The Creation of the World and Other Business

by Arthur Miller

Bound in the publisher's original vloth covered boards, spine stamped in black and gilt. Previous owners name and date on front pastedown.

Genres: Plays, Classics, Fiction, Theatre, Drama

106 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Works of American playwright Arthur Asher Miller include Death of a Salesman (1949), for which he won a Pulitzer Prize, and The Crucible (1953).


This essayist, a prominent figure in literature and cinema for over 61 years, composed a wide variety, such as celebrated A View from the Bridge and All My Sons , still studied and performed worldwide. Miller often in the public eye most famously refused to give evidence to the un-American activities committee of the House of Representatives, received award for drama, and married Marilyn Monroe. People at the time considered the greatest Miller.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_...

Reviews

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't often read screenplays, but this one was a gem. I loved it.

[Lalit Jindal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bible's God an egotist idiot and Lucifer a somewhat rational manipulator! Sounds about right!

but i wish the play was funnier or more hard hitting or something! It was just boring in the end.
meh!

[E7boehm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most excellent play

[Marty Reeder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ever on the lookout for new playwrights to read so as to expand beyond my limited pool of Shakespeare and … er … well, like I said, I needed to expand my limited pool. I think I’ve done fairly decently since then. I devoured anything translated into English by Edmond Rostand, tapped into some George Bernard Shaw, and then stumbled across some forgotten Twain plays as well as a smattering of random others. But this was hardly a recipe for continued success. I needed another prolific playwright to draw upon, not some one-and-done gambles.

That made me think of some plays that I really liked, and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible came to mind. Sure, I didn’t like his Death of a Salesman, but I was in high school when I read that and I’ve had a change of heart on a few of my high school literary canon pieces since then. I found a book with the complete plays of Arthur Miller and hoped that this might be the next playwright wheelhouse for me.

After flipping through the offered titles, I stumbled across The Creation of the World and Other Business. Cue intrigue. The Bible’s story of Adam and Eve has got to be one of the most fascinating and rich mythologies (“mythology,” as in “folk tale,” not, necessarily, as in “made up” stuff) ever to grace the origin stories of man. I looked no further and started to read. After finishing, am I confident that Miller is my modern go-to for Shakespeare? Uh, nope. But did I waste my money in buying the collection? Equally no … or at least, not sure.

Here’s the thing. Once I wrapped up the first act, I was disappointed. Not terribly surprised considering the timing of his writing and his political leanings, but underwhelmed by the laziness and missed opportunities. Miller is writing his version of Genesis’s Adam and Eve and what he offers is some flat humor, irreverence, crudeness, and the long since tread-and-retread proposition that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is the releasing of reproductive urges. Granted, I’m not personally prone to appreciate any crudity or explicit language or suggestive actions in any form of literature, let alone one depicting deity as somewhat associated with any of these. Laying that aside, however, instead of being offended, I found myself merely tired and feeling as if Miller is preaching to his choir (certainly not mine) and not unearthing anything new or worthwhile. The only glimmer of interest came from the portrayal of Lucifer as finding his place as the opposition to God--not exactly new, but certainly not often focused on. I kept reading.

Acts II and III continued with their anachronistic vulgarities, but all of the sudden Miller introduces entirely new thoughts and possibilities. I did not agree with all of it, but suddenly here was something to consider, to think about, to appreciate or dispute. Here was the Arthur Miller of The Crucible setting up provocative moral dilemmas and playing them out in ways that reveal abstract truths.

Worth the read? Well to be honest, if you wanted the humorous story of Adam and Eve without the base lewdness, Mark Twain has a far more engaging and even thought-provoking work with his Diaries of Adam and Eve. If you want the philosophical conflict behind Adam and Eve’s choices in the garden (including sensuality), Milton’s Paradise Lost could hardly be replaced (and it is done without the least bit of irreverence or obscenity). If you hope to explore the themes found in the story of Cain and Abel (Act III), read Steinbeck’s masterful East of Eden before touching this.

That’s not to say that Miller’s Act II and III do not add their own uniqueness to this fascinating and enduring cosmology. If you can manage to stomach the crassness, it leaves room for thought. But, there are so many more wholesome areas to do much the same thing.

I don’t know that I’d be in line for more of Miller’s Bible re-tellings, but his mind certainly has shown itself worthy of complex thematic thinking. I guess what I’m saying is that I’ll have to read another play from the collection to decide whether my investment into Arthur Miller the playwright was a boom or a bust. Stay tuned.

[June Moriarty · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this but ugh. So disappointing from the great Arthur Miller. I had never heard of this play until I saw his daughter’s documentary on (I think) Netflix or one of those services. Anyway, he complained that the piece was misunderstood by the critics at the time (1970s) but I tend to think they got it right. For a man who won the Pulitzer Prize for achingly capturing the despair of working class families in mid-Century America, this juvenile Sunday school lesson isn’t insightful, informative or fun. It’s just tedious and weird. I had a terrible time getting through it but struggled through to the end. It’s now living on the shelf of my library surrounded by much better plays that deserve time and attention.

[Bernie4444 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who wrote the book of love?

You probably have read the common abridge version of the lives of Adam and Eve, their conflicts of judgment, and their kids. Some scholars have read the full stories that try to justify this point or that point. I am sure you have a few questions yourself.

Reading "The creation of the World and Other Business" gives you the feeling that you are there and makes it fun to identify the characters and actions. It can make you think "what if" and "did they get it right?"

You will find yourself saying "I would have said that" and kibitzing a little as Lucifer discusses the finer points, of how things work or do not work, with the other characters.

Carve out some reading time, as you will not be able to put this down.

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious, creative, and a fun quick-read.

[Joan K · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Seemed more than ridiculous, couldn’t stand it anymore, quit reading on page 10.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Arthur Miller’s most underrated play. Creation of the Word and Other Business contains Miller’s thought-provoking opinions on religion, making for a sometimes funny sometimes enigmatic read.

[Nahuatl P Vargas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Divertídsima, muy pero muy buena, la super recomiendo.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

this one gets a bad rap and I admit it is not as comic as comic play should be but I still mostly enjoyed it

[Sinai C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, not gonna be my favorite...but I definitely think it's creative. I mean, it shows a relationship between God and the devil and it really shows the more human side of Adam and Eve. I really liked it although it threaded on the "blasphemy" thread, though just by reading the title, I don't suppose I expected a 'strict to the letter' account of Creation either, now did I? I do have to say that it was interesting, the characters were nuts, the whole plot and story is really believable too. Only criticism is towards the end where I got totally lost with what the devil did to the family...I was just floating along by that point.

Enjoyable book overall though.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an interesting take on things through the ideas of Arthur Miller.

[H. Givens · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first act is quite funny, but II and III move too quickly for me, glancing over a lot of interesting ideas but not taking any time to bring them out.