Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
intriguing vividly harsh descriptive of biblical times, March 28, 2004
In biblical times, King Orion of Aipotu visits his loyal subjects struggling to survive in the impoverished Bedlam where he encourages the villagers that prosperity is just around the next hut. Though he knows his subjects lack food, he and his large retinue eat and drink everything in sight as is the want of a royal. Orion also awaits his pleasure with the town's prettiest virgin, Ofra.However, the elder's daughter loves Hershel the brothelite, whose mother was the local prostitute. Hershel shares Ofra's feelings, but has always felt his station in life is beneath that of his beloved. Still rather than allow the king to legally rape her, Hershel and Ofra plan to flee together, not realizing that the elders including her sire and the regal elite will never allow them to simply leave as she is intended to pleasure the monarch. DOG DAYS IN BEDLAM is an intriguing vividly harsh descriptive take on life in the days before Noah. The biblical society is filled with brutality as Kings take care of their hedonistic needs while insuring the scribes turn them into heroic caring figures for posterity (who writes the history books?). The villagers are not much better than the royal sharks as they survive using "virginal sacrifice" to appease their decadent leaders while shamming as if it's for their God. The audience will never look at history or the bible the same way as this well written thought provoking novel is easy to read due to as much to a paradigm switch as to rape, murders, and other cruelty. David James Trapp makes a strong case that violence is as biblical a norm as "an eye for an eye". Harriet Klausner
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dog Days in Bedlam by David James Trapp, August 3, 2004
I picked up Dog Days in Bedlam because I'm a sucker for historical fiction
of all time periods. This book, although set in a pre-Roman/pre-Christian
Middle East (at least I think so), is less historical and more like a folk
tale, but it was still a fun read.
The story is set in the town of Bedlam is a which has not seen rain in
many weeks. The land is parched and the Bedlamites, which incidentally is
a synonym for lunatics, are downtrodden and poor. Of course it is now,
when they are at their lowest, that their hedonistic king comes to visit.
He takes the village for all it's worth. This causes even more trouble
amongst the already troubled people, especially between the ridiculed
Hershel, the son of a prostitute, and Ofra, the elder's daughter, who are
just starting to gaze longingly at each other.
Trapp writes the story of these two star-crossed lovers simply but
tenderly, especially during those few private moments when Hershel and
Ofra are alone. There are very few hidden motives that he does not
express, and even the complex emotions of a mob are written clearly and
believably. It's almost as if this were a story told around the campfire.
A quick read, but satisfying.
But this is an unrelenting book. If you're looking for a happily ever
after or even a glimmer of hope, you'll find none for your main characters
and only a little for this community which the reader ends up loving to
pity. At some points you just want to call out "How much can one person
bear!" Trapp takes a realistic view of the harsh, desperate people that
is appealing, even if it means our lovers are doomed. I applaud Trapp for
not taking the easy road and bowing to a happy ending, it's still hard to
come to terms with.
Here's a little advice: after you finish the book, eat an ice cream or go
for a walk out in the rain to remind yourself of the pleasures in life.
Jennifer Hagan Reviewer for CCR
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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended leisure time reading, September 19, 2003
Dog Days In Bedlam by David James Trapp is a fantastic novel of royal intrigue. Two star-crossed young lovers flee the wrath of a ruthless king, yet when escape becomes impossible, the only remaining option is sacrifice and eternally enshrined love. A moving, romantic parable, Dog Days In Bedlam is thoroughly entertaining and highly recommended leisure time reading.
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