Book Review: The Triumph of Deborah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy

ISBN: 978-0452289062

Publisher: Plume

Paperback: 368 pages

Genre: Historical (Biblical) Fiction

First Lines: The women were standing on high places, shielding their eyes from the blazing sun with their hands, peering into the distance in search of messengers from the battlefield. Each knew that her life depended on the outcome of the battle, but their lives depended on opposite results.

One Word Review: Captivating

Summary from Amazon:

In ancient Israel, war is looming. Deborah, a highly respected leader, has coerced the warrior Barak into launching a strike against the neighboring Canaanites. Against all odds he succeeds, returning triumphantly with Asherah and Nogah, daughters of the Canaanite King, as his prisoners. But military victory is only the beginning of the turmoil, as a complex love triangle develops between Barak and the two princesses. Deborah, recently cast off by her husband, develops a surprising affinity for Barak. Yet she struggles to rebuild her existence on her own terms, while also groping her way toward the greatest triumph of her life.

The Triumph of Deborah is a richly detailed story that was much more easily readable than what I had anticipated. Though I was unfamiliar with Deborah's history, it never felt unfamiliar to me as the story was so well-crafted. Fans of historical fiction will love Eva Etzioni-Halevy's descriptive narrative and will appreciate a glimpse into what the life of this fascinating woman must have been like. I particularly liked the author's characterizations. By the end of the book, I felt I had connected with these women in a very real sense. There were a few moments when i felt a bit bogged down with some of the writing, but overall, it flowed really well. The Triumph of Deborah is a wonderful story that I would highly recommend.

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Book Review: The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

ISBN: 978-0316024488
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Hardcover: 352 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
First Lines: The distance by wagon from Billerica to neighboring Andover is but nine miles. For myself it was more than a journey away from the only home I had ever known. It was the ending of a passage from the dark fog of infancy to the sharp remembrances of childhood.
One Word Review: Lovely

The Heretic's Daughter explores the events surrounding the Salem witch trials from the perspective of a young girl. Sara Carrier's family becomes the object of suspicion after a family dispute over land turns to malicious accusations and mass hysteria. Based on the family history of Kathleen Kent's ancestors, this emotionally stirring debut novel examines the dark and sinister events that occurred during this period in history.

I fell in love with this novel from the very first chapter. Kent's descriptions and language are lyrical and evocative. Take her account of Martha Carrier:

...she, with a deliberation bordering on the unseemly,

set herself apart from what a woman should be and

was as surprising as a flood or a brush fire. She had

a will, and a demeanor, as forceful as a church deacon.

The passage of time, and layer upon layer of misfortune,

had only worked to stiffen the fabric of her being...

But Martha Carrier was like a deep pond, the surface

of which was placid enough but deeply cold to the touch

and which was filled beneath the surface with sharp rocks

and treacherous choke roots.

Her vivid portrayals extend not just to the main characters, but also to the secondary ones as well. It's immediately apparent that Mrs. Kent has done immense amounts of research with this novel. The attention to detail draws the reader into the story and creates a compelling and authentic read. What I thought might be a rather intimidating recording of facts turned out to be an emotional and personal tale. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

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The Winter King by Berdard Cornwell

My husband had been trying to get me to read The Winter King for a while now. It wasn't that I didn't want to do it, but I just kept putting it off - mostly thinking that I would probably have to slog through it. It's not a long book, mind you - a little over 400 pages. But just flipping through the pages was daunting because I could tell it was going to be mostly descriptive writing, pretty slow going for me. I finally felt like I could put it off no longer, so I picked it up last week and began reading. I have to admit it was fairly slow to start with. Not that Cornwell isn't a master storyteller - he's fantastic at what he does. But the long pages coupled with names of people and places that were near impossible to pronounce made me feel a little bit lost initially. I persevered, however, because I knew that Stan wanted me to read these books. He knows I have a thing for the time period and Arthur stories in general, plus he loves these books I think it's more of a 'I love this and I so want to share it with you' sort of thing. Anyway, I plodded through a bit more, and somewhere along the way - maybe halfway through, I began to get acclimated to who each character was and the part they played in the tale. And then, I got hooked. Not because he wanted me to read it, but because it was really a wonderful story.

It's the first in a trilogy of what the Arthur story would've been had it actually been true. It's completely believable - Bernard Cornwell has a true gift for writing historical fiction. From the narrator's unique perspective, to the lush descriptions of the landscapes and the people, to the fantastically gruesome battle scenes - it's all done in such a way that you feel a sort of voyeuristic pleasure at watching these people's destinies unfold. It wasn't easy reading, to be sure, but it was certainly entertaining.