Book of Job

Ever notice that the guy in front of you always gets the last cupcake at the cafe? And why does the subway train always leave just as you get through the turnstile? The Book of Job, written at least 2500 years ago, deals with these exact issues. Well, not these exact issues, per say, but the millennia-ago versions.

If you believe in a righteous force that governs the universe—and Sig's mom, Maria, certainly does—then why isn't activity on earth righteous? And didn't God say that the good would be rewarded and the wicked punished with fire? So why didn't you get your stinkin' cupcake?

Sig wonders exactly this in the novel, and Job is his mom's answer to why. When he asks why they're hungry even though they're so good, the following transpires:

Maria sat down with Sig and explained it all to him. He sat on her lap and looked at the red flowers embroidered on her blue dress while she told him a story, from the Bible about a man called Job. It was a long and confusing story, and Anna, hanging around to listen, didn't follow it all that well. (23.12)

So what's the deal? Job is a nice guy who's been doing pretty well for himself out on the ranch—he's got a wife, some kids, and enough sheep to last him a lifetime. But when he suddenly loses it all, instead of grumping around for a few days, instead he decides to call God out for letting such terrible misery happen to a dude as righteous as Job believes himself to be. In short, he calls God's bluff—and eventually God pays him a visit, lays down the law, and tells him to get back to his righteousness. Job does just that, and eventually he's rewarded with double what he lost.

Maria tells her kids the story to help them realize that sometimes bad stuff happens, but Job teaches us that it doesn't mean God doesn't love us. It seems like Sig and Anna don't really buy it, though, since Sig follows up the story by re-asking his original question ("Why am I hungry if God loves me?") and Anna doesn't make much sense of the tale. Maria gets an A for effort on this one, but considering just how much bad stuff awaits her children, it's gonna be a while before they see any good come back their way.

Later on though, Anna tries to comfort Wolff with the story—and when she does, she shows her own righteous goodness. After all, Wolff is about as terrible as they come, so we wouldn't exactly give her grief if she opted not to share this story her mother told her with him. When she does, though, we see that even though she and Sig don't really care about the story the first time around, it brings them some comfort when they are held at gunpoint—if only because it conjures their mother in their time of need.

We've got loads more to say about Job (there's a shocker), so if you're interested, click on through to our learning guide about this troubled dude and the biblical book named after him.