I really enjoy Orson Scott Card as an author. He really makes his characters come to life. I am a little frustrated with mixing the fiction aspect with scripture. I feel almost guilty for assuming these people were this way just because he says so, on the other hand he makes them into real people that I can relate to and I find myself thinking how I would handle the situations they were placed in. A little tougher to read than some other books I have read but well worth it!

An easy read. Fun to have Orson Scott Card flesh out an idea of what Sarah's personality might have been like, and the circumstances that could have dictated some of her choices. The portrayal of what life might have been like in Sodom was one of the aspects I enjoyed. Moving on to read Rebekah next.


My Rating System:
* = Didn't like and didn't finish
** = Finished. Meh.
*** = Finished it. Enjoyed it. Would recommend. Probably won't think about it much again.
**** = Finished it. Loved it. One I want to keep a hardcopy of on my shelf to re-read later. A story that stays with me.
***** = Something of a literary masterpiece. Or at least, a book that I have read multiple times and it continues to influence my life.

I'm pretty shocked at how much I enjoyed this book. I was not expecting to become so involved in it and to think about it constantly. I found myself underlining many lines in the book that seemed so poignant to me. I have always been intrigued by women in the Old Testament and loved being able to spend sometime imagining just how it could have been. One thing I love about historical fiction is how much it makes me want to study out the real history so that I can separate the fiction from the truth. I hope to be able to get caught up in the other books in the Women of Genesis series, this was a treat.

For being such a nonbelieving atheist-pants, I can get into a Biblical yarn like nobody's business. Whether you believe the tales in the Bible hold any shred of truth or are pure imagination, there's no denying that they have had a mighty influence on Western culture, and I am nothing if not a product of my awesome, cheeseburger-eating, fossil-fuel-burning, Bible-thumping culture. Even if I am a godless heathen.

Being that I am a) a big fan of Biblical fiction and b) objective enough about the Bible to take it as fair game for fictionalizing to the content of any author's heart, I feel I am an especially credible reviewer of such novels. I will take no offense at, say, scenes of Jacob-turned-Israel fondling his nether shepherd's staff, as happens in Anita Diamant's masterful Bible-based novel The Red Tent. Depictions of Biblical characters as real, fallible human beings faze me not one tiny iota, and I am far more concerned with an author's craft -- narrative, prose, character, dialogue, plot -- than with adherence to the Biblical source. Therefore, if The Lavender gives a Biblical novel a five-star review, you can be assured that you will find between its covers a genuinely enjoyable reading experience, judged in terms of readability and craft, and not merely a kowtow to the Book of Genesis.

That disclaimer aside, Card has done a remarkably good job of rendering the actual content in the Abraham/Sarah/Lot/Lot's Wife segment of Genesis into a very enjoyable historical novel. Par for the Card course (if you don't count his most recent books, anyway), the characterization is expertly crafted. The dialogue flows splendidly. And the plot never drags. This book should appeal to both the godless heathens who are just after an engaging ancient-history yarn and the fans of the Bible who want to see a faithful (pardon the pun) adaptation.

Card does depart from Biblical record in one relatively minor way: SPOILER ALERT: Lot's wife, the eminently smack-able Qira, is destroyed in what appears to be an asteroid strike/fireballs from heaven when she turns back for Sodom, rather than being turned into the familiar pillar of salt. However, I actually liked that Card chose to use a more plausible means of ridding the world of Qira, and his explanation of how he came to that decision in the author's afterword is quite satisfying.

Also satisfying to this non-believer is the way the Noah story is given roots in the Utnapishtim tale from the Epic of Gilgamesh, making Card's Sarah feel thoroughly based in the real world, where real cultures interact and influence one another, rather than a purely fantasy world where everything is exactly as it's depicted in the Bible. The Noah bit is more of a brief sideline, though, and it, too, should not be a big deterrent to readers who prefer their Bible fiction to be extra-Bibley.

From a historical perspective, although I lack a great knowledge of ancient Hebrew herder culture, I am fairly well-versed in ancient Egyptian culture, and I was well pleased with the section of the novel spent in Pharaoh's Egypt. Card clearly did his book-learning and depicted Dynastic Egyptian culture -- and its contrast to herder Sarai's more conservative culture -- well.

The characters are very well-drawn in this book, and the relationship between Sarai and Abram is wonderfully sweet and touching, particularly as they grow older. The decision to end the book at the cliffhanger of all cliffhangers was a good one -- it leaves the reader to imagine for herself how Sarah might have reacted to Abraham's return from his little father-son jaunt, especially if the convenient ram in the thicket hadn't shown up. Sarah's internal monologue of love and gratitude as she watches her husband and only child depart for their fateful journey is so much more poignant because Card deftly leaves the reader hanging on Sarah's plucked heartstring, picturing her heartbreak, her rage, or her joy and devotion when the whole morally questionable episode is concluded.

All in all, this is a fun historical read with some images that will stick with the reader long after she's closed the book. I recommend it.

I chose this series of books wanting to learn more about the time period in which the women of the scriptures lived, and some insight into their lives. That said, I knew that due to the small amount of information we are given about these women in the Bible, the author's telling of the story would constitute his best guess into Sarah's personality, emotions and family life. Even though Sarah is one of the women of the scriptures we know the most about, we still know very little. Having that in mind, I was able to read the book and enjoy the story that was focused around events that we know happened in Sarah's life (her marriage to Abram, her barrenness, her stay in Egypt where she had to pretend to be Abram's sister, Hagar bearing a son for Abram, the birth of Isaac in her old age)including the fictional conversations, emotions and people that Card included.

In the afterword, Card says this, "I did not whimsically discard anything from the story. Every important omission or change from the common interpretation was deliberate and took place only after great thought and serious attempts at research into what is known about the surrounding culture at the probably time of these events. So, if I have erred, it was in the attempt to approach the truth contained in the Bible, and never in disregard of it." He acknowledges the difficulty in writing a book like this, and I appreciate his explanation and really did enjoy the book. I look forward to reading the other two in the series to learn how the women's lives connect through the generations.

n  "She did not know what the future would bring, but because she was married to Abram, she knew that her life would matter, that the world would change and she would be a part of it."n

I don't think I would have ever read this book if it hadn't been a book club pick, and I am so glad that it was because I loved this book. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was absolutely perfect and capture Sarah's voice so well. She really brought this book to life for me and made it a memorable experience.

I loved how Sarah and Abraham took on a new life and were not what I was expecting from the bible account. This managed to be inspiring and thoughtful without being overly religious or preachy. Card managed to make me think of Sarah and Abraham in a whole new light. I am a religious person so I'm familiar with their story yet I was surprised by how Card managed to interpret it in a different way. He mentions in the afterward his research, and I have no doubt that he captured what life was like for Sarah. I know this is fiction and what was portrayed in the book is probably not exactly what happened, but what I did appreciate was being forced to see the prophet and his wife as real people. They had faults and doubts, made mistakes and life was hard. Sarah's struggles were especially moving as was her relationship with Abraham. I like to think they did in fact share a great love like Card showed in this book.

This book really impressed me and made me think about a lot of things in my own life. I'm equally impressed with Card for being able to write such a different book from his most well-known book, Ender's Game. I wasn't expecting the amount of depth he managed to give Sarah, and was surprised that her emotions and fears were so genuine. Just a really great book overall.

This author’s writing style just isn’t for me.

I really wanted to like this book. I like his Ender series and I like the Bible. I wanted to see Sarah in it's cultural context. I wanted to understand the motivations and experiences of a women in that culture with all its grittiness. Instead it felt like I was reading a modern Western couple (Abram and Sara) dressed in Bedouin clothes. I suppose it's because the author is trying to treat a patriarch of faith with great respect, but the characters are a bit too idyllic. For example even Sarah's laugh at overhearing of her prophesied pregnancy isn't treated as unbelief and Abraham claims to have laughed just like her.

The book is still well written. While there are some differences between this account and the Bible (i.e. Lot's wife turning into a pillar of salt) none of these troubled me in a work of fiction. I didn't learn or enjoy it enough to read any more of those in this series.

I read the third of the series first and loved it, so I was disappointed with this one a little. I may have liked it better if I had read it first. It was really just ok for me.

Second time reading it: still a 3.

I have read several of the books by Orson Scott Card and they are excellent! It really helped me get a feel for what it would have been like to live in the biblical times. Trust me...you guys will love these books! An added bonus...you don't have to worry about any inappropriate sections.

You have to read these books though fiction they will help you understand the culture, scenery and depth of the women who were married to the patriarchs and prophets of the bible. They will take you right to the desert tent as you live and survive their hardships and blessings. I have read them all three times! (Rebekah, Rachel & Leah)

As a Christian, I enjoyed this interpretation of Sarah and Abraham's story. While he does some things I might not agree with, I can't argue with Card's writing and historical research. There's nothing that seems implausible or ahistorical, and Card shows tremendous respect for the source material, albeit from a different theological perspective than mine.

Despite this being such a well-known story, the author also does a decent job at creating suspense, especially when Sarah is in Egypt and when dealing with Sodom.

If one is well studied in the Genesis accounts, they may find some passages rather dry like I did and even take umbrage with others, but as a whole, this book is adequately done.