In the Plimpton mode

George Plimpton symbolizes an interesting genre of writing. He ventured into arcane niches as the “average Joe” and took us along for the ride. Few have done it as well, but a recently published book may surpass George’s work
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In “A year of Living Bibically,” A. J. Jacobs chronicles his odyssey in living by the law of the good book, or at least the Old Testament. Literally.

The first test is growing a beard; no small feat for a self-confessed borderline OCD who concerns himself with potential germ entrapment. He moves on to assiduously eschewing coveting, theft, lies, gossip, and the other more obvious failings.

But, he finds it’s more complex than simply shunning the despicable. He must avoid clothing of mixed fibers. He can’t sit upon furniture that was sat upon by a menstruating woman, which his wife deems sexist. Jacobs refers to days by their ordinal numbers to avoid uttering the names of pagan gods.

He does draw the line at illegal borders and refuses to kill magicians. But, he does stone a sinner, employing pebbles to avoid criminal charges. The size of the stones is unspecified in the Bible.

Along the way, the author visits a number of holy people and shrines of various stripe. This casts light upon the diversity of belief and ritual. This enriches an already fascinating and humorous account and makes it a book well worth your time.

How does he emerge from the experience? “A reverent agnostic,” which is swears is not oxymoronic.