The Song of Hannah: A Novel [Paperback]

Eva Etzioni-Halevy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2005

In the tradition of the international bestseller The Red Tent comes a beautiful, sexy novel featuring Hannah, one of the most well-known and beloved heroines of the Old Testament.

Hannah and Pninah, once close childhood friends, become rivals for the attention of Elkanah, the man who has married them both. Pninah, passionate and independent, easily bears Elkanah many children, but bitter that he has taken her friend as a second wife, seeks fulfillment with her own secret lover. Hannah, the epitome of goodness and grace, remains completely devoted to her husband, but remains childless for many years, until a promise to God brings her the son she has yearned for.

Despite their differences, these two women must learn to live together, protecting their own interests as well as each other’s, while sharing not only the love of their husband, but that of Hannah’s son Samuel, who will become one of the great prophets of the Jewish people.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Exploring the varieties of love between a man and a woman, as well as the practical aspects of obeying God's commandments, this debut novel by an Israeli sociologist fictionalizes the story of the prophet Samuel. Illuminating ancient Hebrew and Canaanite culture, the tale reminds us that humanity rarely changes, either in its bondage to sex or in its perceived relationship to a creator. Hannah, the mother of Samuel, begs God to open her womb, promising in return to dedicate her first child to him. Thus, her boy Samuel grows up in the temple, blessed with wisdom but cursed with an unholy desire for his father's first wife. Falling somewhere between the feminist slant of Diamont's Red Tent (1997) and Edghill's more romanticized Queenmaker (2001), this dramatic retelling of Samuel's story, which reminds the reader that even God's beloved servants are susceptible to temptation, may offend the sensibilities of devout Christians and Jews alike, but its sensuous detail and emphasis on human foibles will appeal to those who prefer more secularized interpretations of biblical history. Jennifer Baker
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Eva Etzioni-Halevy is professor emeritus of political sociology at Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv. This is her first novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: Plume (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452286727
• ISBN-13: 978-0452286726
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #660,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Biblical Fiction
  • #83 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > Holidays

More About the Author

Eva Etzioni-Halevy is professor emeritus of political sociology at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. She has published fourteen academic books and numerous articles, before turning to the writing of Biblical novels.A child Holocaust survivor, Eva was born in Vienna, Austria, and was fortunate to escape as a small child with her parents in 1939. She spent World War II in Italy, partly in an Italian concentration camp and partly in hiding. Having survived the Holocaust in this manner she moved to what was then Palestine in 1945. She lived most of her life in Israel, but spent lengthy stretches of time in the United States and Australia before returning to Israel in 1989, to seek her roots there. As part of searching for her roots, she returned to the religious orientation she had previously abandoned. It is this root seeking that also led her to the discovery of the rich world of the Bible, and to the intention of bringing it to life for contemporary readers through the writing of Biblical novels.Her Biblical novels so far are THE SONG OF HANNAH (Plume/Penguin, 2005), and (forthcoming) THE GARDEN OF RUTH (Plume/Penguin, January 2007).Eva lives in Tel Aviv with her husband; she has three grown children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Romance Novel by Another Name, August 30, 2005

By 

Linda A. Lieberman (Scarsdale,NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Song of Hannah: A Novel (Paperback)

This new novel, the first of several planned or in the works, by Eva Etzioni-Halevy is a wonderful, easy read. Although set in Biblical times, the situations facing the protagonists and antagonists in this work seem almost contemporary.

The author manages to convey the erudition, wit and beauty of her characters without resorting to heavy, pedantic language and
abstract concepts. The culture, customs and history of the era come alive, as do the historic figures we usually meet only in the Old Testament.

Although barely finished with reading this work, this reviewer is already recommending it as a future selection for her Hadassah chapter book club. If we are lucky,we may be able to discuss the work with the author herself, who plans a US promotional tour this fall. Happy reading!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars ..., March 8, 2006

By 

Alena "Natalia" (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Song of Hannah: A Novel (Paperback)

The Song of Hannah is a very good book and has many good aspects to it. First of all, the topic is greatly to my interest and I originally bought it because it says on the back that it is written in the style of "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant.
The novel is the story of the biblical prophet, Samuel, told through the eyes of his two mothers. One, Hannah, is the epitome of angelic. The second, Pninah, is impulsive and full of emotion. These two women are very different and every chapter is told by a rotation between the two characters' views. It is the lives of these women and their relationships to their shared husband and their gifted son.
The writing was stunning. Only in a few other books have I encoutered such beautiful writing. I could really picture what was happening and I felt as if I was there because the image was put so perfectly in my mind.
The story was also very captivating. Ms Etzioni-Halevy wrote it in a way the always kept me interested and constantly turning the pages to learn what was going to happen next and to learn more about the characters whose lives I was being showed.
One criticism I have for the novel is that you fail to attach yourself to the characters. When I read a novel, I like to close the book and not be able to get my mind off of the characters and their stories. I love being able to feel close to them and feel their sorrows and joys. This novel lacked charachter development to the emotional level of the reader. I could describe to you what the main characters were like very well, but I cannot tell you that I cried with them or smiled in their joy. Also, when the story was suppose to be at its lowest and most depressing point, I felt the same way as I did when I read the first page of the novel. In short, it failed to move me.
However, this book is definately very well written and good. I do recommend it to people who have enjoyed other biblical novels, including The Red Tent. I will just warn you, nevertheless, to not get your hopes up for a story as good as The Red Tent. I enjoyed this book very much.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bible, sex. love, betrayl, adultery, and history, May 16, 2007

By 

Jason Frost "RubiconReader" (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Song of Hannah: A Novel (Paperback)

This was a good book that, for me, started off slow but picked up when the conflicts REALLY kicked in!! Makes me in a strange sort of way, glad to see that these biblical icons had the same problems that I/we have. Samuel was no different and it was nice hearing about him and his mother and his attraction to an "off-limits" woman. I will definately be checking out this authors next novel.