Book Review: Sarah

I was drawn in again, just as always
By book covers, titles, got me into my crawlspace
To read and to ponder but ain't it absurd
That in my book namesake, I enjoyed not a word!

Book: Sarah, by Marek Halter

*** (out of five stars)

I have to admit that I am a target consumer. I love books with nice covers, and am more likely to buy those. I like books with surreal sounding titles, and am more likely to read those. I hate glossy, pocket-size books; I am drawn to the matte print covers, with the title printed in fancy writing. Book sellers probably love me because I am an easy sell: I judge books by their covers.

So it's not a long stretch, then, to see why I picked out this book. I picked it for the title. In fact, I was really excited about being able to read a book about "me," and at least pretend some adventures for a little while.

The story is based on the biblical Sarai, wife of Abram (who later become the famous Sarah and Abraham, respectively), and follows her life instead of that of Abram and the Covenant. It's about her childhood; how she, a wealthy aristocrat, meets Abram, a nomadic potter's son, and falling in love with him, eats magical herbs to make her infertile to end her betrothal to some other aristocratic guy (yes...I'm sure this all made sense way back in the B.C. day). Long story short, we all know that Sarai and Abram get together, and eventually make the covenant with God that is the basis of two (arguably three) of the world's most prominent modern religions.

I like historical fiction. However, Marek Halter seems to forget that this is supposed to be a story, and not a nonfictional account of life in ancient Sumeria. His writing is a little choppy and doesn't really fit the setting; when I think of ancient people, it just doesn't feel right when the author says that "her eyes twinkled." Just doesn't really fit.

Not a bad story overall, and interesting if you're into the Bible story springboard thing. It's a short, quick read too...just not my favourite book. Which, considering that it has the same name as me...was disappointing :(