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One of Northern Europe's most popular writers, Guus Kuijer was fascinated with the Bible from an early age, but was never able to believe it, no matter how hard he tried. Now, in prose that is humorous and sometimes irreverent, Kuijer reinterprets the most popular book in the world, making it new again for the twenty-first century and for the first time rendering it accessible to "unbelievers"—that is, to people who are ready to appreciate it as something other than a sacred text. The first volume of The Bible for Unbelievers tells the story of the Book of Genesis as an agnostic novel in which man's curiosity causes creation, not God alone. Kuijer explores the nagging loneliness of the universe before creation. He asks if man and woman are indeed God's handiwork or vice versa. The entire cast of characters in this Bible is imperfect, a little lawless, and at times fumbling and jealous—God included. Kuijer's afterword tells us that no story can "come to life unless the storyteller makes it his or her own." There's a charming invitation in these pages for us all to dare to revisit our founding myths and the roles we play in them. The Bible for Unbelievers is here to draw us into questions that have no answers. It does so not with fear or religiosity, but with joy.
Author
Guus Kuijer is a Dutch author. He wrote books for children and adults, and is best known for the “Madelief” series of children's books. For his career contribution to "children's and young adult literature in the broadest sense" he won the “Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award “from the Swedish Arts Council in 2012, the biggest prize in children's literature. As a children's writer he was one of five finalists for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2008. Other notable awards he received were the “Gouden Griffel” in 1976, 1979, 2000 and 2005 as well as the “Golden Owl” in 2005. From 1967 to 1973 he was a primary school teacher.[ In 1968 he started writing short stories for the magazine Hollands Maandblad and in 1971 he published a collection of his short stories. In 1973 he stopped teaching in order to become a full-time write. Years later, a television series Madelief (1994) and movie Scratches in the Table (1998) were made of his book series about Madelief (1975–1979). Of his book series Polleke (1999–2001) a movie Polleke (2003) and a television series Polleke (2005) were made. In 2011 Australian Richard Tulloch translated The Book of Everything into English and adapted it into a very successful play produced in 2013 by the Melbourne Theatre Company. Recently he wrote four bestselling books that recount in his own style important bible stories from the ancient testament.
