Goliath

AADL has no copies of this item

This story reworks the David-and-Goliath myth. Goliath of Gath isn't much of a fighter. Given half a choice, he would pick administrative work over patrolling in a heartbeat, to say nothing of his distaste for engaging in combat. Nonetheless, at the behest of the king, he finds himself issuing a twice daily challenge to the Israelites: "Choose a man. Let him come to me that we may fight. If he be able to kill me then we shall be your servants. But if I kill him, then you shall be our servants." Day after day he reluctantly repeats his speech, and the isolation of this duty gives him the chance to banter with his shield-bearer and reflect on the beauty of his surroundings. This is the story of David and Goliath as seen from Goliath's side of the Valley of Elah. Quiet moments in Goliath's life as a soldier are accentuated by the author's drawing style, which contrasts minimalist scenery and near-geometric humans with densely crosshatched detail reminiscent of Edward Gorey. Goliath's battle is simultaneously tragic and bleakly funny, as bureaucracy pervades even this most mythic of figures. Goliath displays a sensitive wit, a bold line, and a traditional narrative reworked, remade, and revolutionized.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Booklist Review
Summary / Annotation
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Sensitive and sad submitted by eknapp on August 26, 2020, 1:56pm A sweet, sad retelling of the David-and-Goliath story from the Philistine's point of view. Goliath is an introspective gentle giant who's proud of his skill at paperwork and extremely unsure of this business of yelling challenges at the enemy camp. But duty calls and he's been assured that these actions will end the war without bloodshed...

There's an implicit criticism of the kind of disinterested or incompetent leadership that gets good people killed unnecessarily. David wasn't even the bad guy here. That falls to the king who'd sign anything to get out of listening to a boring briefing, and the captain who shamelessly abuses his underling's trust to get what he wants.

Loved the understated humor and the sense that there's more going on than the simple illustration and sparse dialogue would suggest.