Lo scrittore sceglie di usare in questo libro uno spazio descrittivo minimale dando comunque vita a una storia millenaria e profonda che dopo un incipit un po’ difficile, coinvolge il lettore sino alla fine della storia.
L’autore statunitense, l’unico ad aver vinto sia il Premio Hugo sia il Premio Nebula per due anni di fila, è noto soprattutto per il ciclo di Ender e per quello di Alvin Maker, tuttavia anche questo libro merita un posto d’onore negli scaffali di una bella libreria.
Descrivere in poche parole la storia di Jason Worthing, il suo essere prima un reietto perseguitato a causa della sua natura e poi una sorta di semidio nel nuovo mondo che egli crea, serve a poco.
La trama di questo libro, intricata,e raccontata tramite una serie di flashback temporali, tesse una storia che unisce morale, sofferenza, crudeltà, sacrificio e amore.
È un libro unico nel suo genere, che vi farà amare il male e odiare il bene e soprattutto vi spiegherà perché, anche nel nostro mondo, la sofferenza è più che mai necessaria per crescere.

Sarah is the first of a trilogy on the women of Genesis. It is very readable except for a few chapters when Abram & Sarai are living in Egypt. I didn't remember that from my Biblical history; so I had to check it out from other sources along a couple of other things I thought weren't true to history. Surprise, I was wrong! Card, who is normally a sci-fi author (not my cup of tea) does an excellent job of presenting the characters that we know only by name. He gives the flavor of what life was like for Sarah. I am a bit skeptical of how independent Sarah is portrayed because we know that it was a patriarchal society. She is the overseer of Abram flocks, as well as his confidant in most things. But it is a novel, after all and it certainly gives more of a picture of her life than we learn from the Bible. I'm not sure that I will read the other two of the trilogy, but I am glad I read this one.

Suprisingly very good! I would have given it 5 stars if the author had used the JST (since he IS a member) when Lot speaks to the men in Sodom about his daughters and his guests (the angels). Very positive towards Sarah and Abraham, and actually followed pretty close to the Bible account. Looking forward now to reading about Issac and Rebekah. What a difference from the Red Tent, which I HATED! This author actually believes in the Bible, believes that Abraham was a prophet, and that he was a good man trying to follow God's will. What a refreshing change from that AWFUL book!

I have mixed feelings on this book. I didn't love the writing, and some things really bothered me. Because I hold The Bible close to my heart, it was kind of hard for me to read someone else's interpretation of how it may have been- I didn't always agree with his explanations or interpretations of characters. I think he made the "good" people (Sarah, Abraham, Lot) almost TOO good and the "bad" people (Quira, Hagar) too self-absorbed and obviously wrong. I felt that some of characters were just too one-dimensional. But I do respect the license to interpret things however he chooses. And, overall, I felt that he was able to capture the time period and help the reader feel a part of it. It was interesting and has changed the way I'll read and understand Sarah's story in the Bible. I'm glad I read it.

Orson Scott Card is a Mormon author. Anyone reading his books needs to know this first and foremost. Many of his novels all center on his theological background and beliefs (Mithermages, Alvin Maker, Homecoming). The only books he does really well with keeping that out of the story is the Enders Game books, and then only Enders Game in reality.

That being said, this book is his approach to the Old Testament stories of Sarah and Abraham. Like other reviewers stated, the writing is rather juvenile, but it is an easy read. I would classify it more as Young Adult than anything else. Again, be aware that his approach to this story will be from a Christian and especially Mormon belief structure. His emphasis on the "son redeeming the father, vs father redeeming the son" is purely Christian and Mormon. Judaism and the Old Testament don't really get into that, that is something that is read into them later by Christian theologians. So if you are a bible purist, this may offend or discomfit you. Second, he slides in a few references to Mormon theology as well. For example, there's mention of the sun being a star, with stars being subservient to other stars, going all the way up to the final star that rules them all. This is clearly Mormon theology, not Jewish or Christian.

I find it highly amusing that "atheist" readers read this book and then criticize it for being a very personal theological book. The author is a Mormon. He is going to approach these Bible stories with his own preconceptions and beliefs in place. That affects how he will write them. He may be using these books to "spread the word" of his own belief structure. If you don't believe in G-d, don't read historical fiction about the Bible. If you want a historical account of the Bible, there are plenty of excellent non-fiction books out there that will accomplish that.

If you are a person of faith, you may or may not like these books. Again, he puts his own perspective into them. I actually enjoyed that he took liberties with the stories. If you've read the scripture (especially the direct Hebrew to English translations), you don't really need to rehash the same story again. What we read this book for is to get the little details, the day to day, and the internal dialogues these characters are having. I think his writing is rather juvenile, but it works.

If you are a modern feminist, you probably won't like this book. You'd probably prefer the Red Tent in that case since it seems to be written in a more feminist mindset. Yes, Sarah is a very thoughtful and outspoken woman. But she is also a very obedient and subservient woman. This is how the women in the Genesis stories are often portrayed. As such, I'm not surprised he wrote her that way. I'm not a huge fan of his portrayal of women in this story (as other reviewers have mentioned), but again, I feel it stems from his Mormon background and beliefs. If we were reading a book written by an Orthodox Jewish author, or traditional Muslim author, or a traditional Christian author, they'd all probably have very similar portrayals of women. It is their belief and that is how they will write.

I've read ALOT of OSC's books. Some are good, some are great, some are blah. This one is meh. If you like this type of book, The Red Tent is by far a better one.

They should make kids in high school read this book instead of Lord of the Flies. It has just as many moral dilemmas and a far less traumatizing setting. every page makes you reflect deeply on the things that make us human.

This is a creative retelling of a Bible story through the eyes of Sarai (renamed Sarah later). I enjoyed the book because the story was so familiar, so to hear the great mind of Card unpack potential details to the story that the aren’t in the original was very cool. If you have never read the original story, then this functions as a decent story about earth Ancient Near Eastern struggles with family, religion, and customs. It sheds a lot of light into what we’re the highest valued virtues in this culture. I think it’s worth a read, if the reader is interested in seeing a Bible story through a new set of eyes. If you don’t particularly care about the original story, then this books is only half decent. I haven’t decided if I’ll finish the trilogy.

My mother-in-law suggested that I read the book, Sarah: Women of Genesis. To be honest I didn't want to read it, I thought it sounded boring. My sister-in-law Kim read them and really liked them so I figured I would give them a try. Sarah is the wife of Abraham who is a prophet of The Old Testament. Before reading this book I knew very little about Sarah. It was so interesting and fun to learn about her. I really really enjoyed this book and now I am reading the next book in the series called Rebecca. Orson Scott Card is the author and I loved how he portrayed Sarah. It made her more human, it brought her to my level when I usually see women like that as far above me. It made the history portion very interesting and I couldn't wait to read on to see what happened or what Sarah would do. I loved this book!

The old testament sure has some awful stories... this one included. But that's not why I rated this one poorly, although that may be partly be the reason. The beginning of the book was interesting to think about how Sarah and Abraham may have felt and their relationship may have developed, etc. However, the author became increasingly too "fluffy" and trite in dealing with what would have been some very deep emotions. The characters he tried to create since we have no scriptural info about them (i.e. Lot's wife) were too cardboard and predictable with no dimension - not believable. I ended this book hating it and hating the story. Although it did get me to read the Old testament where I discovered even more awful stories!! (i.e. Lot's daughters continuing their father's seed.)

I loved this book. It got a little slow in the middle because I knew the story, but I really enjoyed how it brought the characters to life. It is one thing to read the Bible and learn doctrine, but it is another to realize that these people had lives. They had to deal with such different issues with regards to their faith and every-day life. It was interesting to think about. It makes me want to re-read the story in the Bible...I think I will right now! See ya!

I have been a fan of Orson Scott Card since his Ender Game series. If you're expecting the thrill of his sci-fi/fantasy genre, this is not the same Orson Scott Card. However, I enjoyed it all the same.

Card wrote a series of novels focusing on the matriarchs of Genesis. This is his first in the series about Abraham's wife, Sarah. I love thinking about ancient people in context, so it is interesting to envision a real woman in a possible albeit fictional backdrop. Card develops a satisfying story from a limited amount of Biblical text. He for sure takes certain fictional liberties, but he frames it in a realistic foundation. He creates interesting and flawed characters, including a look at Lot and his infamous wife. (As it turns out, from the author's views, Lot's wife's true cardinal sin was shrewishness.) Sarah--for me--was a little bit too perfect and always right. That aside, I enjoyed the progress from a young and sober girl to a revered and honored old woman. I will certainly seek out "Rebecca," the next in this series.

This was a fantastic book -- I love all of the books by Card I've read (mostly the Ender's game series). I appreciated the strength of character given to the female protagonist. She was a strong woman without seeming ridiculously out of place in the situation (time period) she was living in. One of my least favorite characters was Qira, Sarah's sister. She seemed to be a toxic kind of personality, and I have little experience with such people. But she seemed rather one-dimensional, especially by comparison to the other characters, who were so real.

If you've read the story of Sarah & Abraham in the Bible, you might love this book. I did, but since it is scriptural fiction, I'm sure there are a few who are rubbed the wrong way. It was one of those books I was sorry to see finished. This is a long book, but it just flew by for me. I'm looking forward to reading the others in this series.