Pearl in the Sand: A Novel [Paperback]

Tessa Afshar (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 24, 2010

Can a Canaanite harlot who has made her livelihood by looking desirable to men make a fitting wife for one of the leaders of Israel? Shockingly, the Bible's answer is yes.  

Pearl in the Sand tells Rahab's untold story. Rahab lives in a wall; her house is built into the defensive walls of the City of Jericho. Other walls surround her as well--walls of fear, rejection, and unworthiness.

A woman with a wrecked past; a man of success, of faith...of pride. A marriage only God would conceive! Through the heartaches of a stormy relationship, Rahab and Salmone learn the true source of one another's worth and find healing in God.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In Pearl in the Sand, Tessa Afshar has created compelling characters that bring new meaning to this well-loved biblical tale.
-- Jill Eileen Smith, bestselling author of Michal and Abigail

Pearl in the Sand, the story of Rahab the harlot who became an ancestor of Christ, delivers a very powerful truth within its pages: forgiveness, redemption, and the changing power of God. An unforgettable read, Novel Journey and I give a high recommendation.
Ane Mulligan, Editor
Novel Journey
 

Review

In Pearl in the Sand, Tessa Afshar has created compelling characters that bring new meaning to this well-loved biblical tale.
-- Jill Eileen Smith, bestselling author of Michal and Abigail

Pearl in the Sand, the story of Rahab the harlot who became an ancestor of Christ, delivers a very powerful truth within its pages: forgiveness, redemption, and the changing power of God. An unforgettable read, Novel Journey and I give a high recommendation.
Ane Mulligan, Editor
Novel Journey

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Moody Publishers; New Edition edition (August 24, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802458815
• ISBN-13: 978-0802458810
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (245 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,387 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tessa Afshar was voted "New Author of the Year" by the Family Fiction sponsored Reader's Choice Award 2011 for her novel Pearl in the Sand.

A few facts you may not know about Tessa:

1. I have an accent.
Half of my family lives in England. I learned to speak English while attending a boarding school for girls named Princess Helena College in Hertfordshire. So although I've lived most of my life in America, my accent still has shades of the Queen's influence. That, and a bit of Persian. Americans usually ask me if I'm Irish. The Irish ask me if I'm American. The real answer is that I'm a citizen of heaven.

2. Who needs travel?
Even though I have visited four continents and been a citizen of three different countries at various times in my life, I really don't enjoy traveling. I much prefer curling up on a sofa with a marvelous book and a good friend to share the best lines with. Throw in homemade food and a fire, and I might never leave.

3. You should taste my cooking.
I'm a pretty good cook. I grow my own herbs in my tiny garden and love to use spices to enhance the color and flavor of food. I've been known to put fresh lavender and lime in ice cubes to make them look more appealing. But when it comes to baking, I'm in kindergarten; too many things to measure. I do have a PhD in consuming desserts, though.

4. A short, blue-eyed Persian.
I'm only five feet tall. I didn't eat my vegetables growing up. Or my meat. Or my dairy. I was a really picky eater; we figure that explains the height challenge. Of course, no one in my family is particularly tall, except my brother-in-law who is 6' 6". But I don't think that has any bearing on my genes. Another thing that seems to surprise folks is that I have blue eyes. People expect someone from the Middle East to have olive skin and brown eyes. Actually a person of Persian heritage can have very fair skin and light eyes, though the darker coloring is pretty common.

5. It's all Greek to me.
I have a Masters of Divinity from Yale University where I studied a year each of biblical Greek and Hebrew. Sadly, I remember about as many Greek words as I have nostrils.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 76 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for 2010 September 3, 2010

By L. Germany

Format:Paperback

Historical fiction is one of my favorite books to read, but historical Biblical fiction? My all time favorite. Although I was supposed to be finishing another book I just couldn't resist sitting down to sneak in a few pages of this book based on the story of Rahab. However, once I had read a few pages I just couldn't quit.

I have always thought one way about Rahab, but reading this book with the explanations of their culture brought in made me think differently. One of my favorite parts of the book is when Salmon asks for her hand in marriage. I won't tell you what he says, but it took my breath away. I am probably showing my ignorance, but it was so beautiful to me because we are all like Rahab.

"Pearls in the Sand" ranks right up there with "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers and "The Chronicles of the Kings" by Lynn Austin.

It goes on my "must read" list for 2010!

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Biblical Story of Finding Worth After Rejection Just as Relevant Today September 8, 2010

By Lauren Yarger

Format:Paperback

Picture a woman who is betrayed by people she trusted, whose whole world falls apart and who builds emotional walls around herself to survive and avoid feeling the pain. Is this the author of a New York Times bestseller or a guest on the latest Oprah? Not exactly.

This woman is Rahab - the prostitute mentioned a few times in the bible - so skillfully brought to life by first-time novelist Tessa Afshar in "Pearl in the Sand" (Moody Publishers, 2010), that the story which takes place during and after the fall of the wall of Jericho transcends time and breathes life into a character full of the same fears, heartbreaks and joys we experience today.

The first reference to Rahab, in the Old Testament book of Joshua, tells how she hides Israeli spies in her house built into the wall of Jericho, brought down by Israel. Later we learn that she and her family, all spared during the siege because of Rahab's actions, settle permanently in Israel. She's referenced in other books, but no further clues about her destiny appear again in Scripture until we read in the Gospel of Matthew that she was married to a man named Salmon and had a son named Boaz.

Afshar has merged these few details with historical, biblical and archaeological information to create a sweeping tale of a woman's life and the complex relationship between her and Salmone (the author chooses an alternate, less "fishy" spelling for the name of her novel's hero). Just how does a prostitute from Jericho end up married to an important leader of Israel and the mother of Boaz, who was in Jesus' genealogy? The answers and the details laying their foundation make for excellent historical fiction, wrongly classified by some as romance.

The story involves some romance, of course, but the relationship between Rahab and Salmone hardly follows the formula of a handsome hero rushing in on a white horse to save a beautiful damsel in distress. Rahab has spent her whole life taking care of herself and doesn't exactly relish the thought of men coming into her life after having been sold into prostitution by her father as a means of providing food for the family. Society and religion brand her worthless and ruined. Salmone agrees, at least at first, until he's rebuked by Joshua.

"Pride is the bane of the righteous," the leader of Israel tells his soldier friend. "On the outside you may seem more upright than a woman with such a past, but God sees us from the inside."

Joshua places Rahab and her family under Salmone's care and he starts to get to know the woman hiding behind a wall of hurt and emotion.

The two marry, but the honeymoon never really begins as the couple can't figure out how to chip through the bricks of pain and insecurity that Rahab has erected, fortified by Salmone's judgment. Metaphorically, the fate of Jericho's and Rahab's walls are the same when God razes years of history and purges the past. It isn't until the dust clears that Rahab can see herself as a treasure, just like the pearl in the earrings given to her by her husband - a gem formed by years of protective layers protecting an initial hurt.

"Pearl" is a moving book. These are richly penned characters whom we get to know slowly and very well, much like we get to know people -- by journeying alongside each other through good times and bad. Discovering the depth of Salmone's feelings speaks to Afshar's skill in not depending solely on the point of view of the female protagonist.

The novel remains with us because of its relevance in modern times. Rahab's are lessons we're still learning today.

"I was really disappointed with God," yesterday, Rahab reflects, when he fails to answer her prayer request. "Why wouldn't the Lord answer my cry?"

She later comes to realize, however, that by not answering her prayer, God was able to enact a plan much bigger than the one she envisioned and one which offered an immediate solution to her being ostracized by the women of the village while bringing her faith to the attention of the man who would become her husband.

The story also remains with us because we'll never read again about the battle of Jericho without remembering there were people on the other side of that wall, or trudge through those long lists of "begats" without realizing that all of those names were real people with real stories just like ours.

Rahab struggles with her father's betrayal, with her self worth, with trying to separate past sexual encounters from the marriage bed and with forgiving herself. At one point she wonders whether she'll ever be remembered for anything besides her profession. Today we know her as a direct ancestor of the Messiah. That God can use any one of us, despite our pasts and mistakes, just like he did Rahab, isn't a bad lesson to learn in 2010 either.

Likely to be a contender for a 2011 Christy Award, "Pearl" is an oasis in the sometimes rather barren desert of Christian fiction. Readers must agree since the book, just released days ago, already is in its second printing.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Praiseworthy January 31, 2012

By Sara Goff

Format:Paperback

No work of fiction has deepened my faith in God's unconditional love like Pearl in the Sand. The story weaves together scenes from the Bible to show how Rahab, a prostitute who has accepted her life as an outcast, captures the attention of Israel and the heart of one of their greatest leaders, Solmon. The most profound aspect of the book is how Rahab and Salmone, newlyweds, wrestle with jealousy and guilt, following God's commitment to forgive, rather than give up on their marriage.

With every scene, I peeled away layers of my own self-condemnation, until, at the end, I could look at my life with more love and understanding. Beautifully written, to the point and sincere, Pearl in the Sand is truly a life-altering book.