The Source: A Novel
by James A. Michener
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Book Summary Information
Author: James A. MichenerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-07
ISBN: 0375760385
Number of pages: 928
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780375760389
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Source: A Novel
Book Review: Good story, questionable history
Summary: 3 Stars
Few books I have read have aroused such mixed feelings in me as James Michener's "The Source. I read it one summer when I was traveling in Israel, as an entertaining way of educating myself on the land I was visiting.
I found the book exciting, absorbing, and beautifully written. I often found myself sitting in my hotel and hostel room and devouring chapter after chapter, each its own novella on a particular era in the history of what is today Israel, all of them tied together by the bracketing story of a contemporary archeological dig that discovers artifacts left over from these historical episodes.
"Psalm of the Hoopoe Bird," about the Kingdom of Israel in the time of King David, "The Law," about the development of the Talmud and the rise of Christianity, and "The Saintly Men of Safed," about that center of Jewish learning and culture, are all little masterpieces. By the time I had finished I considered it one of my favorite books and, although I have not gone back to it since, I still have a very high opinion of it as a work of storytelling.
As a work of the history or philosophy of religion, however, the book is of dubious value. First, although many of the inhabitants of this land (pre-historic clans, Canaanites, Greeks, Romans, early Christians, Muslim Arabs, Crusaders, Ottoman Turks, Britons) make their appearance, the book is, at heart, a chronicle and celebration of the Jewish people. This is not a flaw per se--a popular history of the Jews is entirely legitimate and warranted--but it leads to the frustrating fact that, out of the many people who have lived in this land and/or held it sacred, only one gets the author's full attention, the others being dealt with in a far more perfunctory way.
While such a narrow focus is a little disappointing in an account of such a rich and diverse land, it would not be serious flaw on its own: after all, there are numerous perspectives through which the history of this part of the world can be viewed, and one that focuses on the Jews is perfectly reasonable. What is a serious flaw, however, is my second criticism of the book: that in depicting the history of the Jewish people Michener systematically stacks the deck so as to portray Jews as incomparably nobler and more laudable than all the other peoples and faiths that enter into his narrative.
As presented by Michener, Jewish rabbis and religious scholars are wise and learned, Jewish warriors brave in battle, Jewish parents tender and loving, Jewish women independent and strong. All of these presentations no doubt reflect real historical experiences of the Jews, but there are relatively few contrasting portraits of seriously flawed Jews, apart from a brutal rapist in one chapter and a shrewish wife in another--all balanced by the many heroic Jews around them. By contrast, the pagan, Christian or Muslim characters are depicted either unsympathetically or at least as less appealing than their Jewish counterparts.
We see pagans who fill their rituals with human sacrifice and lascivious sexual practices, autocratic Christian clergy, barbaric Crusaders, sadistic Inquisitors, corrupt Turkish officials, and bumbling Arabs who cannot even launch a successful war against the nascent state of Israel. Perhaps most embarrassing of all is the present-day Arab, Jemail Tabari, who cheerfully admits that the Israelis have done a better job of managing the country than the Arabs ever could.
To be sure, at least some of this is more or less historically accurate: Christians did viciously persecute Jews, I am sure there was much corruption in the late Ottoman Empire, and the various Arab nations did, for whatever reason, fail to crush Israel in 1948. Nevertheless, there are few positive portrayals of non-Jewish groups to balance the picture and present a more nuanced historical overview.
I will give just one final example of this problem with "The Source": in the first chapter/novella, "The Bee-Eater," about pre-historic Canaan, Michener sketches out a hypothesis about the development of early pagan religion, drawing on psychological and anthropological explanations. While respectful, the explanation is essentially a secular one. Skip ahead to the second chapter, "Of Death and Life": Michener provides a similar analysis of why some peoples adopted the practice of human sacrifice and even suggests that Christian beliefs about the death of Jesus are rooted in the same impulse. Skip ahead to the third chapter, "An Old Man and His God," in which the Jews first appear. In the first few paragraphs, the Jewish leader Zadok meets directly with God, who speaks to Zadok through a burning bush. This episode is presented in a perfectly straight-forward way, without any dissection or analysis. The implicit message? Pagan and Christian beliefs come from fundamentally human psychological processes (some of them on the unsavory side), while Jewish beliefs come from unambiguous divine revelation.
If you want to read a great, gripping work of fiction, by all means read "The Source." Just remember to read it with a very healthy dose of skepticism. If you want a reliable account and analysis of the Holy Land and its inhabitants, go instead to some serious works of scholarship, preferably written from a variety of perspectives.
Summary of The Source: A Novel
In his signature style of grand storytelling, James Michener sweeps us back through time to the Holy Land, thousands of years ago. By exploring the lives and discoveries of modern archaeologists excavating the site of Tell Makor, Michener vividly re-creates life in and around an ancient city during critical periods of its existence, and traces the profound history of the Jews, including that of the early Hebrews and their persecution, the impact of Christianity on the Jewish world, the Crusades, and the Spanish Inquisition. Michener weaves his epic tale of love, strength, and faith until at last he arrives at the founding of Israel and the modern conflict in the Middle East. The Source is not only a compelling history of the Holy Land and its people but a richly written saga that encompasses the development of Western civilization and the great religious and cultural ideas that have shaped our world.Historical Books
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