Review: The Golden Calf

Talk hard.



There are some books that everyone should read. Books that would make us better; make the world a saner place. Maybe teach us some things, so we wouldn't have to learn everything the hard way. Like reading could actually function beyond entertainment and titillation.

One such book is The Golden Calf by Henry Baum. The lesson is that we are important, each of us equally so. But for some reason, we don't know that; it's beyond our grasp of things. Baum takes his scenario from the story of Moses, who returned to the people and found them worshipping a golden calf.

It's a significant concept—what to worship. Golden Calf brings to mind Martin Buber's advice: to treat each other in the same way we would treat a God. Not worship false gods, but apply that daily reverence to people, to us.

The book holds a mirror to the world, and the world doesn't like what it sees—Soddom and Gomorrah in current day Los Angeles. People still worshipping a golden calf; doing nothing but using or abusing one another for no good reason.

Ray, the central character, is adrift in the muck until he finds a purpose for his life. Or maybe it's a deranged obsession. There's a lot here as to whether purpose in life and deranged obsession aren't the same thing. Salvation comes when a girl answers a ringing pay phone and hears a threatening message. Her response is one of those unique precepts that will stick with you.

The story is a free-falling descent into the noir, but Baum's excellent writing makes it worthwhile. His lesson of the golden calf as it relates to our lives is essential reading.

[Mikael Covey]

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The Golden Calf by Henry Baum
Another Sky Press
180 Pages