So very well-written. This author does an amazing job of making the characters come alive and the story is wonderful.

This is one of those characters whose story you wish could just go on and on. Mr. Card is truly gifted. I have read about Sarah in the Bible all of my life but she really comes alive in this book. All of the characters have been developed so richly. We don't know exactly what happened and have only old accounts written and re-written, but he writes in such a way that believably fills in the gaps. Even if you don't believe it, it is a wonderfully written story. What is really important is to see the heart of these women and how their faith is the one thing that carries them through their good and bad times.

{Feb. 2017 book group selection} Very interesting novel told from the perspective of Abraham's wife, Sarah. Using what little we know of her from the Bible as well as various historical sources, Orson Scott Card has created a touching and thought-provoking story of someone I think most women can admire for her strengths but also relate to because of her struggles. As usual when I read these types of books, my interest has been piqued to go back and reread the sections covered in the Bible to see what is part of scripture and what is the author's creation. Making Lot and his family part of the story was an interesting addition to me since I didn't remember that Lot and Abraham were closely related. My favorite thing about this type of book is that it helps me integrate the big picture of what was going on during a certain time in history (the geography, customs, political climate, important historical figures, etc.) with the way relationships may have played out during that period and under those circumstances. This big picture integration is something I don't do very well on my own but love to read about because it helps broaden my perspective and understand history and the world I live in a little better.

3.5/5. This was an entertaining read dramatizing the biblical story of Abraham and Sarah. There are themes of faith in God and patience in His timing throughout the book, and I felt uplifted upon finishing it. The story covers Sarah’s life from her marriage to Abram to the birth of Isaac. It’s a fun read and some nice fiction based on scripture and good assumptions from Orson Scott Card.

First off, if you don't like Orson Scott Card, don't read it. Also, if you don't like the idea of taking biblical figures and making up possible stories surrounding them, don't read it.

That said, I really enjoyed this book. I always feel like Card is a master at looking into the internal logic of his characters and showing why their behavior makes sense to them even if it doesn't make sense to anyone else. And what a valuable skill! I wish that we could all develop some of that in real life. Anyway, I enjoyed reading Card's concept of what might have happened to fill in the very minimal story we get from the Bible. Of course I don't take it as gospel truth, but it's a great read. Plus, I think it makes Sarah and Abraham seem more like real people. Yes, this is fiction, but just the idea that their fictional characters feel so believable makes their real life versions seem a little more understandable and approachable too. If that makes any sense.

Also, after reading it, I wanted to go back and read the actual Genesis accounts. So that was good too.

One thing about Card, though: He's impressively sure of himself sometimes. Reading his afterword was hilarious because he was just so sure about his analysis of the geography and time periods he talks about. It's something I love-hate about him, and something that is downright hilarious sometimes. If you ever get to hear him lecture, do it. It's just a hoot to hear him be sure he's so right all the time. Of course, I don't particularly envy his friends and family. It's funny from a distance but possibly really annoying up close. :)

Rating: PG-13. It is, after all, biblical stuff.

See also my reviews of Rebekah and Rachel & Leah.

I don't typically read fictional books based on biblical accounts because as someone who has spent years reading and studying scripture I find such books annoyingly inaccurate, if not downright blasphemous; for me there's something distasteful about sacred writing being used as fodder for someone's imagination. So it's only fair to say that if this had not been a selection for one of my book groups I'd probably never have picked it up.

Having said that, I did think Card did a decent job of explaining some of the Abraham/Sarah story in an interesting, thought-provoking way. However that couldn't balance out the less-than-good aspects of the book: the characters were one-dimensional and overly melodramatic, and the dialogue was sometimes grimace worthy, trite and much too modern to be believable.

Mildly interesting take but not enough to recommend. 2.5 stars

I am making the assumption here that the author did plenty of research for this book and so I'm considering the historical comments to be correct or close to correct.

I REALLY like this book so far. I like the characters that Card is presenting in the books. It makes sense with what I remember of the biblical story (though I'm sure I'll reread that and consider some more). Right in the middle, I was slightly bothered by some psychology (I'm not sure what to call it) in a discussion between Abram and Sarai about her sister's actions.

Update: Finished late last night.

The part of the book where Sarai decided to give Hagar to Abram was heart wrenching. I don't know how those women did that! Card does an amazing job of getting into the emotions. His wife must be a major collaborator!

Something I didn't like about the book was the talk about breasts. It didn't bother me too much, but it didn't seem necessary to keep bringing it up.

There were some statements about faith and God and love that I really liked (too bad I didn't take notes on those). I also really enjoyed the author's note at the end of the book. I think the author made a careful study and was thoughtful about what he included in the book, but was humble enough to say that if he's wrong, that's o.k. Admitting that he could be wrong requires the reader to not hold on too tightly to the story and allows for other interpretations.

And, as an afterthought, I need to add that the part about the men in Sodom was quite unpleasant, but I guess considering it was Sodom, it would be.

I love Orson Scott Card, but I think the constraints of working within a historical storyline hindered him from doing his best work. Some sections of this shine, and I especially liked some of his comments in the afterword. To quote: "…in an era when women did not show up much in historical records. It’s one of the things that’s so remarkable about the book of Genesis. There aren’t many other writings from that period that give women so much stage time as the chapters about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Of course, the whole of Israelite scripture has this remarkable trait—Eve, Deborah, Jael, Naomi, Ruth, Esther, Bathsheba, Abigail, Tamar, and even Shiphrah and Puah—the Hebrew scriptures are, by the standards of the day, practically bursting with women, named women, who are often the heroes of the story. The writers of the old Testament took women very seriously." Great comments!

Good Bible fanfiction, keeping the heart of the story and the struggles of the very human characters without deviating from the intended spirit and themes of the original story. Made Sarai/Sarah a Mary Sue/explicitly changed the narrative and motivations of her character from what’s explicitly stated in the original story in order to show her in a more favorable light. These changes didn’t make me like Sarai/Sarah (significantly) less though.

Good start to the often invisible and overlooked wives, mothers, and spiritual sisters of the Old Testament patriarchs, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Abraham and Sarah are presented as heroes who can do no wrong in this book, but I think that the Biblical account shows them both as deeply flawed people, prone to mistakes and bad decisions. It would have been a more interesting book to me if it had treated them as complex humans instead of mythical righteous beings.

While some aspects of the Abraham/Sarah story were certainly clarified and even plausible postulations are presented that Bible Scholars cannot verify, I personally did not care at all for the nature of the relationship Card decided to present between our two main "characters". They seemed distant, disconnected and not really "together" - I get that a fictionalized Bible story will likely not have a strong female character, but I guess I expected a little better between the couple. I expected them to COMMUNICATE, to conquer their challenges together - what's the point of fictionalizing a Bible story between one of the Bible's most famous couples and then not developing their characters as a couple? I liked it fine, but there were aspects of this book that could have been done SO much better.

I have great admiration for the thoroughness of Card's research and for the wisdom of the decisions he makes for these novels when faced with contradictory historical information. I enjoyed reading his "afterword," where he talks about his research and his decisions for the novel, almost as much as I enjoyed reading the novel. Some people are offended with the concept of revered Biblical characters being "fictionalized." It doesn't bother me. I find it thought-provoking, and I feel like I am able to keep clear in my mind what is scripturally-based "fact," and what isn't. I value the thoroughness of the portrayal of the characters, settings, and events based on information that is not limited to the Bible, but a wealth of other credible sources. I did not enjoy this book, as much as I enjoyed Rebekah. I think this is mainly because I struggled to feel a connection with Sarah, as her character was portrayed in the book. But I don't blame it so much on bad writing, as I do on the author's insistence on portraying her and her life based on the factual evidence of her and her life. I gave the book 3 stars with this logic. In my mind, it was a 4-star book based upon it's educational value, a 2-star book based upon it's entertainment or satisfaction-level value.

I rate this book 3 stars. It was an interesting point of view about the Avraham Genesis account, as well as understanding it from a Mormon perspective. However, I feel that Card took more than a few creative liberties. The total piousy of Avraham and Sara annoyed me somewhat, I must admit. (An extreme example was when God told Avraham to lie to Pharaoh about Sarai being his sister. In the Bible, it seems to be more of Avraham's fear and weakness, as the scriptures seem to hint.)
A major problem I had was the way the characters thought. It was too modern and heavily Greek oriented. I understand that Card needed to use it to address modern questions. However, it just seemed out of place.