Graphic Novel Review: Let There Be Light by Liana Finck

Title: Let There be Light
Author: Liana Finck
Genre: Graphic Novel; Religion; Retelling
Publication Date: April 12, 2022
Publisher: Random House
 

In this ambitious and transcendent graphic novel, Liana Finck turns her keen eye to none other than the Old Testament, reimagining the story of Genesis with God as a woman, Abraham as a resident of New York City, and Rebekah as a robot, among many other delightful twists. In Finck's retelling, the millennia-old stories of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob and Esau haunt the pages like familiar but partially forgotten nursery rhymes―transmuted by time but still deeply resonant. With her trademark insightfulness, wry humor, and supple, moving visual style, Finck accentuates the latent sweetness and timeless wisdom of the original text, infusing it with wit and whimsy while retaining every ounce of its spiritual heft.

Let There Be Light is proof that old stories can live forever, whether as ancient scripture or as a series of profound and enchanting cartoons. The Book of Genesis is about some of the most fundamental, eternally pertinent questions that we can ask: What does it mean to be human? What is the purpose of our lives? And how should we treat one another? The stories that attempt to answer these questions are an immediate link with the people who first told them. Unable to fathom the holiness and preciousness of that notion, or put it into words, Finck set out to depict it. The result is a true story of creation, rendered by one of our most innovative creators.

 

Rating

*A Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this. This is my honest and unbiased review*

 

Hello Fellow Readers,

 

I honestly did not know what to think of this book, because I have a bit of a hang up when it comes to the bible. This mostly comes from childhood which has to do with a religious family. Once I got over my hang ups though it was very interesting to see the book of Genesis told by someone else. 

Finck's art did take me a little while to get use to, but once I did I actually enjoyed it very much. The art complimented Finck's story very well. I love the alternative God that Finck explores, and the first two sections of the book was very interesting, but the third and last section sort of lost it's stride and I did not enjoy it as much.

Overall, a very interesting retelling about the Book of Genesis