Ellen Gunderson Traylor

Ruth is my favorite book in the Bible, and the account of Ruth and Boaz has long held a kind of romance for me, so I have been picky about fictionalized versions of it. This is my favorite of any I’ve read or watched so far. I think the author did a good job remaining true to the biblical account and to the spirit of it.

Traylor had to attach real motivations to some of the actions and dialog in the account, and both Ruth and Boaz came across just right, in my opinion. Naomi was decent overall, too, though I might have preferred a little more build-up to her comments about being bitter when she first returns to Bethlehem. Orpah, on the other hand, had no love for her mother-in-law, yet wept when she turned back. Even with those notes, though, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will most likely read it again more than once in the future. In the end, it’s clear to me that this is a love story not only about the romance between a man and woman but between God and man. I can’t recommend this book enough for those who enjoy biblical fiction, and especially those who appreciate the book of Ruth as much as I do.… (more)

This is the second book I've read by this author. I liked the first one from the late '80s, about Joseph the dreamer.

As for this novel from the '90s, it's at least the tenth adaptation of Hadassah/Esther's story I've either read or watched over the years. So it was interesting to see this author present a take on the story I hadn't seen before.

This different take includes the nature of Xerxes and Esther's marriage: altogether loveless right from the start, based on a delusion Xerxes has. In fact, given the book's pretty cursory sketch of their poor relationship, which doesn't start until Esther becomes queen around the last third of the novel, we don't hear her even speak at all to Xerxes until only a quarter of the novel is left.

Moreover, while the book's descriptions of the overall plot and context are certainly important, Hadassah/Esther herself doesn't really seem like the lead character, maybe not until that last quarter. During the first three, her fairly limited time in the forefront is like that of a supporting character, while the story is more occupied with Mordecai, Xerxes, Vashti, and imperial war and intrigue, including where the notorious Haman comes into play.

Now, aside from some issues I have with the narrative style and a few technical aspects of this adaptation that don't quite make sense to me, Esther's celebration of death at the end of the book rubbed me the wrong way. See, the backstory regarding Haman, a descendant of Agag the Amalekite—a backstory involving a mass killing of Haman's people: men, women, and children—I'm sorry to say it's only in recent years that it finally struck me as genocide. I don't take that biblical account of killing for granted anymore.

As I recall from other fictional adaptations of this story, the endings tend to focus on the saving of Esther and her people. But at the ending of this book, much of the focus is like, "Let's kill off the rest of the Amalekites at long last, then we'll rejoice over their obliteration!"

At this point, I've seen too much demonizing and "othering" of people in real life, seeing how the dehumanizing of humans desensitizes people, making it easier for them to celebrate, or justify, or excuse, or feel indifferent about the harsh treatment—even the killing—of "other" people. I've seen too much of it to take it for granted, even in fiction.

That includes biblical fiction.

One of several positive things this lifelong book lover can say is that reading novels oftentimes shows me or reiterates how I'm changing or have changed as a person. It's a bittersweet experience sometimes, but I'm grateful for it.… (more)