supplies a variety of poetical tools and devices with which the vast miscellany of biblical narratives can be approached and appreciated.

«I really found G. Ayyaneth’s insights helpful and very full of interesting suggestions for further reflection. It fits closely with my background in literary criticism and theory, and does in fact seem to open up interesting new vistas, not only for Indians but for all of us in reading the Bible. One of the most stimulating and original things I have found in quite a while.» (David Fleming, S.M., University of Dayton, Ohio, USA)

«Whoever has seen films produced in India will know that the narration is sometimes interrupted by dancing and singing. This phenomenon resembles the way the Books of Samuel are interwoven with poems or songs such as the song of Hannah or the last words of David. Western narratology is heavily influenced by Aristotle’s Poetics. However there were stories being told before the lifetime of this Greek philosopher and outside his European culture. G. Ayyaneth presents the rich Indian literary theory and shows convincingly that it offers an interpretative key for the juxtaposition of storytelling and singing in the Hebrew Bible.» (Hans Ulrich Steymans, O.P., Professor (OT) and Dean of the Faculty of Theology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland)