If you are searching for a straightforward retelling of the book of Genesis in a modern idiom, this is not the book for you. If you are looking exclusively for a poetic rendering of the simple text, you've picked up the wrong book. If you are primarily after a textual commentary, you'll expect one that is far more expansive. If, however, you are after a lively, dramatic, highly original, and entertaining retelling of the Genesis stories in rhymed verse, which skillfully synthesizes both critical literary analysis and exotic, folkloristic, and occasionally whimsical elements--then this book is a must! The general reader will be charmed by what one influential British poet, Ann Sansom, has described as its ""close rhymes and steady rhythm [which] are indeed very musical."" The student of Bible and folklore will be especially interested in the detailed ""Notes to the Text,"" providing the sources for and rationales of the many supplements to the familiar traditional text.