The Source (novel)

The Source (novel)

infobox Book |
name = The Source
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = James A. Michener
illustrator = Jean-Paul Tremblay
cover_artist =
country = United States of America
language = English
series =
genre = Historical novel
publisher = Random House
release_date = 1965
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages =
isbn =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Source" is a historical novel by James A. Michener, first published in 1965. It is a survey of the history of the Jewish people and the land of Israel from pre-monotheistic days to the birth of the modern State of Israel. "The Source" uses for its central device a fictional "tell" in northern Israel called "Makor" (Hebrew: "source").

A parallel frame story set in modern-day Israel supports the historical timeline. Archaeologists digging at the "tell" at Makor uncover artifacts from each layer, which then serve as the basis for a chapter exploring the lives of the people involved with that artifact. The novel begins with a Stone Age family whose daughter begins to realize that there is a supernatural force, then leads us to the beginnings of monotheism, the Davidic kingdom, Hellenistic times, Roman times, etc. It follows the story of the Family of Ur from the age of cavemen to modern times, with its descendants now living in the Galilee. Some consider "The Source" Michener's most popular book.

Chapter List

#The Tell
#The Bee Eater
#Of Death and Life
#An Old Man and His God
#Psalm of the Hoopoe Bird
#The Voice of Gomer
#In the Gymnasium
#King of the Jews
#Yigal and His Three Generals
#The Law
#A Day in the Life of a Desert Rider
#Volkmar
#The Fires of Ma Coeur
#The Saintly Men of Safed
#Twilight of an Empire
#Rabbi Itzik and the Sabra
#The Bell
#The Rancity of Makor

Recurring symbols and themes

Fertility/The phallic

In the early civilizations, the concept of fertility sprouts from agriculture, and the desire for a fruitful harvest. During the earliest layer of history, the giant stone idol named El is created to please the earth, and bring good crops.

As society moves away from a rural and agricultural existence, fertility is given less and less importance. The phallic is present from the Stone Age ("The Bee Eater"), until 606 BCE ("The Voice of Gomer").


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Word (novel) — The Word is a 1972 mystery/thriller novel by Irving Wallace, which explores into the origin of the Bible.Plot summaryThe plot of the novel is based around the discovery of a new gospel written by Jesus younger brother, James in the first century …   Wikipedia

  • The Castle (novel) — This article is about the German novel by Franz Kafka. For other uses, see The Castle (disambiguation). K. redirects here. For the chronological list of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart compositions, see Köchel catalogue. For other uses, see K… …   Wikipedia

  • The Possessed (novel) — Infobox Book name = The Possessed (aka The Devils or Demons ) title orig = Бесы translator = Constance Garnett (1916) Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (1995) image caption = Pevear Volokhonsky Translation of Demons author = Fyodor… …   Wikipedia

  • The Waterworks (novel) — infobox Book | name = The Waterworks title orig = translator = author = E. L. Doctorow cover artist = country = United States language = English series = genre = Postmodern Historical novel publisher = Random House release date = 1994 media type …   Wikipedia

  • The Sparrow (novel) — infobox Book | name = The Sparrow title orig = translator = image caption = Cover of first edition (hardcover) author = Mary Doria Russell illustrator = cover artist = country = United States language = English series = genre = Science fiction… …   Wikipedia

  • The Clique (novel) — Articleissues expert=Novel tone=February 2008 cleanup=June 2008Infobox Book name = The Clique image caption = First edition cover (later printing) author = Lisi Harrison country = United States language = English series = The Clique Series genre …   Wikipedia

  • The Rising (novel) — Infobox Book | name = The Rising title orig = translator = image caption = First edition cover author = Brian Keene cover artist = country = United States language = English series = genre = Horror novel publisher = Delirium Books release date =… …   Wikipedia

  • The Romantics (novel) — Infobox Book name = The Romantics image caption = author = Pankaj Mishra cover artist = Raghubir Singh country = India, UK language = English genre = Literary fiction publisher = Picador pub date = 1999 pages = 277 isbn = 0 330 39277 8 The… …   Wikipedia

  • The Dreamers (novel series) — The Dreamers is the title of a fantasy series by David Eddings and his wife Leigh Eddings. The story revolves around four beings known as The Elder Gods residing in the land of Dhrall: Dahlaine of the North, Veltan of the South, Zelana of the… …   Wikipedia

  • The Shining (novel) — The Shining   First edition …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”