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The Book of Heaven
From the author of the classic travel memoir Dinner with Persephone: Travels in Greece, a stunningly original novel of heartrending lyricism about four women who invite us to enter into a new and powerful imagination of the divine: what if "a woman's point of view" were also God's?
In the prologue, Eve speaks about what we are told happened in the Garden of Eden, a story she hardly recognizes. She tells her version of events, revealing to us that the constellations we see in heaven conceal other heavens we have never seen or allowed ourselves to see. She reveals four of these hidden constellations and describes how they came to be. Each of the four subsequent chapters is the story of one of these new zodiacs, teaching us how to look at these constellations central to women--a knife, a cauldron for cooking, a paradise garden, a pair of lovers embracing--and how to know the women whose stories they tell: a metamorphosis of Sarah, Abraham's wife; an invented polytheist cook; Job's wife; and the queen of Sheba. Patricia Storace brilliantly and radically reimagines the worlds of these women, freeing them from the old tales in which they were trapped, putting them in the foreground of their stories and of the Old Testament itself.
In the prologue, Eve speaks about what we are told happened in the Garden of Eden, a story she hardly recognizes. She tells her version of events, revealing to us that the constellations we see in heaven conceal other heavens we have never seen or allowed ourselves to see. She reveals four of these hidden constellations and describes how they came to be. Each of the four subsequent chapters is the story of one of these new zodiacs, teaching us how to look at these constellations central to women--a knife, a cauldron for cooking, a paradise garden, a pair of lovers embracing--and how to know the women whose stories they tell: a metamorphosis of Sarah, Abraham's wife; an invented polytheist cook; Job's wife; and the queen of Sheba. Patricia Storace brilliantly and radically reimagines the worlds of these women, freeing them from the old tales in which they were trapped, putting them in the foreground of their stories and of the Old Testament itself.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
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669 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
August 10, 2014
I absolutely loved this book. Strong female characters and contemplation of spiritual questions: two of my favorite things to find in a book.
The book consists of four invented myths based on invented constellations.
The first story is a loose re-telling of the Old Testament story of Sarah and Abraham, told through a feminist lens, from Souraya's (Sarah's ) perspective.
The second story is told by a courageous female slave/cook, who is instrumental in the overthrow of a conquering culture who have set themselves up as demi-gods.
In the third story the temple prostitute Rain is a loose Christ figure.
In the fourth story, the Queen of Sheba brings a gift to the Christ child, and a character loosely based on Job is seen in a new light.
In a story within the Queen of Sheba's story, we hear a very different version of the Flood.
These stories would be very displeasing and upsetting to a religious fundamentalist of any faith. They are strongly anti-fundamentalist. Righteousness and certainty are portrayed as masculine qualities and cast in a very unfavorable light, placed in opposition to the feminine qualities of love and humanism.
The book consists of four invented myths based on invented constellations.
The first story is a loose re-telling of the Old Testament story of Sarah and Abraham, told through a feminist lens, from Souraya's (Sarah's ) perspective.
The second story is told by a courageous female slave/cook, who is instrumental in the overthrow of a conquering culture who have set themselves up as demi-gods.
In the third story the temple prostitute Rain is a loose Christ figure.
In the fourth story, the Queen of Sheba brings a gift to the Christ child, and a character loosely based on Job is seen in a new light.
In a story within the Queen of Sheba's story, we hear a very different version of the Flood.
These stories would be very displeasing and upsetting to a religious fundamentalist of any faith. They are strongly anti-fundamentalist. Righteousness and certainty are portrayed as masculine qualities and cast in a very unfavorable light, placed in opposition to the feminine qualities of love and humanism.
August 20, 2015
I really wish I had liked this better since the themes resonated with me. Unfortunately, the author was too enamored with her writing style, which was dense and tedious.
April 10, 2017
"The man who believes woman
was made of him, not of
God, has made an idol of
himself."
This book has a wonderful premise. The synopsis provided by Goodreads says "Patricia Storace brilliantly and radically reimagines the worlds of these women, freeing them from the old tales in which they were trapped, putting them in the foreground of their stories and of the Old Testament itself," yet, if it weren't for this synopsis, I would have no idea that these tales were from the Bible at all.
The prologue begins with a woman in heaven fleeing a God that means to rape her. She flees into a stream, and is carried away by the water to other constellations. In each constellation a woman's story is told, each in a world of misogyny and violence. The synopsis tells me this woman is Eve, but without the synopsis this would not be apparent.
The first part tells of the constellation of Souraya. Souraya's story is the most obviously biblical. When Souraya is married off to a man she's never met, she's forbidden mirrors of any kind, for looking at or creating images is a sin against God. By the end, I realized Souraya is Sarah from the Old Testament.
The second section tells the story of the constellation Savour, who is a slave and cook. When a priest buys her to be the cook for a princess, she discovers that even people who treat her kindly can be evil. Her section is my favorite: the created world is interesting, the character the most human of any Storace creates, though I could see no connection to the Old Testament.
The third section tells the story of Rain, a daughter who is forced into a brothel, for there can only be one daughter married off per family; all other daughters serve men in the brothel. Somehow this is a retelling of Job?
The final section concerns Sheba, the only recognizable name. In this section, Sheba's country is one of theater until a neighboring country's army 'liberates' them.
Overall, the novel feels more like a fantasy novel than historical fiction. Not necessarily bad, but unexpected.
I listened to a podcast with the author in hopes of understanding the novel better, but if anything, it made me like the novel less. In the interview, Storace said she dislikes the word feminist, and would never call her novel feminist. Yet, the novel is steeped in misogyny and the telling of women's stories; there's no way to view it as anything but feminist. She also said she deliberately left the women faceless because once you describe how a woman looks, she becomes the stereotype. But how is that different than how the bible portrays women? Isn't part of the act of recreating biblical stories from a female perspective giving them faces? Making them into people?
While it was frustrating that I couldn't make the biblical connections I feel I was supposed to make, that's not what made the novel fail for me. Each part had a lot of potential, but the protagonists lacked character development and personalities. The stories were so rich, the worlds so complex, they needed a novel to themselves. Instead, each section is a massive info dump, and the women never come alive in their worlds.
I did enjoy the proverbs at the end of each section, which is where the quote above comes from.
2.5/5
was made of him, not of
God, has made an idol of
himself."
This book has a wonderful premise. The synopsis provided by Goodreads says "Patricia Storace brilliantly and radically reimagines the worlds of these women, freeing them from the old tales in which they were trapped, putting them in the foreground of their stories and of the Old Testament itself," yet, if it weren't for this synopsis, I would have no idea that these tales were from the Bible at all.
The prologue begins with a woman in heaven fleeing a God that means to rape her. She flees into a stream, and is carried away by the water to other constellations. In each constellation a woman's story is told, each in a world of misogyny and violence. The synopsis tells me this woman is Eve, but without the synopsis this would not be apparent.
The first part tells of the constellation of Souraya. Souraya's story is the most obviously biblical. When Souraya is married off to a man she's never met, she's forbidden mirrors of any kind, for looking at or creating images is a sin against God. By the end, I realized Souraya is Sarah from the Old Testament.
The second section tells the story of the constellation Savour, who is a slave and cook. When a priest buys her to be the cook for a princess, she discovers that even people who treat her kindly can be evil. Her section is my favorite: the created world is interesting, the character the most human of any Storace creates, though I could see no connection to the Old Testament.
The third section tells the story of Rain, a daughter who is forced into a brothel, for there can only be one daughter married off per family; all other daughters serve men in the brothel. Somehow this is a retelling of Job?
The final section concerns Sheba, the only recognizable name. In this section, Sheba's country is one of theater until a neighboring country's army 'liberates' them.
Overall, the novel feels more like a fantasy novel than historical fiction. Not necessarily bad, but unexpected.
I listened to a podcast with the author in hopes of understanding the novel better, but if anything, it made me like the novel less. In the interview, Storace said she dislikes the word feminist, and would never call her novel feminist. Yet, the novel is steeped in misogyny and the telling of women's stories; there's no way to view it as anything but feminist. She also said she deliberately left the women faceless because once you describe how a woman looks, she becomes the stereotype. But how is that different than how the bible portrays women? Isn't part of the act of recreating biblical stories from a female perspective giving them faces? Making them into people?
While it was frustrating that I couldn't make the biblical connections I feel I was supposed to make, that's not what made the novel fail for me. Each part had a lot of potential, but the protagonists lacked character development and personalities. The stories were so rich, the worlds so complex, they needed a novel to themselves. Instead, each section is a massive info dump, and the women never come alive in their worlds.
I did enjoy the proverbs at the end of each section, which is where the quote above comes from.
2.5/5
August 5, 2014
I thought this book was going to be amazing: an inventive and original mythology, re-tellings of bible stories through the eyes of female protagonists and constellations. Turns out, I was very sorry to have chosen this heavy hard cover to lug around Manhattan for 2 days. Even trapped for 5 hours on a bus with nothing else to read, I had to skip the introduction. I feel terrible about not liking this -- It has received so much praise and it obviously was a lot of work. But Storace has adopted a biblical style writing tone, and it's so dry and list-y and remote from the characters. I looked forward to reading this -- I am going to give it another day or two (currently on p. 150 or so).
I finished The Book of Souraya and the Book of Savour. I think I'm going to stop here. Though the women may be "at the foreground of their stories" as the jacket flap states, these are still ugly stories in which women are sold and wed and enslaved against their wills, and in which those women who have power use it to make other women's lives hellish. It's not for me.
I finished The Book of Souraya and the Book of Savour. I think I'm going to stop here. Though the women may be "at the foreground of their stories" as the jacket flap states, these are still ugly stories in which women are sold and wed and enslaved against their wills, and in which those women who have power use it to make other women's lives hellish. It's not for me.
June 4, 2014
This book was.... interesting. The language was heavily poetic - at times that made it lovely and meaningful and resonant, but other times it was just dense and difficult to process. The stories themselves, ostensibly about different women in imaginary countries, were sometimes disjointed, and mostly depressing - focusing on how society/men disrespect and abuse people through custom and religion - women in particular - and how love persists. The "proverbs" at the end were sometimes accurate and sometimes ridiculous.
I'd say you were better off reading LeGuin's Changing Planes for a similarly thought-provoking but simpler experience.
I'd say you were better off reading LeGuin's Changing Planes for a similarly thought-provoking but simpler experience.
gave-up-on
July 31, 2014I got about 40 pages in and am giving up. Its not the book...its me. Not my taste, not my genre, not my style
October 7, 2014
This book took me so long to digest that I don't remember when I started it. An excellent, but slow, read to be savored and enjoyed slowly.
August 27, 2020
An interesting concept, but this book was twice as long as it had to be. The actual plot of each story got lost in endless speeches about morality and side-tracking stories told by different characters. I did like Sheba's story the best, bc at least she had some form of happy ending. Maybe this would have been more bearable if the stories had been broken up into chapters instead of 70 pages of unbroken text.
January 17, 2020
The author is a master at metaphor and simile. She introduces feminist elements smoothly into the stories without making them the obvious subtext.
She writes poetically, emotionally, beautifully, but I craved action instead of heavy description and philosophical observations.
She writes poetically, emotionally, beautifully, but I craved action instead of heavy description and philosophical observations.
April 2, 2019
Very different/original.
Read
August 22, 2019started twice, could not engage
January 1, 2020
Its great I love the poetic and biblical touch of power women.
August 10, 2016
*THIS REVIEW FIRST APPEARED IN Tigress Mag for Girls*
There are books that show up unexpectedly in your life, books you never asked for, and, more significantly, you didn’t know you needed in your life. Typically, these books catch your eye one lazy summer afternoon when you enter a bookstore, not really looking for something but in the mood to be surprised by something unusual.
That is how I came across The Book of Heaven; I found a copy in perfect condition in a used bookstore in the very heart of downtown Toronto when I wandered in with a friend. It was the cover that drew me in, a multifaceted crystal with fragments of the sky at daytime and nighttime, as well as the mystical-sounding title. Reading the summary, I couldn’t help but think of Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, the effect of which I still feel even after a couple months have passed since reading it. Despite the internal debate I felt about buying the book right away or taking it out from the library first, partially due to the rather mixed reviews I found online, there was something that compelled me to take this book, an inner voice that said I’d regret it if I didn’t. It turns out it was a very wise little voice, because now I cannot imagine what it would be like if this book hadn’t entered my life.
There is a certain poetic style of storytelling that I have long felt has been lost in modern literature, namely the ability to tell an enticing story without rushing. The kind of story that is similar to eating a slice of overly sweet cake—the taste is astounding, but your stomach frequently reminds you to take it a bite at a time in order to avoid spoiling the effect. That is exactly the kind of effect that Storace elicited, bringing about a whimsical and powerful feminist novel that addresses the issues women faced over the course of history, retelling stories from the Bible in which the women are the heroines; the source of enlightenment and power that men have tried to silence and snuff out for centuries. In fact, it is the kind of book that we need more than ever in our society, serving as a reminder that many of the events described in the four parts of the novel–the books of Souraya, Savour, Rain, and Sheba—are in fact still occurring to this day.
The Book of Heaven opens with a young woman, who the reader later learns is Eve, running through the starry night sky amidst the constellations. She eventually ends up in another heaven, an alternative starry sky with four completely new constellations, each named after the aforementioned women. Each of the women tell Eve their story, the story that is associated with their constellation, and bestows a gift upon her, a gift she takes with her as she descends down to earth and forgets that Heaven is more than simply constellations.
The stories told by the four women might trigger some readers, as they overtly address the sexist ways women are treated as inferior beings, and the sexual, physical, and emotional abuse they sustained in the hands of patriarchal society. Yet Storace’s writing is much more than simply stating wrongdoings: it is one that offers answers in the form of hope; a call for persistence, patience, strength, and, most importantly, love. She masterfully reinvents the story of Abraham’s wife Sarah, or slips in a retelling of Noah’s ark that is starkly different from the widespread version. In the final pages, when Queen Sheba is visiting baby Jesus, Storace states how historical depictions have mistaken Sheba for her son Balthazar, crediting him instead for gracing Heaven’s child with a gift. And though this is a work of fiction, in her examples and retellings there is a beaming ray of truth; since women have been erased and undermined throughout history for so long, it wouldn’t be a shock if her versions actually were the truth.
Every time I sat down to read The Book of Heaven, I forgot both where I was and what year I was living in; the writing was simply timeless. It was also much more successful in reminding me of the continued struggles women face than the more extreme feminist campaigns that often create more controversy than solutions. I was reminded of just how amazing it feels to be a woman, and how grateful I feel for the body and skills I have, for women are indeed a mystical creation to be celebrated. There are surely many more things that can be said about The Book of Heaven, which has now found its way onto my list of all-time favorites—indeed, there were so many memorable passages I underlined in it that they filled up almost four pages of my notebook! But it is one of the lines on the final page of the book, part of the Proverbs of Sheba that followed her story, that not only summarizes the journey on which the book took me, but that is probably the reason why this hidden gem deserves so much more attention than it has received:
Thousands of years before we read and wrote; thousands more before we love.
There are books that show up unexpectedly in your life, books you never asked for, and, more significantly, you didn’t know you needed in your life. Typically, these books catch your eye one lazy summer afternoon when you enter a bookstore, not really looking for something but in the mood to be surprised by something unusual.
That is how I came across The Book of Heaven; I found a copy in perfect condition in a used bookstore in the very heart of downtown Toronto when I wandered in with a friend. It was the cover that drew me in, a multifaceted crystal with fragments of the sky at daytime and nighttime, as well as the mystical-sounding title. Reading the summary, I couldn’t help but think of Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, the effect of which I still feel even after a couple months have passed since reading it. Despite the internal debate I felt about buying the book right away or taking it out from the library first, partially due to the rather mixed reviews I found online, there was something that compelled me to take this book, an inner voice that said I’d regret it if I didn’t. It turns out it was a very wise little voice, because now I cannot imagine what it would be like if this book hadn’t entered my life.
There is a certain poetic style of storytelling that I have long felt has been lost in modern literature, namely the ability to tell an enticing story without rushing. The kind of story that is similar to eating a slice of overly sweet cake—the taste is astounding, but your stomach frequently reminds you to take it a bite at a time in order to avoid spoiling the effect. That is exactly the kind of effect that Storace elicited, bringing about a whimsical and powerful feminist novel that addresses the issues women faced over the course of history, retelling stories from the Bible in which the women are the heroines; the source of enlightenment and power that men have tried to silence and snuff out for centuries. In fact, it is the kind of book that we need more than ever in our society, serving as a reminder that many of the events described in the four parts of the novel–the books of Souraya, Savour, Rain, and Sheba—are in fact still occurring to this day.
The Book of Heaven opens with a young woman, who the reader later learns is Eve, running through the starry night sky amidst the constellations. She eventually ends up in another heaven, an alternative starry sky with four completely new constellations, each named after the aforementioned women. Each of the women tell Eve their story, the story that is associated with their constellation, and bestows a gift upon her, a gift she takes with her as she descends down to earth and forgets that Heaven is more than simply constellations.
The stories told by the four women might trigger some readers, as they overtly address the sexist ways women are treated as inferior beings, and the sexual, physical, and emotional abuse they sustained in the hands of patriarchal society. Yet Storace’s writing is much more than simply stating wrongdoings: it is one that offers answers in the form of hope; a call for persistence, patience, strength, and, most importantly, love. She masterfully reinvents the story of Abraham’s wife Sarah, or slips in a retelling of Noah’s ark that is starkly different from the widespread version. In the final pages, when Queen Sheba is visiting baby Jesus, Storace states how historical depictions have mistaken Sheba for her son Balthazar, crediting him instead for gracing Heaven’s child with a gift. And though this is a work of fiction, in her examples and retellings there is a beaming ray of truth; since women have been erased and undermined throughout history for so long, it wouldn’t be a shock if her versions actually were the truth.
Every time I sat down to read The Book of Heaven, I forgot both where I was and what year I was living in; the writing was simply timeless. It was also much more successful in reminding me of the continued struggles women face than the more extreme feminist campaigns that often create more controversy than solutions. I was reminded of just how amazing it feels to be a woman, and how grateful I feel for the body and skills I have, for women are indeed a mystical creation to be celebrated. There are surely many more things that can be said about The Book of Heaven, which has now found its way onto my list of all-time favorites—indeed, there were so many memorable passages I underlined in it that they filled up almost four pages of my notebook! But it is one of the lines on the final page of the book, part of the Proverbs of Sheba that followed her story, that not only summarizes the journey on which the book took me, but that is probably the reason why this hidden gem deserves so much more attention than it has received:
Thousands of years before we read and wrote; thousands more before we love.
October 21, 2015
Patricia Storace's first novel is a feminist mythopoesis, divided into four parts. As the novel opens, Eve is chased through the heavens by the hunter Orion. She dives into a river of stars and is washed away to an alternate heaven where she is introduced to four unknown constellations: the Knife, the Cauldron, the Paradise Nebula, and the Lovers' Cluster. Each constellation is associated with a different heroine, three of whom are identifiable figures in the Abrahamic tradition: Souraya (an incarnation of Sarah, Abraham's wife), a slave cook named Savour, Rain (in this rendering a daughter of Job, but closer to his vilified wife in the Judeo-Christian tradition), and Queen Sheba.
Much of the novel's plot consists of cleverly disguised tales from the Bible concerning the internal worlds of supporting female characters (although, worth noting, the narrators are often revealed to be male: Sarah's story is told by Isaac, and the suffering of Job's wife is not surprisingly narrated by Satan). Storace's myths imagine different fates for these women. Twice in the Bible, Abraham presents Sarah as his sister and sales her in marriage to other men. In Storace's rendering, rather than weeping for her disgrace, Sarah falls deeply in love with one of her new husbands. Later she is consumed by guilt after her exile of Hagar and Ishmael from the tribe.
This is not a particularly easy read. Even the otherwise endorsing blurb from Kirkus Reviews on the back cover makes mention of prose that is "occasionally didactic and dense." The narrative is especially heavy with metaphors. Some of them collapse under their own weight, but most strike remarkably true. The plot is generally grave, with misfortune always around the corner, and perpetual dark imagery. In one passage I think will stick with me, a woman sees the Angel of Death spread its black wings and take flight, only to realize what she's really witnessing is two vultures squabbling in midair over a woman's corpse.
Any complaints aside, I do believe Storace has presented us with a lyrical narrative and a compelling idea. Just because Greek, Egyptian, or Roman men discerned certain shapes in the stars does not make those constellations concrete. We might just as easily reorient our gaze on the night sky and reveal new histories and myths that were otherwise lost to us, just like that beautiful canvas we are told once documented the meeting of Queen Sheba and the baby Christ.
Much of the novel's plot consists of cleverly disguised tales from the Bible concerning the internal worlds of supporting female characters (although, worth noting, the narrators are often revealed to be male: Sarah's story is told by Isaac, and the suffering of Job's wife is not surprisingly narrated by Satan). Storace's myths imagine different fates for these women. Twice in the Bible, Abraham presents Sarah as his sister and sales her in marriage to other men. In Storace's rendering, rather than weeping for her disgrace, Sarah falls deeply in love with one of her new husbands. Later she is consumed by guilt after her exile of Hagar and Ishmael from the tribe.
This is not a particularly easy read. Even the otherwise endorsing blurb from Kirkus Reviews on the back cover makes mention of prose that is "occasionally didactic and dense." The narrative is especially heavy with metaphors. Some of them collapse under their own weight, but most strike remarkably true. The plot is generally grave, with misfortune always around the corner, and perpetual dark imagery. In one passage I think will stick with me, a woman sees the Angel of Death spread its black wings and take flight, only to realize what she's really witnessing is two vultures squabbling in midair over a woman's corpse.
Any complaints aside, I do believe Storace has presented us with a lyrical narrative and a compelling idea. Just because Greek, Egyptian, or Roman men discerned certain shapes in the stars does not make those constellations concrete. We might just as easily reorient our gaze on the night sky and reveal new histories and myths that were otherwise lost to us, just like that beautiful canvas we are told once documented the meeting of Queen Sheba and the baby Christ.
November 19, 2017
This work could be likened to poetry elaborated in prose. This book is divided into four parts, one of which, is 'Savour'. It is my favorite section of the book in that it deals with the matter of culinary arts and of the discerning palate, not only of taste, but also of intuiting human proclivities. The entire book is to be savored, but none more so that this section, in which I could 'taste' the texture of the words.
This book alludes to certain Biblical Old Testament stories, but written from the feminine perspective. It is because of this gentler hand, that the good, bad and ugly of the human psyche is delicately and sensually excavated and ornately worded. These jewels are not spread out indiscriminately , but sprinkled judiciously, making them all the more valuable and cherished. In this work, the author has the remarkable ability to painstakingly and exquisitely word the height and depth of joy and suffering alike.
This book alludes to certain Biblical Old Testament stories, but written from the feminine perspective. It is because of this gentler hand, that the good, bad and ugly of the human psyche is delicately and sensually excavated and ornately worded. These jewels are not spread out indiscriminately , but sprinkled judiciously, making them all the more valuable and cherished. In this work, the author has the remarkable ability to painstakingly and exquisitely word the height and depth of joy and suffering alike.
May 14, 2014
This was a fascinating reimagining of some of the most iconic stories in the bible, told from women's points of view, and structured to resemble sagas from ancient civilizations- which (lets face it) - is the basis of many biblical tales.
I was a little iffy about the books premise, and some of the chapter-ending "proverbs" are a bit much. But I was ultimately won over by the beautiful imagery and the stories themselves. This isn't a book for everyone, but if you are willing to suspend reality and enjoy getting lost in new ideas, you'll enjoy this.
I was a little iffy about the books premise, and some of the chapter-ending "proverbs" are a bit much. But I was ultimately won over by the beautiful imagery and the stories themselves. This isn't a book for everyone, but if you are willing to suspend reality and enjoy getting lost in new ideas, you'll enjoy this.
June 10, 2014
I am a professional, mother of 2 who read popular fiction as well as classic. I loved this book. I was slowly brought into each story and each struggle. I found myself dying to know each chapters end but not wanting the story to stop. I was twisted with emotions; mad, happy and sad all at the same time. I could have read another 300 pages of Souraya, Savour, Rain and Sheba each.
Its a must read in my opinion.
Its a must read in my opinion.
July 21, 2015
Densely poetic stories inspired by existing religious texts make up this feminine/feminist cosmology. I really enjoyed it, and would recommend to those who enjoy reading mythology and religious stories for pleasure, and who don't mind a lot of female and human suffering.
February 5, 2014
This book was divided into different stories of the bible and myths as told by the woman's point of view. My favorite was Noah and the arc. A very reasonable outcome of the flood and the arc story. This was a hard book to get into, not sure what I was expecting.
February 5, 2015
This novel read like a fable or a fairy tale; it was a bit magical. It seemed liked fact and fiction at the same time. Most importantly, it was about women, their history on Earth, and their relationships with men and with one another.
June 9, 2014
Got to page 63. No further. Never spiked my interest.
November 7, 2014
so far - brilliant poetic prose. it's wordy, and feminist, and I love it.
September 8, 2015
Celebrates women roles in the bible with its own interpretation. I enjoyed highlighting some of the verses.
January 22, 2016
The fourth part of this book was just too slow for me. The first three were very well written.
April 24, 2014
Beautifully conceived and written!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews