。。 se avete quel tempo da spendere leggete direttamente sulla Bibbia le storie di Abramo， di Noè， di Giosia， di Davide， di Salomone 。。。 mooolto meglio！ Io pentito dei soldi e del tempo persi。 。。。more

Marius Ghencea ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Quando verrà il messia， passerà inosservato。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Book of All Books

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Book of All Books&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Book of All Books&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0