$198. Green Cover with Gold engraving, Original illustrations by Gustave Dore and introduction by R. Vaughan, D.D. Decorative Cloth. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Gustave Dore (illustrator). Beautiful stamped green cloth with gilt lettering/design with black decorative highlights. No date but circa 1890 s. Illustrated with tissue guarded frontispiece and 49 other B&W by Gustave Dore. Many plates are bound out of numerical order. This copy is VERY GOOD. Exterior

Paradise Lost is a unique piece of poetry from many, many centuries ago. It's the retelling of the classic bible story of creation, God, Satan, Adam and Eve. I had to read a select few of the stories for a British Literature class, so I had the opportunity to delve into this book.

This is definitely one of the greatest narrative poetry collections. John Milton's writing has a unique perspective the Bible, and it was really cool to read it. It's definitely a hard read and I recommend listening (or reading!) some professional takes on this work. It makes the poems SO much cooler. It'll take weeks to read through this collection and to understand it, it may take a bit longer. Even though it's a challenge, it's worth it. It's a unique and interesting set of poems that is so beautifully written. It's a beautiful piece of art.

I really liked Paradise Lost Book 9 - Adam and Eve's story. I had the opportunity to spend weeks analyzing this piece, so it sits warmly in my heart. Is Milton blaming Adam? Eve? Satan? God? You decide, but I think he blames God. If God has a plan for everything, why did he plan for the two to be split up and Satan suddenly arrive? Why didn't anyone remind Adam and Eve not to talk to scary, talking snakes? Where did Gabriel run away to?! There's so many questions, and the beauty of the writing and take on the story is just magnificent.

Four out of five stars.

( )

2.5

Adam and Eve were more interesting than the Devil. ( )

audiosync free title 2022 (9+ hrs)

God vs. Satan re: Adam and Eve. I think the audiosync staffers chose this to balance out the various other titles featuring Muslim protagonists, and also because the written text would fall in the public domain and thus be cheaper. I like how the poetic phrases trip prettily off the tongue of the narrator, but truthfully I zoned out every time I tried to listen, absorbing less than half of the content--it does however work splendidly for putting one to sleep when played at low volume.

Thus I listened to the whole thing but would not say that I actually 'read' it, and from the helpful chapter/'book' subheadings I would also say that whatever I missed wasn't worth repeating--it was all flowery language and nothing much actually happening. Thumbs up for narration; thumbs down for a rambling story stretched too long, which even in the most skilled portrayal is pretty dull. Recommended only for those looking to 'enliven' their bible study and drab classic lit scholars with nothing better to do with their time. ( )