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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Biblical Fiction!, February 23, 2010
This review is from: Abigail: A Novel (The Wives of King David) (Paperback)
Abigail, as well as book one in the Wives of King David series, Michal, are hands down two of the best Biblical fiction books I've read in a very long time! I have always wanted to know about David and his life from his boyhood all the way to his place as Israel's king. Both of Ms. Smith's books give tons of insight on what it might have been like back then, and more specifically, what it might have been like to be the wife of a king.
I have to admit that I struggled with this book a little bit in the beginning. Before I tell explain the reason why, I have to commend the author for keeping up with three overlapping storylines that span over both of her books. You see, Abigail does not pick up where Michal left off. Rather, it tells each story as it happened while providing little snippets here and there of what's happening elsewhere. While telling Abigail's story, the author kept me up to date with what was currently happening with David as he continued to flee for his life from King Saul. During David's portions of the story, he would occasionally allude to missing Michal, and how he wished he had taken her with him when he first fled from King Saul. I didn't mind that the story kept going back and forth between Abigail and David, but I found myself wanting to know more about Abigail and less about David hiding out in one cave and then another. That part seemed to be a little repititious since so much of it was already covered in the first book.
I thought the author did a wonderful job portraying Abigail's internal struggle between wanting to please God by honoring her marriage vows, and her desire to be free of her abusive husband, Nabal. Right after their wedding, Abigail was very outspoken with her belief in God and His laws, but Nabal does not want to hear any of it, and instead, he basically beats her to shut her up. As time goes by in their marriage, Abigail quickly learns that she's better off to keep silent and try to avoid the beatings if at all possible. I felt an incredible sadness when reading this because as we all know, not much has changed through the years with those types of relationships.
The most moving part of the book for me was after Abigail and David were married and she was with child. During that time, the author wrote that David penned Psalm 139 which is the psalm about how God knit us together in our mother's womb. Now I don't know if that timeline is accurate, but how it appeared in the story was simply beautiful. It was gradual, giving just a little taste here and there, and by the time the full psalm was written in the story, I was so overcome with emotion thinking about how God above truly does care about us from the very first moment of our lives.
There are some authors out there that, when they find their niche in writing, they need to stick with it. So, um, Ms. Smith....don't stop what you're doing! I was so impressed with your storytelling abilities as well as the loads of time you spent doing research to get everything just so. You definitely have great talent with this particular genre, and I can't wait to read what you've got in store with your next book...I'm really hoping it will be about Bathsheba. :o)
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love is most definitely worst the price in this Biblical story!, February 21, 2010
This review is from: Abigail: A Novel (The Wives of King David) (Paperback)
After being included in being able to review this book for a blog tour, I knew I had to go and get my copy of Michal, book 1, in The Wives of King David series. I loved Michal so much that I couldn't wait to get a hold of Abigail and start reading it. Unlike Michal, which took me 2 weeks to read, I read Abigail in 2 days. It was just as amazingly good and powerful as book 1. I didn't want to say good bye to these wonderful Biblical people who felt like friends to me.
As with Michal, this book moved me beyond words. I was again transported back in time to a Biblical era that I fell in love with. I could feel myself there with Abigail and with King David. The feeling of that was so powerful. Smith, again, makes this a wonderful read by mixing Biblical dialogue from the Bible in with the fiction. Add that to the suspense of Abigail, not only being saved by King David but by King David also saving her, makes this a most wonderful edge-of-your-seat book.
I will look at 1 and 2 Samuel in a whole new light now, when I read my Bible. I will be drawn back to Smith's work on Abigail (and Michal!) and will want to read these two amazing novels over and over again! Words just can't explain! It makes me anxious for 2011 when Smith's third book in this series is released: Bathsheba....it can't get here soon enough!
Abigail is, like Michal, worthy of so much more than 5 stars but I will only give it 5 stars.....and I will recommend this story to EVERY woman out there.....I'm sure you will love it as much as I did! It is an amazing love story in an ancient time and you will feel so different (in a good way!) after reading this book and feeling a part of a Biblical era. If you would like to see my review of the first book in this series, Michal, please visit here.
*This book was provided for review by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group*
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Biblical fiction story I've ever read!, February 24, 2010
This review is from: Abigail: A Novel (The Wives of King David) (Paperback)
This novel should be on the NY Times best-seller list. I'm not kidding! In fact, I don't think I've ever said this before about any book I've reviewed. For people who love Biblical fiction, this story should knock their socks off. I'll tell you why...
I was totally entrenched in the lives of the characters and the setting the entire time I read this book. I would've read it straight through if life hadn't gotten in the way. I loved the realism, the emotion, the romance, the way the characters communicated. And the whole multiple wives and the jealousies between them was masterfully done. The writing in this book was also top-notch. It was gripping and smooth with no jarring moments or clunky writing phrases. Can you tell I loved this book?
Abigail's story touched my heart, inspired me, and made me want to love people more. I also loved the multiple love scenes between Abigail and David. Hot, but tasteful, which is the way it should be. Very realistic and just edgy enough to make me want to say, "Go, Jill!" The way the author illustrated Abigail's marriage to Nabal was great, but it was even more exciting when her life touched David's. And when she had her first child I was impressed with how she showed David's handling of the situation and her misunderstanding it.
Here is the best part! Unlike a lot of secular Biblical fiction authors, Jill Eileen Smith shows David's imperfections and those of his wives with great taste and in a way that honored God. He was easy to love in spite of his flaws because she handled his character development so well, while at the same time keeping it true to the Scriptures. One of my favorite aspects of this story was how the author sprinkled various Scriptures into the scenes when they were appropriate. Wonderful, wonderful book and highly recommended.
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