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The Anointed
A masterful and subsersive retelling of the Biblical story of David and Bathsheba, by an award-winning novelist at the height of his powers'[A] fierce, sinewy novel' Howard Jacobsen'A wonderfully rich novel. Arditti brings Ancient Israel to life' Allan Massie, ScotsmanMichal is a princess, Abigail a wealthy widow, and Bathsheba a soldier's bride, but as women in Ancient Israel their destiny is the to obey their fathers, serve their husbands and raise their children. Marriage to King David seems to offer them an escape, but behind the trappings of power they discover a deeply conflicted man. The legendary hero who slew Goliath, founded Jerusalem and saved Israel is also a vicious despot who murders his rivals, massacres his captives and menaces his harem. Michael Arditti's masterly new novel centres on three fascinating, formidable women, whose voices have hitherto been silenced. As they tell of love and betrayal, rape and revenge, motherhood and childlessness, they not only present the time-honoured story in a compelling new light but expose a conflict between male ruthlessness and female resistance, which remains strikingly pertinent today.
334 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 11, 2020
About the author
Michael Arditti
18 books21 followersMichael Arditti FRSL is an English writer. He has written twelve novels, including Easter, The Enemy of the Good, Jubilate and The Breath of Night, and also a collection of short stories, Good Clean Fun. His most recent novel, The Anointed, was published in April 2020. He is a prolific literary critic and an occasional broadcaster for the BBC. Much of his work explores issues of spirituality and sexuality. He has been described by Philip Pullman as "our best chronicler of the rewards and pitfalls of present-day faith".
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 24, 2024
A fictional retelling of the story of King David, who strayed from God's path into sin and insobriery. Although it is a well known story, Michael Arditti crafted it into a fascinating fictional account. I particularly enjoyed seeing him through the eyes of three of his wives.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
April 3, 2020
Amazing page turner. So beautifully written. A
Brilliant storyteller. The dialogue was engrossing.
Must read. Every character so well developed
And David. Best historical fiction I’ve Read about
King David’s life and his wives. Page turner. Wanted more.
Brilliant storyteller. The dialogue was engrossing.
Must read. Every character so well developed
And David. Best historical fiction I’ve Read about
King David’s life and his wives. Page turner. Wanted more.
May 30, 2022
I don’t think I’ve given a book five stars before but anything below would have been an insult.
As a born-again Christian who has been through 2 years of Bible School, I was really excited to read this book because the Bible sheds little to no light on the voices of women in general, let alone the voices of women in the Old Testament.
Arditti colours this blank space in the most heartbreaking and compelling way. He brings life to every wife, maidservant and princess in the days of King David and a makes the perils of womanhood during that time relatable.
Though I don’t agree with every detail that Arditti included, I can appreciate how it coloured the story from his perspective.
Truly a masterpiece.
As a born-again Christian who has been through 2 years of Bible School, I was really excited to read this book because the Bible sheds little to no light on the voices of women in general, let alone the voices of women in the Old Testament.
Arditti colours this blank space in the most heartbreaking and compelling way. He brings life to every wife, maidservant and princess in the days of King David and a makes the perils of womanhood during that time relatable.
Though I don’t agree with every detail that Arditti included, I can appreciate how it coloured the story from his perspective.
Truly a masterpiece.
July 5, 2021
One King. Three Women: One Betrothed. One Offered. One Taken.
The Anointed by Michael Arditti is a bold retelling and of the story of King David, based on the events recorded in the books of Samuel the Prophet in the Bible. The story is related through the experiences of three prominent women/wives across David’s life: Michal, a royal princess and daughter of the mighty King Saul, sister to David’s close friend and assumed heir to the throne, Jonathan, Abigail, an older woman and widow who’s wise words and actions guide David through his wilderness years, and Bathsheba, beloved and faithful wife of Uriah, Captain of the Guard in David’s army. Three women: one betrothed, one an offering and one taken without consent.
Written in the first person, their stories each unwind and tell us of ‘their David’, from David’s humble beginnings as a shepherd boy and musician, lauded for his brave and unexpected dispatch of the Nephilim giant, Goliath, to fugitive and outlaw, battling for his life against the wrath of King Saul, to becoming the most powerful and (in)famous king of Israel. Most people will know that David was a man, ‘close to God’s heart’ because of his unwavering faithfulness to one God only. But David was also a deeply flawed man in actions and deeds, an adulterer and a murderer, both in historical and modern-day terms and his family faced the ultimate consequences of his actions in the end. Away from the commonly known story of a brave shepherd boy killing a mighty giant and becoming a king, this is a revealing and at times, uncomfortable read, as we are faced with the reality of what is was like living with a king in the eyes of the woman who belonged to him. Women, regardless of status, that David owned. The constraints, the rules and harshness of life as a women in a time of turbulence and war, in a society where women were little short of being mere possessions, their status seemingly only a little higher than the animals and slaves who serve their men, cry out in the voices of Michal, Abigail and Bathsheba, as does their sense of resilience, abiding honour and the ability to survive and ultimately thrive, despite (of) the men in their lives.
The Anointed is the story of three women – three survivors of a string of significant events that were not always within their control. Interestingly, although we read and follow events through three female voices, the most prominent voice I heard (as a female reader) in the narrative was the missing voice of David, like a ghost hovering over the private, intimate revelations of each women. Whether the reader agrees with the overall characterisation of David from either the viewpoint of the women or the author himself (I didn’t agree with many aspects of what was offered), the narrative is as much a clever, thoughtful, revealing exposition of the man, David, as it is the story of three very different but equally important, remarkable royal women.
The Anointed is an absorbing read of one of the most famous figures in history, but its ultimate triumph is the celebration of female strength, intelligence and bravery which is just as easily recognisable in world events today.
The Anointed by Michael Arditti is a bold retelling and of the story of King David, based on the events recorded in the books of Samuel the Prophet in the Bible. The story is related through the experiences of three prominent women/wives across David’s life: Michal, a royal princess and daughter of the mighty King Saul, sister to David’s close friend and assumed heir to the throne, Jonathan, Abigail, an older woman and widow who’s wise words and actions guide David through his wilderness years, and Bathsheba, beloved and faithful wife of Uriah, Captain of the Guard in David’s army. Three women: one betrothed, one an offering and one taken without consent.
Written in the first person, their stories each unwind and tell us of ‘their David’, from David’s humble beginnings as a shepherd boy and musician, lauded for his brave and unexpected dispatch of the Nephilim giant, Goliath, to fugitive and outlaw, battling for his life against the wrath of King Saul, to becoming the most powerful and (in)famous king of Israel. Most people will know that David was a man, ‘close to God’s heart’ because of his unwavering faithfulness to one God only. But David was also a deeply flawed man in actions and deeds, an adulterer and a murderer, both in historical and modern-day terms and his family faced the ultimate consequences of his actions in the end. Away from the commonly known story of a brave shepherd boy killing a mighty giant and becoming a king, this is a revealing and at times, uncomfortable read, as we are faced with the reality of what is was like living with a king in the eyes of the woman who belonged to him. Women, regardless of status, that David owned. The constraints, the rules and harshness of life as a women in a time of turbulence and war, in a society where women were little short of being mere possessions, their status seemingly only a little higher than the animals and slaves who serve their men, cry out in the voices of Michal, Abigail and Bathsheba, as does their sense of resilience, abiding honour and the ability to survive and ultimately thrive, despite (of) the men in their lives.
The Anointed is the story of three women – three survivors of a string of significant events that were not always within their control. Interestingly, although we read and follow events through three female voices, the most prominent voice I heard (as a female reader) in the narrative was the missing voice of David, like a ghost hovering over the private, intimate revelations of each women. Whether the reader agrees with the overall characterisation of David from either the viewpoint of the women or the author himself (I didn’t agree with many aspects of what was offered), the narrative is as much a clever, thoughtful, revealing exposition of the man, David, as it is the story of three very different but equally important, remarkable royal women.
The Anointed is an absorbing read of one of the most famous figures in history, but its ultimate triumph is the celebration of female strength, intelligence and bravery which is just as easily recognisable in world events today.
December 18, 2024
I could be wrong - I often am - but I don't think there is another writer who challenges my faith as much as Arditti. By this I don't mean that he makes me question my belief in God but that he makes me look at the tenets and founding stories of my faith and ask what do they really mean, what's missing and what's the reality behind the story?
In The Anointed, Arditti retelling the story of King David from the point of view of Michal, Abigail, and Bathsheeba, three of David's many wives. Taking the Biblical narratives as his template, he opens up the story highlighting not just what's there but what's been glossed over.
It's an uncomfortable, uncompromising, and challenging read. For me, it's not quite as good as Of Men and Angels or Easter, but still a brilliant read
In The Anointed, Arditti retelling the story of King David from the point of view of Michal, Abigail, and Bathsheeba, three of David's many wives. Taking the Biblical narratives as his template, he opens up the story highlighting not just what's there but what's been glossed over.
It's an uncomfortable, uncompromising, and challenging read. For me, it's not quite as good as Of Men and Angels or Easter, but still a brilliant read
August 13, 2020
Michael Arditti has brought to life the story of King David through the eyes of three of the women in his life; Michal, Abigail and Bathsheba. This is no romanticised view of ancient Israel but a hard hitting vision of realpolitik.
The three women have very different relationships with David but each reveals aspects of the man and the king, and we see a real man struggling in the context of his inheritance as King of Israel.
The story is well written and there is a clear voice for each of the three women, as they each present their story.
The three women have very different relationships with David but each reveals aspects of the man and the king, and we see a real man struggling in the context of his inheritance as King of Israel.
The story is well written and there is a clear voice for each of the three women, as they each present their story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2020
A most intriguing book that is thought provoking. I empathised with each of the women in this story, and most of all Michal. But I'm left angry and upset at the man around whom their lives revolve.
How David is a man after God's own heart is beyond me right know.
The book beautifully written, though at times it moves faster than I'd like.
How David is a man after God's own heart is beyond me right know.
The book beautifully written, though at times it moves faster than I'd like.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2021
A typical Arditti triumph, brilliant!
May 13, 2025
Wow
Witty, sardonic ,shocking, and malevolent but the dialoge and
characterisation keep you intrigued.
If gay themes offend them this book is not for you
Witty, sardonic ,shocking, and malevolent but the dialoge and
characterisation keep you intrigued.
If gay themes offend them this book is not for you
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews