An interesting perspective on the Bible story. It humanized these people. Gave them life and a personality. Very different than what I would have ever come up with.

I preferred Sarah and Rebekah over this book. I think too much time was spent on immature girls sniping at each other.

The last book I read about these two had (I think) Rachel locked in her room while her father married off her older sister, in deceit. It seemed a little more believable.

I really liked the 1st book in this series. The next 2 were just okay. I'd have to say this one was my least favorite. Leah was annoying througout most of the book (major emphasis on Leah's character and the two handmaids) and I was very disapointed in how the author portrayed Rachel at the end of the book (very imature). I guess I enjoy when the author is generous to the scriptural women and this book didn't do that for me :). The only woman I really ended up liking in this book was Bilhah. And, for most of the book I really disliked Zilpah. Lets just say that reading the actual scriptural account was more inspiring to me than this book (which I guess is how it should be :) I was also dispointed that this book will continue, who knows when, in another volume. It is always nice to know that going into a book. But, who knows, maybe I'll still have the desire to read the next volume, "The Wives of Israel" whenever it comes out?!? Doubtful.

I really enjoyed this book. While Mr. Card puts his own spin on the story of Jacob, Rachel, and Leah he does NOT deviate from scripture. In fact, one of my favorite aspects of this book is the explanation given for the switch. Laban tells Jacob that it was because it is custom for the older daughter to marry first (as scripture says). But the backstory to it is plausible and a nice twist.
As far as the sisters go, I felt sorry for Leah but not because of her tender eyes. I felt sorry for her because she was the one that always got the short end of the stick. But in real life, God honored Leah seeing how she loved him and Jacob preferred Rachel. Leah is even buried in the family tomb with Jacob while Rachel is buried elsewhere.
I highly recommend this novel to anyone who would like a closer look at this story. In fact, I would recommend the entire Women of Genesis trilogy as it follows 4 women who truly loved God.

Super weird ending. GRODDY. Kids SHOULDN’T get married.
Also, someone please get Leah some glasses like GEEZ man.

I am a big fan of Orson Scott Card so I was pleased to find this series of non-science fiction books by him. I am also a fan of stories that expand on the many Old Testament tales that leave one suspecting a lot more must have happened than was eventually written down. If you've read The Red Tent and think this will just be more of the same, Card presents a very different story. This is an enjoyably inventive tale of what Card imagines caused, and allowed, Laben to substitute his daughter Leah as Jacob's first wife instead of Rachel. I'm not marking this as a spoiler because everyone should already know the outline of the story already. The fun is in the alternative explanations Card comes up with for HOW the story turned out the way it did.

It was interesting to read this right after reading The Red Tent. Both authors had completely different interpretations of Rachel, Leah, Jacob, and the surrounding characters. Anita Diamant's book had a very foreign, ancient feel. This book by Orson Scott Card, on the other hand, had scenes and situations that seemed more modern and familiar in comparison. Maybe because I come from his LDS culture, which I presume was his target audience for the Women of Genesis series.

I did like that all Laban's family had an understanding of God, as opposed to The Red Tent where it seemed only Jacob and possibly Isaac believed in one God. In Rachel and Leah the free interaction between men and women seemed unlikely for the time period, although it would be nice if that's how it really was. Both authors had different takes on the Rachel-Leah wedding switch, so even though I generally knew what was going to happen, I was still on edge to see specifically what would happen in the author's interpretation. Card had some interesting insights and I enjoyed seeing Leah's spiritual growth. The story is heartbreaking!

This is the second book I've read by Orson Scott Card. It was very different from Ender's Game but just as thoughtful. I'd like to continue Rachel and Leah's story in the next book (which the Afterward promised, though I can't seem to find it at the moment), and read the Sarah and Rebekah books as well.

This deserves more of a 3 1/2 star rating than just 3.

Frankly, not what I expected after reading the previous two books of the series (which I really appreciate). This third one brings us a lot more female characters. However I think they are not as impressive as their predecessors. Maybe this is also the point - that the purity of the direct message from God gets diluted with the generations and the message is lost along the way because people lack the direct contact. Somehow, I think that those to cheat end up being cheated. Karma / life or however you want top call it! Overall, the ending is too abrupt for my taste. I am left hoping there were extra pages somewhere...

eh. So this is a tough review. On the one hand, it's a pretty straight-forward fictionalization of what might have happened to some of the characters mentioned in the Bible and the Torah. On the other hand, it's Orson Scott Card and I'm conflicted about liking any of his works now.

It's not that I can't appreciate good work, and he has done some. Ender's Game let me know it was o.k. for a genius to kill a bully, and that really makes me feel a lot better. Xenocide is meant to be a very direct analogy to Mormon theology, so now it makes sense that it's really bad, because most theology is really bad. Really bad story-telling that is...whether or not the theology itself is really bad depends completely on which theology we're talking about...I can imagine that there exists a theology that isn't bad even if I've never found one.

Orson Scott Card himself is a dedicated Mormon, and as such, his opinions follow the Mormon Church directives requiring it's members to embrace bigotry and (as often as they can get away with it) commit hate crimes. So..."He's a really good story teller!" seems tone-deaf. Maybe..."He tells a really good story!" would be acceptable; "He tells a really entertaining story!" might be more accurate.

But at what cost? What is entertainment worth? And what does it matter?

Why should a person's religious views cause someone to discredit their life's work?

Power. Influence. Voice.

He uses his to champion against homosexuality itself, taking every opportunity to misunderstand it, mischaracterize it, and propagate his willful ignorance to others.

All to control others. Stop it! Stop trying to control others by demonizing who(m?) they are.

I listened to this on a road trip with my mom and a friend. We would get back in the car and they would both be really excited to turn it back on as I groaned. I didn't like the characters and I had a hard time picturing biblical times and stories with modern language and some modern culture mixed in. The bible story does leave a lot up for interpretation , and I don't fill in the blanks the same way Card does.

Wow! I've never thought so deeply about these women before. This book is all the more interesting to read because we know the ultimate outcome. I'm not entirely sure Card's rendition of the story is entirely plausible, but then how are we to know what was and wasn't so very long ago. It was certainly sympathetic and intriguing. I find it an especially good read, because I think that each of us is both Rachel and Leah in our marriages.

I had been enjoying this Women of Genesis, but I struggled a bit with this volume. None of the women were very likeable, though some of that can be attributed to their arc of development. It moved ever so much more slowly than the other books did, too. It's still not really over, because this volume only took us up to the weddings of the two sisters. Now I'm a little annoyed. I don't like leaving things unfinished, so I feel like I have to move forward with reading the continuation of this story in the next book, but this volume left me feeling burned out. I struggled to connect with any of the characters, though the author does give each a thorough backstory from which their behaviors and characteristics are drawn. I much prefer finishing a book with a contented sigh rather than an exasperated one.