Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Michal by Jill Eileen Smith



book cover

Michal
by Jill Eileen Smith


ISBN-13: 9780800733209
Trade Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Revell
Released: March 1, 2009


Source: Bought through Half.com.

Book Description from Back Cover:
The daughter of King Saul, Michal lives a life of privilege—but one that is haunted by her father's unpredictable moods and competition from her beautiful older sister. As a girl, Michal quickly falls for the handsome young harpist David. But soon after their romance begins, David must flee for his life, leaving Michal at her father's mercy in the prison that is King Saul's palace.

Will Michal ever be reunited with David? Or is she doomed to remain separated from him forever?

Against the backdrop of opulent palace life, raging war, and daring desert escapes, Jill Eileen Smith takes you on an emotional journey as Michal deals with love, loss, and personal transformation as the first wife of King David.


My Review:
Michal is Biblical fiction about David and Michal. It covered a lot of time--most of their lives--so the relationships came off as somewhat superficial. I thought that their initial falling in love was supposed to be superficial (Michal wanting to be his future queen and to be protected from her father, and David lusting after her beauty). However, later, after years apart and married to other people that they loved, they hardly even acted awkward around each other. Michal forgets her second husband--whom we're told she did come to love--like he never even existed.

The historical details were handled nicely. There wasn't a lot of day-to-day details, but there was enough to create a mental image of what was going on. The author stayed true to the information (and words) given in the Bible. I didn't quite envision things playing out the way the did in this novel, but that's true of most Biblical fiction. And I thought I tended to be harder on David than most people, but this author went even further than me: David only has a few moments of heroic faith and action in this story.

There were no graphic sex scenes, and there was no bad language. Overall, it was an interesting story, and I appreciate that it stayed true to what was given in the Bible.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

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