'Perhaps there is Hope'

Bier proposes here a strong new understanding of the Book of Lamentations drawing on Bakhtinian ideas of multiple voices to analyse the poetic speaking voices within the text; examining their theological perspectives and nuancing the interaction between them. Bier scrutinises interpretations of Lamentations distinguishing between exegesis that reads Lamentations as a theodicy in defense of God and those that read it as an anti-theodicy in defense of Zion. Rather than reductively adopting either of these approaches this book advocates a dialogic approach to Lamentations reading to hear the full polyphony of pain penitence and protest.