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Paul Bishop, the author of this book, is Professor of German at the University of Glasgow. He has edited Jung in Contexts: A Reader (, 1999), and has published various articles on Jung's intellectual affinities with German philosophy and literature. These facts indicate a dominant theme in the author's approach to Answer to Job. He reminds us that the significance and originality of this work can only be judged in the light of a proper understanding of the intellectual context in which it appeared. Another valuable perspective that informs Bishop's book is his careful placing of Answer to Job within another context, that of Jung's own writings. Of particular interest is his use of Jung's personal letters, which is often apposite, suggestive and illuminating.
The book consists of an introduction, two main parts each containing two chapters, and a conclusion. In the Introduction, Bishop gives an outline history of the ways in which European philosophers, theologians and creative artists have dealt with the story of Job. This leads on to a consideration of the place of myth in religion, and of Jung's relationship to the Christian tradition.
Part One deals with the background to Answer to Job, beginning with the matrix of the work in Jung's life history. By reference to Jung's childhood and to two important dreams reported in Memories, Dreams and Reflections (not the usual ones!), the author traces the emergence of Jung's understanding of the ambivalence inherent in the God- image, the coexistence of benevolence and wrath, eliciting love and fear. In the second chapter of Part One, we are introduced to Jung's controversy with Martin Buber, and the salient points at issue between Jung and conventional monotheism, such as God as summum bonum and evil as privatio boni. This part concludes with a summary of the basic concepts underlying Answer to Job.
In Part Two, Bishop gives us his commentary on Jung's work. This is not a detailed, line by line exegesis, but a more