And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? and he said, Nay. As if a Faulkner novel had been crossed with Whistle down the Wind and then narrated by a stoned blues musician ... heady' Daily Telegraph The title comes from the Bible, the Book of Numbers 22:23, where Balaam does not see the angel of the Lord but his donkey does. The Bible is heavily referenced throughout the novel. In an interview with BOMB magazine, Cave noted, “There are a number of voices in the book: first person narrative by Euchrid, third person authorial voice, quotations usually from the Bible, either real or ersatz, constant changes in tone or approach to language, depending on who is talking. When I first started the book there were certain elements I wasn’t interested in reading about. When you read a novel, you have to wade through the setting up of the scene before the story starts. So I wrote a long prologue. It has no action. It includes documentary, poetry, maps and charts, in very short chapters. Once this is done, the actual story begins. The voice then changes between the narrator’s truth and Euchrid’s delusionary truth. The final book is Euchrid’s monologue which runs to the climax” [4] The book is narrated in the protagonist's silent Southern drawl, which Cave writes in eye dialect.

The title is a biblical quotation from the Book of Numbers, Chapter 22, Verses 23-31: "And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, ...". With its Southern Gothic setting, critics have compared it favorably with novels by American authors William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor. [1] In 2009 Cave released a cut-down version of his novel but this reissue restores the full uncut text, as first published in 1989.And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face. Book Genre: Australia, Contemporary, Cultural, Dark, Fiction, Gothic, Horror, Literature, Music, Novels, Southern Gothic And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?

Signature Style: The novel covers many of Cave’s musical inspirations, like flowers, stomach-churning violence, discussion of literature (often in very unlikely places), and semi-heretical yet extremely pious examinations of religion. But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. Adaptation Expansion: The novel started life as The Birthday Party’s song “Swampland”, which depicted the protagonist’s death.

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And the Ass Saw the Angel tells the story of Euchrid Eucrow, a mute born to an abusive drunken mother and a father obsessed with animal torture and the building of dangerous traps. The family live in a valley of fanatically religious Ukulites, where they are shunned. Euchrid's mental breakdown includes horrific angelic visions, and the story builds towards Euchrid exacting terrible vengeance on the people who have made him suffer. Cannibal Clan: Euchrid’s father defected from such a clan; rather than killing and eating people, he now tortures animals and eventually stabs his wife to death. Mon: A creepy variant, wherein Euchrid starts collecting wild animals in cages and teaching them how to fight. He ultimately unleashes them on the town. And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.