Rating: 
Summary: Biblical Times Romance
Review: Loosely based on stories from the bible, this novel is about the Princess Mihal, daughter of King Saul, who was married to David at the age of thirteen. When the king attempts to murder David on their wedding night, he flees and abandons Mihal who is then married off to another much older man, a farmer named Phaltiel. Years later, after her brothers and father are wiped out and David has become king he comes back to claim her and make her queen, number one among his many wives and concubines. The book includes the stories of David & Bathsheeba, Absalom's ambition, wars with the Philistines and the childhood of Solomon and is rich with detailed descriptions of palace life in Jerusalem, a new city at this point in time.I was not so interested in this as a bible story but read it solely as historical fiction, it was somewhat interesting but often redundant, it seemed almost every section ends with something like "but I did not yet know, I was still blind..........." or "I should have known but did not then". It is most of all a romance without too much depth. There are lengthy descriptions of Michal's minute by minute feelings toward her husbands and scenes of passion, but very little of "Jewishness" for example, where are the daily rituals, religious practices, and special days? There are prophets, but it seems none of the characters in the story have any spiritual beliefs whatsoever, something that I do not believe of people living in ancient times. Not bad and great for anyone who would enjoy a love story set in ancient times.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Fiction
Review: The reference on the book jacket to The Red Tent caught my eye, because I enjoyed that book so much. Whereas Anita Diamant used the Bible as a starting point to "flesh out" some stock characters, Edghill does quite the opposite. It's as if she is on a mission to vilify David, at the expense of reason, history and style. While most Bible characters are fairly one-dimensional, David is one who is well known for both his triumphs and failures. She takes a Biblical figure who is reasonably well-developed and reduces him to a misogynistic creep. Also, Edghill abandons the Biblical record whenever it doesn't fit into her plot devices. She apparently lacks the skill or creativity to take the Biblical structure and fill it in with her own ingenuity. If you know who Uriah and Amnon are, you may be surprised by Edghill's fabricated twists on their stories. Having said that, if you don't know who Uriah and Amnon are, you may not have any preconceived notions about the Bible and its characters, and you may be quite comfortable with Edghill's treatment of both. However, I still think her overall writing style is redundant. The first part of the novel is engaging, but Michal's bitter plotting soon becomes arduous, and the book as a whole left me feeling fatigued. I have several friends and family members who I'm always exchanging books with, but this one went directly into the charity pile. I wouldn't inflict this mess on anyone.
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