Customer Reviews

Lilah: A Novel (Canaan Trilogy)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was wasn't NEARLY as good as 'Sarah' but not quite as bad as 'Zipporah'. I was just about to put it down when Lilah was summoned to the queen. That's when it picked up and "saved" this book. I'm confused because I don't see how Marek could have written such a WONDERFUL book in 'Sarah' and then fallen so far in his next two.

If you can borrow this book from a friend or a library then I would say to read it, but don't spend money on the hardcover version.

I was disappointed in this book. I read Sarah, and thought it was great. Zipporah was almost as good....this was not nearly as good. If you have read the other 2, you will probably want to read this, but if not....don't bother.

The story is loosely based on the book of Ezra. I'm not sure Lilah is actually mentioned in the Bible, and I can't find her. The book started out very slowly, got interesting enough to continue about halfway through, but had a sudden and horrible ending. Very unsatisfactory!

If this were submitted for a writing class and I was the instructor, I'd be handing it back with big red marks saying, "please try again Marek, I KNOW you can do better!"

Sadly, Halter at his worst. Sarah was magnificent. Zipphorah was excellent, although it has a disappointing ending, but Lilah simply isn't worth the money. Weak story line and I can only categorize it as mediocre at best. I'm sorry I bought it and wish I could get a refund.

My recommendation is don't waste your money on this book!

Thousands embraced the first book in Mark Halter's Canaan trilogy, Sarah. Many more were intrigued by his second, Zipporah, Wife of Moses and even more will undoubtedly be drawn to Lilah, the final book in this popular series. Historical fiction buffs relish the author's ability to bring to our eyes and minds the life of thousands of years ago.

The question Lilah asks of Yahweh is "Why must I cause pain when my brother and my lover have an equal place in my heart?"

Her lover is a Persian warrior, Antinoes, who was first a childhood friend and now the man who wants to marry her. However, as she was raised, Lilah doesn't believe she can marry anyone without the blessing of Ezra, her brother, and she knows that Ezra would not want her to marry anyone not of their faith.

Ezra believes that he is the one who is to lead his people back to the Promised Land, and Lilah also thinks this is true. So, she determines to help him accomplish this. Yet, when this is done there are extremists among the people who would want all non-Jewish banished.

The time has come for Lilah to make a choice.

Popular theater and television performer Ellen Reilly gives a sterling narration to this story of a woman torn.

- Gail Cooke

This book certainly did not live up to Sarah, and it was even worse--if that is possible--than Zipporah. I have never not finished a book, and that is the only reason why I finished this one, because I was fairly disgusted with it the whole way through. I have begun to wonder if Mr. Halter has something against the history of his people, what with the racial issues he introduced in Zipporah and the severe mess of judgmental [...] that this book was made up of. I'm not one who always expects or wants a happy ending, but the ending in this book was completely anticlimactic, and the only likeable character, in my opinion, was Antinoes--the rest of the characters were weak and annoying. The other issue I have with this novel is that both Sarah and Zipporah are mentioned in the Bible, while Lilah is not (at least not in the King James version that I own)...why did the author choose two well-known Biblical woman for the first two installments of his trilogy, and then turn around and use a little mentioned and possibly even non-existent woman for the final novel?

If you really feel the need to finish out this trilogy, borrow this book from a friend or a library, but don't bother buying it, because in my opinion, it would not be a worthy addition to your shelves.

This book was ok. I found the beginning hard to get into. However the more i got into it, the more I enjoyed it. The middle and end was very exciting. I started to feel more for the main character and then all of a sudden..the ending happens. I thought the ending was terrible, there was absolutely no closure.

I read Sarah and Zipporah and absolutely fell in love with them. I was so excited to read the third book in the trilogy that I marked the date on my calendar the day it came out. I was, however, a bit dissapointed. If you read the other two you should still read this one, but it is definately no where near as wonderful as Sarah or Zipporah.

This is my least favorite book in the trilogy, probably because I was not as familiar with the story of Ezra and Lilah as I was with Abraham and Moses. But this book is enjoyable because of the diversity of the characters that evoke emotion. Lilah is strong, proud, and full of love, like Sarah and Zipporah. However, we have a wider range of characters. Some are easy to root for, like Ezra's mentor, his servant, and Lilah's lover. And others are easy to despise, like the Queen, and even Ezra himself, who is not a very sympathetic character. Yes, the Jews are lead to the Promise Land and the Temple is rebuilt, but Ezra does not care at what cost these tasks are done.


MY REVIEW OF THE TRILOGY AS A WHOLE (SPOILER ALERT!!!)

I may seem like I'm slightly bashing these books just because I'm pointing out some flaws, but I did give these books 4 or 5 stars.

Halter should not switch from first person to third. Yes, he distinctly separates them via prologues and epilogues and parts, but once he's really established style in one or the other, he changes ineloquently.

These women of god were not as chaste as we were lead to believe. Mind you, I'm no conservative, but generally, when people are reading biblical stories, they're not reading it for moderately steamy romance. Sarah committed adultery with Pharaoh, Zipporah slept with Moses before they were married and acknowledged that she lived in sin, and Lilah slept with her lover before they were married and did so with considerable passion.

All of these women had a bit too much in common, and having concluded the third book, the trilogy seemed a bit redundant. All three women were raised in privilege and wanted men outside of their class. They all embarked in holy journeys and received both blessings and sorrow. It was a bit formulaic.

Overall, I enjoyed the series. It was a quick read with familiar characters and a good sense of setting and atmosphere. I felt the heat of the deserts and texture of the fabrics. But while I knew what was in the character's hearts, I never FELT it.

As I said in my review of Sarah, I don't typically compare books to other books, but this series didn't hold a candle to The Red Tent.

I loved Lilah, just as I did the rest of the Canaan Trilogy. Sarah was my favorite, but be fair reviewers. Lilah was a great book. I have never written a review before, but I felt I needed to after reading what had been written about this one. I recommended this trilogy to a neighbor last week before reading all the negative things written here, and I stand by my recommendations. Another fantastic book in the "Biblical Fiction" category is "The Red Tent" (not written by the same author). It is my absolute favorite.

Another can't-put-it-down book. A page-turner. A very decerning eye for detail. Written from much mediation of Scripture.

The only negative point is some missing detail from the French to English translation. Not as fluenty translated as the first 2 books of the trilogy. But saying that it is well-translated and VERY WELL WRITTEN.

EXCELLENT STORY LINE!