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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mesmerizing Story ... Beautifully Written, October 26, 2005
This review is from: Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther (Paperback)
This story is filled with the fascinating details of life in ancient Persia and Biblical times. Ginger Garrett reveals the thoughts and feelings of Queen Esther, one of the most beautiful and wise women of the Old Testament, from the time of her adolescence, all the way into her adulthood. The author tells the story from the first person perspective ... capturing the thoughts and feelings of a young Jewish girl who is raised by her Uncle Mordecai ... who with caution and descretion rises to one of the most honored, revered and envied positions within ancient Persia.
The story is one of faith, of moral truths, of honor, of betrayal and of redemption and renewal. By the age of 30, King Xerxes had experienced much in life, plots of assassination, of war, political intrigues and of physical and carnal love - perhaps he was seeking something less ephemeral and more difficult to obtain, something lasting and of infinite value. We learn about power and corruption in high places, the role of women during the ancient times, the power of the rich ...and the degradation and poverty of the poor.
Ginger Garrett is a most gifted writer who intersperses current events, by including news articles about antiquities and artifacts found recently in Iraq and Iran. The topics within the news articles grab the imagination of the reader and magnify the mystery of the past. They strengthen the emotional bond to the story as written by the author. The conversations between King Xerxes and Queen Esther are so realistic. They are challenging on an emotional, spiritual, and intellectual level - as two people who are from very different backgrounds learn to dissolve the barriers between each other ... learn to bare their thoughts and feelings ... as they develop trust, mutual respect ... and finally love. Esther recognizes the power which the King holds over so many people, including herself. She risks her life and the comforts of her position to save her people. Everything hangs on the decision of the King, his inherent "power", whether or not he will yield ... to her one request. The story is written so beautifully by the author that it touched this reader's heart and soul.
Erika Borsos (erikab93)
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The ultimate girl-power story, December 11, 2005
This review is from: Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther (Paperback)
A great first novel from Ginger Garrett, mixing the Book Of Esther you read in Sunday school with historical fact, and meshing them together through the fictional diary entries of the beautiful Queen.
A Jewish woman originally named Hadassah, Esther lived with her cousin Mordecai, tending sheep and growing roses, when she laid eyes on a gorgeous young hunk named Cyrus. Being poor, she didn’t have a huge dowry stashed away, but Cyrus liked what he saw anyway, and the two began making plans for a life together.
As fate would have it, King Xerxes was on the look-out for new talent for his harem, and Esther found herself whisked away from her loved ones, and smack dab in the middle of the final selection for presentation to the King. Similar to modern beauty pageants, this involved a year of preparation, but with six months of old-style spa treatment, and six months of Harem Hospitality 101.
Through counseling, guidance and beauty and diet regimens from the eunuch Hegai and chief hand maiden Ashtari, Esther proves herself to be fit for a king, and when the big night comes, she offers him a slightly different approach to which he is accustomed. Blown away by her beauty, wisdom and purity, he pops the question, and Esther finds herself in the coveted role of wife and Queen.
Of course there’s treachery everywhere, and when Esther learns that her hubby has unwittingly signed a document authorizing genocide, she fasts and prays, and then risks her neck to save her people. Unfortunately, there’s no “happily ever after” when money, religion and power combine, but that’s the way it went down according to the Good Book.
Imaginatively written and clearly presented, this is recommended for historical fiction fans and biography lovers, or anyone who enjoys a good girl-power story.
Amanda Richards, December 12, 2005
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A clever concept, enriched by the author's skill....., July 12, 2006
This review is from: Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther (Paperback)
Ginger Garrett writes nonfiction for magazines of all kinds and has written two self-help books. The Chosen is her first novel. Garrett has used author's license and her own creativity to make the fiction seem as though it is written from the lost diaries of the Bible's Queen Esther. Interspersed with the diary from the "Persian Antiquities Authority" are a variety of newspaper clippings that appear to be real, but are also fictionalized, showing news of the findings and editorials about the significance of the diaries.
In her prose, Garrett gives us a first person account of the young Jewish girl who was chosen to be first the consort, and then the queen of King Xerxes of Persia. Starting at the age of twelve, and proceeding through many years at the King's side, Esther's tale is made rich by the inclusion of her wise Uncle Mordecai, and Cyrus, the young man she truly loves. And although the tale is tragic, it is also beautiful and revealing in the mysteries it discloses about Persia, and Persia from a woman's point of view, at that. Garrett keeps you spellbound, and all too soon ..."You have heard my story and been my faithful companion down these darkened catcombs of the buried past...."
The novel is followed by a collection of Persian recipes, a list of discussion questions, and a charming letter from the author to her readers.
Romantic, inspiring....excellent.
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