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Journey to the Well
One of the most well-known and loved stories of Jesus's ministry is the encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. Now the creative mind of Diana Wallis Taylor imagines how the Samaritan woman got there in the first place. Marah is just a girl of thirteen when her life is set on a path that will eventually lead her to a life-changing encounter with the Messiah. But before that momentous meeting she must traverse through times of love lost and found, cruel and manipulative men, and gossiping women. This creative and accurate portrayal of life in the time of Jesus opens a window into a fascinating world. Taylor's rich descriptions of the landscapes, lifestyles, and rituals mesh easily with the emotional and very personal story of one woman trying to make a life out of what fate seems to throw at her. This exciting and heartwrenching story will fascinate readers and lend new life to a familiar story.
337 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2003
404 people are currently reading
3397 people want to read
About the author
Diana Wallis Taylor
22 books224 followersDiana Wallis Taylor is the author of the novels Journey to the Well and Martha and lives in California. Find out more at www.dianawallistaylor.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 267 reviews
November 6, 2017
John 4:16-18
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
First of all, let's take a good long look at that whitewashed cover. That is one European-American Victoria Secret model with a spray tan up thurrrrr. Would it really have been so hard to get an actual middle-eastern model? This is not 16th century Holland, where painters assume we can't connect with Biblical characters unless they look exactly like us.
So, this book has no plot. I mean, of course it doesn't, it just follows one woman's life up until she meets Jesus; but, in general, books are supposed to have plots. Every once in a while a book can pull it off -- I thought The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick actually pulled off the whole "not having a plot" thing rather well. But it's the exception, not the rule.
The problem is, Marah is a character who is wholly passive; she has no agency. This could have worked if the author had really played up what it was like to be a woman in first century middle-eastern culture -- utterly powerless, completely dependent on male relatives, and often forced to resort to prostitution as the only way to survive when all alone. But instead there are no stakes, there is no tension and no sense of urgency. This is most noticeable during the (very short) section of the book describing her relationship with "the man not her husband." This was the author's chance to really deconstruct a character -- to first build up how important it had always been to her to be a "virtuous" woman despite her struggles as well as the disbelief and judgment of the people in her town because of her many marriages, but how finally, due to poverty and lack of options, she becomes the very thing the others accused her of for years - a kept woman - in order to survive, spiraling into a cycle of shame, desperation, and dependence until one day she meets a man at a well who knows everything about her but speaks to her with mercy and kindness instead of judgment and scorn like her neighbors -- ARGH! IT COULD HAVE BEEN AWESOME!
But no. Instead the author goes the 1970s bodice ripper route and has a vaguely rape-ish seduction scene -- "her body says yes but her mind says no!" type of thing. Blech. And it happens in the blink of an eye, with no build up and no pay off and no character development or growth or really anything at all. (And no, I refuse to put this behind spoilers because you can't have spoilers if you have no plot!)
And then of course, once Jesus comes on the scene, the rest of the book is...how did I describe it in my
review of Gods and Kings? Ah yes, "a twee land of sticky sweetness and light and ugh."
*sigh* I just really need to stop reading religious fiction if Tosca Lee's name isn't on the front cover. Because I'm getting real sick of these books where writing the review is actually more fun than reading the book itself.
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
First of all, let's take a good long look at that whitewashed cover. That is one European-American Victoria Secret model with a spray tan up thurrrrr. Would it really have been so hard to get an actual middle-eastern model? This is not 16th century Holland, where painters assume we can't connect with Biblical characters unless they look exactly like us.
So, this book has no plot. I mean, of course it doesn't, it just follows one woman's life up until she meets Jesus; but, in general, books are supposed to have plots. Every once in a while a book can pull it off -- I thought The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick actually pulled off the whole "not having a plot" thing rather well. But it's the exception, not the rule.
The problem is, Marah is a character who is wholly passive; she has no agency. This could have worked if the author had really played up what it was like to be a woman in first century middle-eastern culture -- utterly powerless, completely dependent on male relatives, and often forced to resort to prostitution as the only way to survive when all alone. But instead there are no stakes, there is no tension and no sense of urgency. This is most noticeable during the (very short) section of the book describing her relationship with "the man not her husband." This was the author's chance to really deconstruct a character -- to first build up how important it had always been to her to be a "virtuous" woman despite her struggles as well as the disbelief and judgment of the people in her town because of her many marriages, but how finally, due to poverty and lack of options, she becomes the very thing the others accused her of for years - a kept woman - in order to survive, spiraling into a cycle of shame, desperation, and dependence until one day she meets a man at a well who knows everything about her but speaks to her with mercy and kindness instead of judgment and scorn like her neighbors -- ARGH! IT COULD HAVE BEEN AWESOME!
But no. Instead the author goes the 1970s bodice ripper route and has a vaguely rape-ish seduction scene -- "her body says yes but her mind says no!" type of thing. Blech. And it happens in the blink of an eye, with no build up and no pay off and no character development or growth or really anything at all. (And no, I refuse to put this behind spoilers because you can't have spoilers if you have no plot!)
And then of course, once Jesus comes on the scene, the rest of the book is...how did I describe it in my
review of Gods and Kings? Ah yes, "a twee land of sticky sweetness and light and ugh."
*sigh* I just really need to stop reading religious fiction if Tosca Lee's name isn't on the front cover. Because I'm getting real sick of these books where writing the review is actually more fun than reading the book itself.
August 21, 2021
Good Biblical fiction! “Fleshes out” the story of the woman who met Jesus at Jacob’s well, the first person He ever proclaimed to be the Christ to. Many interesting details about Samaritan life and traditions.
March 26, 2021
So many pros and cons for this installment of the Woman at the Well from John 4.
Taylor has dubbed the Woman, Marah (which means bitter), and her story of how she had "five husbands and the one she lives with is not one" until she meets Jesus at Jacob's Well.
I can see how the time period and culture played into this account, but also when I thought she was getting a backbone she alludes to "her body's betrayal" of a look or touch by her "bad husband" who became it through no ceremony but only cultural Levite Law and is raped by him. Not descriptively but heavily alluded.
This was slightly emotional with her love of her family and friends and meant to feel sympathetic. The last few chapters when she actually meets Jesus were uneventful. I thought this could have been fleshed out more as it's the key pivotal verses this story revolves around from the Bible.
Plus there were several Biblical names used, that could be confusing on who they were in the Bible if you're not versed. Two examples: Haman is used as one of her "bad husbands" and Hannah as her best friend which are Old Testament figures, but this is story takes place in the New Testament as she meets Jesus.
Not a bad read. Maybe wishing for a little more and little less in some areas.
Taylor has dubbed the Woman, Marah (which means bitter), and her story of how she had "five husbands and the one she lives with is not one" until she meets Jesus at Jacob's Well.
I can see how the time period and culture played into this account, but also when I thought she was getting a backbone she alludes to "her body's betrayal" of a look or touch by her "bad husband" who became it through no ceremony but only cultural Levite Law and is raped by him. Not descriptively but heavily alluded.
This was slightly emotional with her love of her family and friends and meant to feel sympathetic. The last few chapters when she actually meets Jesus were uneventful. I thought this could have been fleshed out more as it's the key pivotal verses this story revolves around from the Bible.
Plus there were several Biblical names used, that could be confusing on who they were in the Bible if you're not versed. Two examples: Haman is used as one of her "bad husbands" and Hannah as her best friend which are Old Testament figures, but this is story takes place in the New Testament as she meets Jesus.
Not a bad read. Maybe wishing for a little more and little less in some areas.
March 8, 2009
I read this book from start to finish. No exaggeration there. I started it yesterday afternoon, went to sleep last night, got up this morning and started reading again until I reached the end. I absolutely loved this story! In this fictional account of Marah's life, you will see that there is so much more to the Samaritan woman that Jesus spoke to at the well. She had a history that fit her name, Marah, which meant bitter. She was not a heartless woman, but a wounded woman who needed love. That is so true of all of us. Journey to the Well shows you the history of her life leading up to the meeting when Jesus told her, "What you say is true. You have had five husbands and the man you are with is not your husband." This is a powerful story from start to finish. It will make your heart crash and soar, weep and sing for joy. Seriously. The entire gamut of emotions is covered in this extraordinary story of redemption. I will be thinking about it for some time. The spiritual impact for the reader is powerful.
March 11, 2009
Ever been curious about the woman at the well. The Samaritan woman that Jesus spoke to that so shocked his disciples. For those that are clueless--and that's an okay place to be--the story is found in John 4. This novel is inspired by that passage of Scripture. What do we really know about her? Jesus told her that she had had five husbands and the man she was living with then was not her husband. Around these bare facts, Diana Wallis Taylor has woven a richly detailed back story.
When we first meet our heroine, Marah, she is an orphan--a young girl on the verge of becoming a woman. Just thirteen. She's a girl just beginning to think about life, about love, about marriage. But life doesn't always go as planned. Especially when you're an orphan. Especially when you're living in a culture that is all about arranged marriages. Though she hopes Jesse, a young shepherd boy, will one day be her husband. Her kinswoman, Reba, has a different husband in mind for her, the sandal maker, Zibeon, who is rumored to have quite the temper. She returns home from Jacob's well to discover that she is betrothed to a much older man, a man who gives her the creeps. But there is no choice in the matter. Marry him she must. And so it begins...
The book is well written and compelling. Marah's story is tragic in turn (after turn after turn) but it's redemptive as well. I became absorbed in the culture, in the back drop of this one. It was a very enjoyable read.
August 27, 2012
A expanded retelling of the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well, giving her history. Although the writing was fine, and there was plenty of detail, it didn't really draw me in, nor did I feel a connection with any of the characters - including Marah. She seems to get blown in different directions, rarely being an active participant in her own life.
If the writing had been even slightly less good I would've given this 2 stars.
If the writing had been even slightly less good I would've given this 2 stars.
December 13, 2016
This was a lot better than I expected, although it did seem a little cliched at first. Marah, who will someday be the Samaritan woman who draws water for Jesus at Jacob's well, is a pure young lady engaged to be married to a brute with a bad temper. I expected the brute to twirl his mustache at some point.
However, things do not happen as predicted. Tragic circumstances lead Marah through multiple marriages, and bad luck seems to follow her. Still, we know she is destined to meet with the Messiah at the well, to drink the eternal water that always satisfies.
However, things do not happen as predicted. Tragic circumstances lead Marah through multiple marriages, and bad luck seems to follow her. Still, we know she is destined to meet with the Messiah at the well, to drink the eternal water that always satisfies.
March 11, 2020
Simply Enjoyed
This book takes the story of the woman at the well and personifies it! It is a fictional writing of a biblical story. It is well written. I was drawn in immediately and was captured until the end. The view from a young woman who is seemingly thrown into one tragedy situation after another. She tried to think positive in the face of negative circumstances only for another situation to unfold. It was these types of situations that brings this woman to the well to meet the only man (Jesus) who can change her and transform her outcomes. It is a definite read!
This book takes the story of the woman at the well and personifies it! It is a fictional writing of a biblical story. It is well written. I was drawn in immediately and was captured until the end. The view from a young woman who is seemingly thrown into one tragedy situation after another. She tried to think positive in the face of negative circumstances only for another situation to unfold. It was these types of situations that brings this woman to the well to meet the only man (Jesus) who can change her and transform her outcomes. It is a definite read!
March 14, 2022
Ever wondered about the woman Jesus meets at the well? Here's her fictional backstory. I really enjoyed it!! It's a good reminder not to judge and gossip, for there's a lot more going on than we usually understand.
May 13, 2009
The scandalous life and ultimate redemption of “the woman at the well” is story familiar to many Christians around the world, but never has it been told in such a way as you’ll find in “Journey to the Well.”
The basic plot is no mystery. “You have had five husbands…and this man that you have now is not your husband,” Jesus said. It’s what’s left to the imagination that prompted Diana W. Taylor to create a novel about rejection, shame, and the hope Christ brings.
Marah, a girl having just come of age, is married off to the first man willing to fill her benefactor’s greedy coffers. Torn from her childhood friend and sweetheart, Jesse, Marah is forced to enter a world of misery with the first of five husbands.
Life has few kindnesses to offer Marah. Loss, grief, and censure are her constant companions. That is until the day, she returns to Jacob’s well…
“Journey to the Well” is based on one of the many Biblical accounts that has always intrigued me. Why would a woman ever have five husbands? What kind of horrible sins much Jesus have forgiven? What a desperately lonely person she must have been! These are the questions that fill the pages of this absorbing book.
Marah’s continuous struggles reminded me of Elizabeth’s in Jerry Jenkin’s “Though None Go with Me”, although I might add (to Diana W. Taylor’s benefit) that Marah’s journey gave me a greater sense of hope than Elizabeth’s.
After husband number four, I began to grow listless and bored, but the author did a superb job of swinging the story around in a new direction and sweeping me off my feet again.
From a historical perspective, “Journey to the Well” delves into the lives of the Samaritans, which lived and thought more differently from the Jews than I had known. It’s a very interesting peek into their lifestyle and religious rituals, and it’s all woven unobtrusively into the story.
Marah is a character I’ll not soon forget, and her creator, Diana Wallis Taylor, is another author I’ll be keeping an expectant eye on.
August 12, 2012
I've had this book in my Kindle for a while now, and I wish I had read it sooner.
It is a fictional account of the story surrounding an episode in the gospel according to John. It displays the author's creative mind, her take on the events preceding the journey of the Samaritan woman to Jacob's well, up until the experience of salvation for herself, her family, and her village.
Though the central figure in this novel was the Samaritan woman, it also captured a couple of other episodes from the bible: the story of the good Samaritan and the healed leper who came back to thank Jesus.
My own journey in reading this book (albeit a short one) has been very uplifting, and I believe that was the author's intention. Fiction, yes...but with such an intention, it can definitely supplement ones bible reading experience.
It is a fictional account of the story surrounding an episode in the gospel according to John. It displays the author's creative mind, her take on the events preceding the journey of the Samaritan woman to Jacob's well, up until the experience of salvation for herself, her family, and her village.
Though the central figure in this novel was the Samaritan woman, it also captured a couple of other episodes from the bible: the story of the good Samaritan and the healed leper who came back to thank Jesus.
My own journey in reading this book (albeit a short one) has been very uplifting, and I believe that was the author's intention. Fiction, yes...but with such an intention, it can definitely supplement ones bible reading experience.
Read
July 27, 2011easy read. actually held my attention. a lot of background, leaving me forgetting this was about the Samaritan woman at the well.
I strongly disagree with the bottom of pg 318 where it says, "As we forgive ourselves, we open our hearts to the forgiveness of Christ."
No where do i find this supported in scripture. If i could forgive myself then what need would i have of Him and His sacrifice and forgiveness? We either accept His sacrifice or we do not. There is no more that I can add to what He did and that is FREEING! I can't forgive myself. That is the whole point!
I really think when people say ' i need to forgive myself' it is really 'i haven't accepted His forgiveness'.
I strongly disagree with the bottom of pg 318 where it says, "As we forgive ourselves, we open our hearts to the forgiveness of Christ."
No where do i find this supported in scripture. If i could forgive myself then what need would i have of Him and His sacrifice and forgiveness? We either accept His sacrifice or we do not. There is no more that I can add to what He did and that is FREEING! I can't forgive myself. That is the whole point!
I really think when people say ' i need to forgive myself' it is really 'i haven't accepted His forgiveness'.
March 10, 2024
Journey to the Well is a fictional — yet plausible — account of what the woman at the well’s life may have been like before she met Jesus. I’m giving this book 3.25 stars. It was a heartbreaking but beautiful story and the ending was absolutely perfect. Well done!
God bless,
Kaya :)
God bless,
Kaya :)
August 1, 2015
Wow. We don't read anything of intense Biblical reference until well into the story, and them BAM! Scripture everywhere and great perspectives. Great read.
August 9, 2014
Fantastic!!! Found a new favorite author!!!
December 18, 2019
In the Scripture from John, Chapter Four, a certain woman meets Jesus at Jacob's well in the town of Sychar, Samaria. When Jesus asks for a drink, the woman is hesitant, seeing as though He is a Jew, and as a Samarian woman, it wasn't considered proper.
But from this simple exchange of communication, comes the profound reality that the Messiah has just revealed Himself to this common person, and has offered her the Water of Everlasting Life. Christ also identifies her as having been married five times, and that the husband she now has is not her true husband. Amazed, she leaves to tell her other villagers that the Messiah is here.
From this Scriptural starting point, Taylor conceives a powerful story of loss, struggle, and finally, redemption as Marah (the titular character of the Samarian woman) evolves.
Whatever ideas we ever had of this mysterious person who met Jesus at Jacob's well will never be the same, as Taylor carefully constructs the tumultuous life of a Samaritan woman from the age of thirteen to adulthood.
At times, the plot slowed down and I found it difficult to see beyond the current crisis Marah was experiencing. But then, was it not God's design to challenge her with these difficulties in order to strengthen her faith, ultimately leading her to His Son at the well?
Taylor's research into Jewish lifestyles and customs, and the very architecture of village life at the time of Christ really illuminates her writings .
But from this simple exchange of communication, comes the profound reality that the Messiah has just revealed Himself to this common person, and has offered her the Water of Everlasting Life. Christ also identifies her as having been married five times, and that the husband she now has is not her true husband. Amazed, she leaves to tell her other villagers that the Messiah is here.
From this Scriptural starting point, Taylor conceives a powerful story of loss, struggle, and finally, redemption as Marah (the titular character of the Samarian woman) evolves.
Whatever ideas we ever had of this mysterious person who met Jesus at Jacob's well will never be the same, as Taylor carefully constructs the tumultuous life of a Samaritan woman from the age of thirteen to adulthood.
At times, the plot slowed down and I found it difficult to see beyond the current crisis Marah was experiencing. But then, was it not God's design to challenge her with these difficulties in order to strengthen her faith, ultimately leading her to His Son at the well?
Taylor's research into Jewish lifestyles and customs, and the very architecture of village life at the time of Christ really illuminates her writings .
June 30, 2017
This book has been on my TBR pile a very long time, but I always wind up hesitating when it comes time for me to actually read it. After finally taking the plunge with it, I can understand why I hesitated so much on it.
This is the story of Marah, the Samaritan woman who comes upon Jesus at Jacob's Well. The story is broken up into sections according to her husband/major influence at the time of the events, and she has at least 5 husbands in her lifetime. The story moved at a rather slow pace, and felt rather contrived due to all the misfortunes that had been heaped upon her. The scene of meeting Jesus at the well was confusing at best. The ending felt jumbled and rushed. Yet, I had a hard time putting the story down, and I think it was because of the very deep connection that Marah's suffering forges in readers. We can relate to her struggles, and cheer when her faith is restored. The story speaks to us.
All things considered, I'm glad I read this. While I may never read it again, I do feel that it is worth reading at least once.
This is the story of Marah, the Samaritan woman who comes upon Jesus at Jacob's Well. The story is broken up into sections according to her husband/major influence at the time of the events, and she has at least 5 husbands in her lifetime. The story moved at a rather slow pace, and felt rather contrived due to all the misfortunes that had been heaped upon her. The scene of meeting Jesus at the well was confusing at best. The ending felt jumbled and rushed. Yet, I had a hard time putting the story down, and I think it was because of the very deep connection that Marah's suffering forges in readers. We can relate to her struggles, and cheer when her faith is restored. The story speaks to us.
All things considered, I'm glad I read this. While I may never read it again, I do feel that it is worth reading at least once.
August 28, 2018
I flew through this story. Even when I wasn't reading, I was thinking about Marah, and her journey. My heart broke with hers as she endured the hardships she faced in her young life. To see her path to that inevitable meeting with the Saviour at Jacob's well was fascinating.
But, what turned it into a 5 star read for me was what happened AFTER her encounter with Christ. From scripture, we know what happened in the interaction between Jesus and the woman of Samaria at the well, and that because of her encouragement and the change He'd wrought in her heart, her entire village came to believe in Jesus the Messiah. The author took that conversation and the knowledge that the village was converted and turned it into an amazing testimony of God's grace. As I was reading the final chapters, Joel 2:25 came to mind: "And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten . . . " (KJV). God is so good and faithful, and His grace and mercy towards Marah and her household had me in tears of joy.
This is a book that I will joyfully read again!
But, what turned it into a 5 star read for me was what happened AFTER her encounter with Christ. From scripture, we know what happened in the interaction between Jesus and the woman of Samaria at the well, and that because of her encouragement and the change He'd wrought in her heart, her entire village came to believe in Jesus the Messiah. The author took that conversation and the knowledge that the village was converted and turned it into an amazing testimony of God's grace. As I was reading the final chapters, Joel 2:25 came to mind: "And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten . . . " (KJV). God is so good and faithful, and His grace and mercy towards Marah and her household had me in tears of joy.
This is a book that I will joyfully read again!
September 18, 2022
The story of the woman at the well is a sad one. Marah was probably no different then most women from her time except for the misfortune of having had five husbands. It was a sad reality that women depended on men for survival. Far to often they were taken advantage of as sadly was the case in Marah's situation. She had times of happiness but also times of struggle, disappointment, and sorrow. It must have been a huge relief and blessing to meet the Messiah at Jacob's Well. Her meeting with Jesus changed her life and the lives of the villagers in Shechem forever.
February 20, 2020
This is the second book I have read by this author. The writer is very gifted. She takes the Biblical account and expands it. The story is well worth a read. Although it is fiction based on scripture it is credible and engaging.
Definitely worth reading.
Definitely worth reading.
August 12, 2023
Easy to read and the ending is SO WELL DONE!! Connecting a bunch of biblical passages into one fictional story line
January 22, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the creativity and connecting of different Biblical stories. My only complaint is that when Jesus spoke it was like from the NKJ version and didn’t go along with anyone else’s speech. Everyone speaks like in modern English and along comes Jesus with thee and thys. It was a little stilted.
September 29, 2020
I love this book. I love the way Diana used the biblical story of, “The Woman at the Well” and put it into modern terms. The characters were great and it held my attention from he beginning to the end! I can’t wait to read more of Diana Wallis Taylor’s books in the future!
February 4, 2019
Journey to the well
I loved this book, I couldn’t lay it down. It gave a rare glimpse into the life of the woman at the well, her life and tragedies, And her faith. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to be drawn into a life of a Samaritan woman.
I loved this book, I couldn’t lay it down. It gave a rare glimpse into the life of the woman at the well, her life and tragedies, And her faith. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to be drawn into a life of a Samaritan woman.
Read
October 26, 2016Great job
I have never read any of Diana Wallis Taylor but I would differently read more. I differently give the book a 5 star rating. Different stories from the Bible and ones that I know very well. Always enjoyed telling my children the story of the women at the well. Of course the book is only a story of just made up names ,but she had different Bible miracles that Jesus did healing people all in different parts of the story. Very well written and type of book I would read over
I have never read any of Diana Wallis Taylor but I would differently read more. I differently give the book a 5 star rating. Different stories from the Bible and ones that I know very well. Always enjoyed telling my children the story of the women at the well. Of course the book is only a story of just made up names ,but she had different Bible miracles that Jesus did healing people all in different parts of the story. Very well written and type of book I would read over
May 23, 2020
This was a fairly well written Biblical fiction novel about the Samaritan woman Jesus meets at the well, which is told in John 4:4–26. The characters were a little weakly developed, and the plot was rather slow taking Marah through all the events that explain why she had had five husbands and was with a man who wasn't her husband at the time. I think that it could have been written much better than it was, but I didn't feel like I wasted my time reading it. I would probably give it 3.5 stars if I could.
July 19, 2020
©2009
Books: 8
Chapters: 51
Pages: 326
First let me begin this review by saying that I read this book back in 2014. However, after I read a book, I always try to write out my feelings on the story when I finish. Sometimes, I’m moved to write a great deal to type up later. Other times, I just feel up to writing a very basic review. I never intended for it to take me six YEARS to get it on my GoodReads account, but it has. Obviously, by now, I don’t really remember much about the story, though sometimes my notes help jog my memory. So, if the following review doesn’t really say much or deal too much with the story or plot, that’s probably because I wasn’t moved by one or the other or both to write more than I did. However, such as it is I give to you.
Also, on a personal note, I started reading this a second time in 2016 to my mother, who’d suffered a serious illness. Before getting sick, when she’d drive, I used to read to her because she couldn’t find a station on the radio that played HER music, and she couldn’t STAND listening to most of the country music on my stations! But she liked to listen to me read and enjoyed being entertained if it was a novel or learning if it was nonfiction. So I continued reading to her when she wasn’t able to. I’m not certain why, but I never got to finish this story—one thing or another happened and kept me from finishing (most probably because I kept crying through it!). Anyhow, she passed away in 2018, so I know she’s finished it in Heaven and has probably even spoken with the REAL Woman at the Well. The following review is from my first reading.
Book Summary (10/26/14—spoiler alert!): Marah lives with a cruel aunt, the sister of her father, because both parents have died. Marah’s in love with a local shepherd boy, Jesse, but is “sold” to a man twice her age (she’s not yet 13) to be his wife. Jesse, then, must look elsewhere for a wife.
Marah’s life with Zibeon (husband number 1) is hard and fraught with pain and difficulties, including the death of her son at birth. Then comes the death of Zibeon, an abusive man. She’s left with his mother, a hard woman (though, after the death of her grandson, Athaliah does soften toward Marah—until she goes mad), and Zibeon’s younger brother, who isn’t exactly well-adjusted himself. A betrothal between them ends in divorce, and Marah is now a widow and a divorcée at about 15. Shimei, the brother, was husband number 2.
With Shimei gone, Marah must care for her mother-in-law all alone. Then the woman dies. Marah is taken in by her best friend, Hannah, and her husband, Simon. Both are older than Marah, and Hannah is barren.
While in their care, Marah meets a little boy, Caleb, and, through him, the father, who turns out to be a widower. Jesse! Jesse’s returned to Shechem to care for his ailing parents and is still head-over-heels in love with Marah, and she’s never stopped loving him.
For once in her life, Marah is truly happy and married to husband number three, and she’s a mother to his son, who loves Marah and calls her Mama. Marah also has a loving mother and father in Jesse’s parents and cares for them as if they were her own. Life is finally good.
Enter Haman, the nephew of Elon, Jesse’s father, and, of course, Jesse’s cousin. Haman has a sense of mystery about him, just appearing in Shechem as he does, and he has a wandering eye—right at Marah! Jesse, of course, doesn’t like this. But Jesse come to a sudden end, and Marah is, once again, a widow. Taking the advice of her father-in-law, she weds Haman, the kinsman redeemer of Jesse, but, because she never falls out of love with Jesse, Haman makes her life wretched. Until he, too, dies—beheaded and driven through by a man who claims Haman killed his brother and stole from him.
So now poor Marah is a widow once again—four times! The town now begins to whisper about her, calling her names and saying she’s cursed. FOUR husbands—three dead and one divorced? This woman MUST be cursed by God for some sin no one but she and God know about.
But this talk doesn’t deter Ahmal, Haman’s boss and a really decent man, who admires and respects Marah and asks her to marry him but doesn’t ask for her to love him, realizing what Haman never did, that she’s the sort of woman who only truly loves once and that man was Jesse, whom Ahmal had met and liked.
Ahmal is her fifth husband, and life with him for Marah, Caleb, and Elon is good once again, as it once was with Jesse. Ahmal is kind, generous, gentle to each of them. Not having children of his own, he makes Caleb his heir—and, almost overnight, Caleb is set to inherit a fortune.
Then more tragedy occurs when Ahmal, a traveling merchant with a large caravan, leaves and doesn’t return when he’s expected. Three years ago by and no sign or word. Caleb, now about 17, leaves without his mother’s knowledge to go look for him. Marah is now all alone with only Eliab, Ahmal’s servant/friend, and the money begins to dwindle to pay various bills left by Ahmal.
Eventually, the opulent house is depleted to pay for the bills and to live, and even Eliab offers himself to pay the very last debt. Now Marah truly IS alone because even her father-in-law, Elon, has died.
Enter Reuben, Ahmal’s half-brother, who forces his attentions on Marah and is the man Jesus speaks of when she meets Him at the well: “You are right to say you’re not married. For you have had five husbands, and the man you are living with now is not your husband.”
Jesus is only in the book for about two chapters (or maybe one full chapter and mentioned through the rest), but there is such a powerful set of emotions—love and forgiveness and peace—that come with His Presence—it made me cry and cry and cry to read. All the drama of Marah’s life, and you know it’s leading up to the apex: meeting the Messiah, and it doesn’t let you down. When He leaves Shechem, I, too, found myself not wanting Him to go. 😊
Then Diana Wallis Taylor weaves in two other Bible stories, which are completely unexpected but a delightful surprise and a happy ending.
This is a must-read story for anyone who enjoys a good tale—not just for Christians but for all who enjoy a novel filled with every emotion you could want to experience as you read: love, sadness, anger, pain, relief, and peace at the end.
Grade: A+ (and higher if there were a higher grade to give!)
My Review: Wow. Twenty-five years in the making, this book, and not a second of the time was misspent because this is such an exceptional read. It is a truly engaging, heartwarming, incomparable, dramatic, feel-good story!
There are so many emotions that go into the reading of this superb novel. I, too, have thought of the story behind the Woman at the Well, but never did I contemplate a tale such as this one. I never thought ill of the Woman (in this book, she’s been given the name Marah, which, I believe, though it wasn’t brought up by the authoress, means “bitter,” as in Naomi’s desired name change after life had turned so hard and bitter for her and before Ruth and Boaz gave her Obed), never looked down on her or anything, and if her story followed this one any, I’m so thankful. What a sad, hard, bitter life this fictitious Marah lived. From almost the first, her life was unfair.
On the lighter side, my only criticism would be in punctuation and some grammar. I freely admit that I’m a grammar nerd—I constantly correct grammar and punctuation whether it’s in written or verbal form. (But I also admit that, though I read and reread the stuff I write (even these reviews), I frequently find errors myself! And it bothers the HECK out of me!) (*Laughing*) Anyhow, with this story, I found myself adding commas (there seem to be a dearth of them, and commas are so necessary, especially to a story; besides all the rules that go along with them, they add the right flow in one’s reading, helping people to pause just right or to get across appropriate sentiment) and correcting grammatical errors here and there. But even for this word nerd, neither the lack of commas nor any grammatical mistakes took away from the story, and no one (even other word nerds) should find anything to complain about regarding the story itself.
Books: 8
Chapters: 51
Pages: 326
First let me begin this review by saying that I read this book back in 2014. However, after I read a book, I always try to write out my feelings on the story when I finish. Sometimes, I’m moved to write a great deal to type up later. Other times, I just feel up to writing a very basic review. I never intended for it to take me six YEARS to get it on my GoodReads account, but it has. Obviously, by now, I don’t really remember much about the story, though sometimes my notes help jog my memory. So, if the following review doesn’t really say much or deal too much with the story or plot, that’s probably because I wasn’t moved by one or the other or both to write more than I did. However, such as it is I give to you.
Also, on a personal note, I started reading this a second time in 2016 to my mother, who’d suffered a serious illness. Before getting sick, when she’d drive, I used to read to her because she couldn’t find a station on the radio that played HER music, and she couldn’t STAND listening to most of the country music on my stations! But she liked to listen to me read and enjoyed being entertained if it was a novel or learning if it was nonfiction. So I continued reading to her when she wasn’t able to. I’m not certain why, but I never got to finish this story—one thing or another happened and kept me from finishing (most probably because I kept crying through it!). Anyhow, she passed away in 2018, so I know she’s finished it in Heaven and has probably even spoken with the REAL Woman at the Well. The following review is from my first reading.
Book Summary (10/26/14—spoiler alert!): Marah lives with a cruel aunt, the sister of her father, because both parents have died. Marah’s in love with a local shepherd boy, Jesse, but is “sold” to a man twice her age (she’s not yet 13) to be his wife. Jesse, then, must look elsewhere for a wife.
Marah’s life with Zibeon (husband number 1) is hard and fraught with pain and difficulties, including the death of her son at birth. Then comes the death of Zibeon, an abusive man. She’s left with his mother, a hard woman (though, after the death of her grandson, Athaliah does soften toward Marah—until she goes mad), and Zibeon’s younger brother, who isn’t exactly well-adjusted himself. A betrothal between them ends in divorce, and Marah is now a widow and a divorcée at about 15. Shimei, the brother, was husband number 2.
With Shimei gone, Marah must care for her mother-in-law all alone. Then the woman dies. Marah is taken in by her best friend, Hannah, and her husband, Simon. Both are older than Marah, and Hannah is barren.
While in their care, Marah meets a little boy, Caleb, and, through him, the father, who turns out to be a widower. Jesse! Jesse’s returned to Shechem to care for his ailing parents and is still head-over-heels in love with Marah, and she’s never stopped loving him.
For once in her life, Marah is truly happy and married to husband number three, and she’s a mother to his son, who loves Marah and calls her Mama. Marah also has a loving mother and father in Jesse’s parents and cares for them as if they were her own. Life is finally good.
Enter Haman, the nephew of Elon, Jesse’s father, and, of course, Jesse’s cousin. Haman has a sense of mystery about him, just appearing in Shechem as he does, and he has a wandering eye—right at Marah! Jesse, of course, doesn’t like this. But Jesse come to a sudden end, and Marah is, once again, a widow. Taking the advice of her father-in-law, she weds Haman, the kinsman redeemer of Jesse, but, because she never falls out of love with Jesse, Haman makes her life wretched. Until he, too, dies—beheaded and driven through by a man who claims Haman killed his brother and stole from him.
So now poor Marah is a widow once again—four times! The town now begins to whisper about her, calling her names and saying she’s cursed. FOUR husbands—three dead and one divorced? This woman MUST be cursed by God for some sin no one but she and God know about.
But this talk doesn’t deter Ahmal, Haman’s boss and a really decent man, who admires and respects Marah and asks her to marry him but doesn’t ask for her to love him, realizing what Haman never did, that she’s the sort of woman who only truly loves once and that man was Jesse, whom Ahmal had met and liked.
Ahmal is her fifth husband, and life with him for Marah, Caleb, and Elon is good once again, as it once was with Jesse. Ahmal is kind, generous, gentle to each of them. Not having children of his own, he makes Caleb his heir—and, almost overnight, Caleb is set to inherit a fortune.
Then more tragedy occurs when Ahmal, a traveling merchant with a large caravan, leaves and doesn’t return when he’s expected. Three years ago by and no sign or word. Caleb, now about 17, leaves without his mother’s knowledge to go look for him. Marah is now all alone with only Eliab, Ahmal’s servant/friend, and the money begins to dwindle to pay various bills left by Ahmal.
Eventually, the opulent house is depleted to pay for the bills and to live, and even Eliab offers himself to pay the very last debt. Now Marah truly IS alone because even her father-in-law, Elon, has died.
Enter Reuben, Ahmal’s half-brother, who forces his attentions on Marah and is the man Jesus speaks of when she meets Him at the well: “You are right to say you’re not married. For you have had five husbands, and the man you are living with now is not your husband.”
Jesus is only in the book for about two chapters (or maybe one full chapter and mentioned through the rest), but there is such a powerful set of emotions—love and forgiveness and peace—that come with His Presence—it made me cry and cry and cry to read. All the drama of Marah’s life, and you know it’s leading up to the apex: meeting the Messiah, and it doesn’t let you down. When He leaves Shechem, I, too, found myself not wanting Him to go. 😊
Then Diana Wallis Taylor weaves in two other Bible stories, which are completely unexpected but a delightful surprise and a happy ending.
This is a must-read story for anyone who enjoys a good tale—not just for Christians but for all who enjoy a novel filled with every emotion you could want to experience as you read: love, sadness, anger, pain, relief, and peace at the end.
Grade: A+ (and higher if there were a higher grade to give!)
My Review: Wow. Twenty-five years in the making, this book, and not a second of the time was misspent because this is such an exceptional read. It is a truly engaging, heartwarming, incomparable, dramatic, feel-good story!
There are so many emotions that go into the reading of this superb novel. I, too, have thought of the story behind the Woman at the Well, but never did I contemplate a tale such as this one. I never thought ill of the Woman (in this book, she’s been given the name Marah, which, I believe, though it wasn’t brought up by the authoress, means “bitter,” as in Naomi’s desired name change after life had turned so hard and bitter for her and before Ruth and Boaz gave her Obed), never looked down on her or anything, and if her story followed this one any, I’m so thankful. What a sad, hard, bitter life this fictitious Marah lived. From almost the first, her life was unfair.
On the lighter side, my only criticism would be in punctuation and some grammar. I freely admit that I’m a grammar nerd—I constantly correct grammar and punctuation whether it’s in written or verbal form. (But I also admit that, though I read and reread the stuff I write (even these reviews), I frequently find errors myself! And it bothers the HECK out of me!) (*Laughing*) Anyhow, with this story, I found myself adding commas (there seem to be a dearth of them, and commas are so necessary, especially to a story; besides all the rules that go along with them, they add the right flow in one’s reading, helping people to pause just right or to get across appropriate sentiment) and correcting grammatical errors here and there. But even for this word nerd, neither the lack of commas nor any grammatical mistakes took away from the story, and no one (even other word nerds) should find anything to complain about regarding the story itself.
July 6, 2020
This is the possible story of the woman at the well. Diana Wallis Taylor version of this story was far different then I ever heard in church.
Marah, unlike children of today, was married, had given birth and became a widow by the end of age 14. This book journeys along with her as she navigates life as wife’s to several men, being the talk of the town, being violated, finding true love, settling for companionship, major losses and her chance meeting with Jesus Christ at the well.
Things I didn’t care for in this book was that the last +/- 5 chapters were actually about the well encounter. It just felt really rushed and lifeless to me. I was expecting more compassion and love for such a woman whose gone through so much.
Also, Hannah was Marah’s best friend, but her story was not like in the Bible except that God closed up her womb and opened it. Penninah, is even in this book, again not like she was in the Bible. I think it would of been nice to write this story as told in the Bible because they were close in age and could have showed what a life would have been like with more than one wife in the house.
Lastly, because this time period is sometimes hard to fathom (for me personally), I would have liked to have seen a better ending with Haman. I’m wondering was it left like this because he was the one from the Book of Esther. If so, it makes sense, kinda. It should have mentioned something like to he was on his way to Persia, Media or anywhere in that area.
So, though I wanted to like this book, it was just okay to me.
Marah, unlike children of today, was married, had given birth and became a widow by the end of age 14. This book journeys along with her as she navigates life as wife’s to several men, being the talk of the town, being violated, finding true love, settling for companionship, major losses and her chance meeting with Jesus Christ at the well.
Things I didn’t care for in this book was that the last +/- 5 chapters were actually about the well encounter. It just felt really rushed and lifeless to me. I was expecting more compassion and love for such a woman whose gone through so much.
Also, Hannah was Marah’s best friend, but her story was not like in the Bible except that God closed up her womb and opened it. Penninah, is even in this book, again not like she was in the Bible. I think it would of been nice to write this story as told in the Bible because they were close in age and could have showed what a life would have been like with more than one wife in the house.
Lastly, because this time period is sometimes hard to fathom (for me personally), I would have liked to have seen a better ending with Haman. I’m wondering was it left like this because he was the one from the Book of Esther. If so, it makes sense, kinda. It should have mentioned something like to he was on his way to Persia, Media or anywhere in that area.
So, though I wanted to like this book, it was just okay to me.
August 21, 2017
I have read a lot of Biblical fiction and usually love it. When this book was offered as a free Kindle download, I thought it looked interesting. It took me a long while to get to it on my to-read list and now I wish I wouldn't have bothered. Seriously, it was a good thing this was free.
I knew going in that this story of the Samaritan woman at the well would be speculative. There simply isn't enough told to us in Scripture to give much of a firm background. That's not a problem for me. I don't mind when an author gives us a plausible backdrop for the life of a person we only briefly meet in the Bible itself. This just wasn't worth the time.
We know from Scripture that the woman had many husbands and she tries to lie about it to Jesus when he meets her at Jacob's well. Taylor spends hundreds of pages trying to make us look at her sins sympathetically by detailing the unfortunate and unloving circumstances she is in. The problem is, that's really all there is to this story: chapter after chapter detailing one bad marriage after another, including an adulterous scene that bordered on rape that turned my stomach.
In a desperate attempt to salvage this story, I skipped to the end when she meets Jesus and hoped for something edifying to come out of it and found a scene that was flat and a Jesus that was one-dimensional. How disappointing. Like I said, I'm glad this was free so I can feel just fine about deleting it.
I knew going in that this story of the Samaritan woman at the well would be speculative. There simply isn't enough told to us in Scripture to give much of a firm background. That's not a problem for me. I don't mind when an author gives us a plausible backdrop for the life of a person we only briefly meet in the Bible itself. This just wasn't worth the time.
We know from Scripture that the woman had many husbands and she tries to lie about it to Jesus when he meets her at Jacob's well. Taylor spends hundreds of pages trying to make us look at her sins sympathetically by detailing the unfortunate and unloving circumstances she is in. The problem is, that's really all there is to this story: chapter after chapter detailing one bad marriage after another, including an adulterous scene that bordered on rape that turned my stomach.
In a desperate attempt to salvage this story, I skipped to the end when she meets Jesus and hoped for something edifying to come out of it and found a scene that was flat and a Jesus that was one-dimensional. How disappointing. Like I said, I'm glad this was free so I can feel just fine about deleting it.
October 31, 2019
A very good book, wonderful story
I have always wondered about the back story of the Samaritan woman at the well...how could she have had five husbands? And then be living with someone who wasn't her husband? In that culture, it was hard to imagine how that came to be. So when I saw this book I was immediately interested to read one writer's imagination on that very subject. I have also loved historical fiction that depicts people interacting with Jesus, which has helped Him to come even more alive to me in my own imagination. I was a little bit disappointed in that aspect of this story, which is the only reason I gave this four stars instead of five. That portion on the story was very abbreviated, and felt like almost an afterthought, and I would have liked more in that aspect of the story. But it wasn't supposed to be a book about Jesus, per se, but about the Samaritan woman's life, and in that capacity, it was a very beautiful, well-written story.
I have always wondered about the back story of the Samaritan woman at the well...how could she have had five husbands? And then be living with someone who wasn't her husband? In that culture, it was hard to imagine how that came to be. So when I saw this book I was immediately interested to read one writer's imagination on that very subject. I have also loved historical fiction that depicts people interacting with Jesus, which has helped Him to come even more alive to me in my own imagination. I was a little bit disappointed in that aspect of this story, which is the only reason I gave this four stars instead of five. That portion on the story was very abbreviated, and felt like almost an afterthought, and I would have liked more in that aspect of the story. But it wasn't supposed to be a book about Jesus, per se, but about the Samaritan woman's life, and in that capacity, it was a very beautiful, well-written story.
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