No one knows books, especially books at the interface of biblical faith and contemporary culture, better than Byron Borger at Hearts and Minds Bookstore in Dallastown, Pennsylvania.
Every year, Byron releases an epic “Best Books of the Year” list. And, wouldn’t you know it, Rags of Light: Leonard Cohen and the Landscape of Biblical Imagination has made the list for 2025.
Here is what Byron wrote about the book:
Rags of Light: Leonard Cohen and the Landscape of Biblical Imagination Brian J. Walsh (Cascade Books) $23.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $18.40
I think I said in one of my BookNotes reviews that I’m not that big of a Leonard Cohen fan and, yet, I adored this incredible book exploring his lyrics (folk and rock music and his published poetry and spoken word work) and comparing and contrasting them with Biblical texts. Walsh, is admittedly, a friend and hero, and I’d read anything he wrote — you should too, perhaps starting with a brand new one coming this week called On Prophets, Priests, and Poets: Christian Formation at the Gates of Hell. 
But even taking into consideration that I tend to enjoy books written by friends, and I’m a sucker for thinking about faith and popular culture, and I like the idea of relating song lyrics (wisely and fruitfully) to Biblical passages, even though I’m disposed to like this, I wonder if others will like it as much as I did. And I am almost sure of it.
If you want to get into the Scriptures, being activated by a Biblical imagination, and see how the Bible can be opened up well, putting God’s Word into conversation with the 20th century Jewish poet (Cohen died in 2016), Rags of Light is a great guide. Too many handle the Bible poorly (and people quote song lyrics cavalierly, I think.) Walsh does neither; he gets Cohen’s body of work and takes his words seriously, and he’s got a solid and generative hermeneutic of standing within the Biblical text (inspired by the likes of Richard Middleton, who wrote the foreword, and Walter Brueggemann, say.) I’m telling you, there is nothing cheesy or simplistic (let alone a fanboy paean) here, but just a fabulous, fun, inspiring, reflection on the laments of this pop star and a healthy dose of Old and New Testament faith.
