Thursday, July 16, 2020

Bible Stories for Adults No. 37: The Jawbone, by James Morrow

[F&SF]
★★★☆☆

(Biblical Pastiche) In which the Angel of Death gives a salty account of the career of Sampson, Judge of Israel. (6,020 words; Time: 20m)

Recommended By: πŸ‘STomaino+1 (Q&A)

It will help to review a summary of the Sampson story before reading this.

"Bible Stories for Adults No. 37: The Jawbone," by (edited by C.C. Finlay), appeared in issue 07-08|20, published on by .

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Review: 2020.378 (A Word for Authors)

Pro: A mostly humorous recounting of the story of Sampson in which the Philistines, after capturing Sampson, use his precious bodily fluids to mass produce ass bones as personal weapons.

For the most part, this follows the Biblical narrative, but it manages to rehabilitate Delilah completely, and keeps Sampson’s death from being a suicide. And, of course, it makes a strong statement about gun control.

Now that you’ve read this, you can enjoy Benjamin Franklin’s witty little poem, from Poor Richard’s Almanac.
Jack, eating rotten cheese, did say,
"Like Samson I my thousands slay.”
"I vow,” quoth Roger, "so you do,
And with the self-same weapon, too!”
—Benjamin Franklin

Con: I thought it went on for a little too long, particularly when it became obvious what the message was. It was also hard to decide whether it was meant to be funny or not.

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James Morrow Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline

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