New Republic
"[H]istorically astounding....Alter aspires beyond erudition to the kind of sensibility that a reader might bring to James or Proust....[His] richly developed notes and reflections are informed by scholarship, wit, and intuition; without the intrusions of didacticism, they educate." - Cynthia Ozick 10/04/2004Times Literary Supplement
"THE FIVE BOOKS OF MOSES is a fine work that deserves admiration for its sheer scale and literary power, and detailed attention for its exact exegesis....The commentary is at least as important as the translation, and the two together make up a unique contribution both to biblical studies and to the understanding and appreciation of a text that is central to Western culture." - John Barton 06/24/2005 New York Review of Books
"There is little doubt that Alter's attention to the literary qualities and idiosyncrasies of his text is unique and impressive....I have said nothing aboutt the high quality of the introductions to each of the five books, the one to Exodus particularly notable for the acuteness of its perceptions; and nothing about the skill with which great poems like the Song of Moses are translated....I cannot say that this is the best translation since 1611 [The King James version], only because I have not read the great mass of those that intervened; but I can say in my opinion it is certainly a great translation, to be honorably compared with the admired Homeric translations of recent years." - Frank Kermode 10/20/2005 |
