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Mar 19, 2011

Manny rated it:

The Book of Marek

1. Now in those days there dwelled in the land of the France'ites a man named Ma'rek, who was a prophet of the Lord.

2. And Ma'rek had suffered much for his faith and undergone many trials. And he had seen how strange are the Lord's ways.

3. Now Ma'rek had need of gold. And he prayed to the Lord, saying, show me how I might get me riches, that I may further exalt Thy name.

4. Then that night an angel came to Ma'rek in a dream. And the More...

21 comments like (16 people liked it)

Jul 16, 2008

Eh?Eh! rated it:

this book is rather heinous. an intriguing take on the positions&beliefs of the characters but made ridiculous.

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Oct 08, 2008

Tessha rated it:

Mr. Halter takes extensive creataive liberties with sacred historical figures. I do prefer Orson Scott Cards version better - Women of Genesis series with a book also titled Sarah - mainly because those books are less sexual and likely closer to actual events.

This version is well written and easy to read. Sarai's emotions are strong pulling you into the center of her heart. Halter creates a childhood for her with no historical connection but is interesting. Much of the first pa More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 25, 2011

Barbara rated it:

SARAH is one of three novels (The Canaan Trilogy) presented as a series, using women of the Old Testament as the central characters in each one. Of the three women, the person of Sarah is by far the most well known to people. This novel imagines Sarah as a young girl born of privilege in Ur, a Sumerian city-state. She is destined for an arranged marriage. As the reader would expect, she rebels against this destiny and consequently finds herself on a far-different path from that of obedient w More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 25, 2011

Leah rated it:

I have two ladies in my reading group to thank for this read. I remember Rebecca and Robyn saying how much they enjoyed The Red Tent, and as I browsed the book shelves at the local thrift store, I pulled the book Sarah because of its title, took a second look at it because one reviewer mentioned its likeness to The Red Tent, and thought a fictional narrative about the life of Sarah (and Abraham) would be interesting, to say the least.

Before, during and after my reading of Sarah, I re More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 30, 2009

skein rated it:

Surprisingly feminist, surprisingly human, surprisingly graceful reiteration of the Biblical story of Sarah & Abraham. I say 'surprisingly' because it's easy enough to reimagine historical women as embodying a "you go, grrl!" spirit, but much harder to do so convincingly, and within the context of Old Testament life. Halter says: the choices this woman Sarah made are the choices of any modern woman. When & if to have chilren; when & whom to marry; questions about the validity of god, t More...

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Dec 09, 2010

Jeanette rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Nov 13, 2011

Ana rated it:

"Sarah" is the story of Abraham and his nation, told through the eyes of Sarah, his wife.

Sarai, a Sumerian princess from the land of Ur, refuses to settle for the life everyone expects her to live. She decides to abandon all the luxuries she's ever known in order to be the wife of the "mar.Tu" Abram. Sarai can't get pregnant because of some magic herbs she took as a child. Abram's god has promised them children and a nation. But how can that be if she's a barren w More...

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Dec 16, 2009

Ellis rated it:

Another work of Biblically inspired works. Provides a neat perspective of Sarai (before she becomes Sarah). A good look at ancient Mesopotamian culture. Illustrates well the romance between Sarah and Abraham and how it grew from when they were Sarai and Abram into their old age and the miracle birth of their first child. Books of this sort make Biblical stories more personal and relatable.

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Apr 26, 2008

Judy rated it:

The author's personal beliefs certainly influences his writing. Comparing the Red Tent, Sarah by Orson Scott Card and this book and can tell how the author's personal beliefs influenced the way they told the story. I thought the Red Tent and this book had a lot of interesting details about culture and customs; but I liked personality traits that Card gave to the characters best.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Sep 21, 2010

Amanda rated it:

Marek Halter's Sarah is the first book in a trilogy of novels centered around the strong, supporting women of the Bible. Halter's book contains smooth and descriptive language, making it an incredibly easy read. The reader is swept away immediately with his ability to immerse the reader fully. The way Halter portrays Sarah as a great heroine and a tremendous supporter of her husband, Abraham (possibly even the motivator behind his decisions) works well.
The story does contain strong sexu More...

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Oct 10, 2010

Jean Marie rated it:

I really enjoyed this novel, it was incredibly fast pased and very heart felt and while it didn't have the intensity of some other biblical novels it's still a great read. The story is that of Sarai (her name before changing Sarah) from her life as a princess to priestess to escapee and then companion and wife to Abram, who later became Abraham. I really enjoyed the emotion of Sarah's story, while this is a fast, short book, it's one of those rare books that doesn't need hundreds of pages to tel More...

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Jan 23, 2010

Serena rated it:

From the historical standpoint of this book, I loved it. I loved the scenarios Mr. Halter put out to explain the Bible stories, and I loved the way he described the cities of Ur, the palace of the Pharoah, and the lands of Canaan and Hebron. I thought the characteristics of Sarai/Sarah were really well done, and I loved the personality she was given.

However the book was slightly too sexual for my taste. I realize that this was part of statement being made that Bible is not a pure and More...

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Jan 11, 2010

Rose Ann rated it:

If you read and liked The Red Tent...you will like this as well.
I read it in a handful of days.
Cant wait to read Zipporah...the second of this trilogy!
My thought to follow shortly...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 10, 2011

Mel added it

As a whole I liked this book the best of three books in Canaan series. The characters were wonderful, fleshed-out, and understandable. Sarah is a strong-willed woman who defies society's say on what her place in the world should be. For an ending to the book, I liked this one the most. I also liked Abram the best as well.

((spoiler))

However, it is saddening to see the husbands reject and neglect their wives/sister in each of these books. It is a true look at the value (or lack thereof) that men More...

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Jan 16, 2010

Annie rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Oct 14, 2011

Alpha rated it:

"Marek Halter's Canaan Trilogy is one of the best trilogies I have read in a long time to what I have read so far. I only read two of the three books in which I still need to read Lilith. Sarah however started this trilogy and also started the story-telling view of stories in the Bible. Instead of just being a parable or a verse out of the Bible, Halter actually made a fully typed and entertaining story out of a gospel or a part of the gospel. What I do know about Sarah is that he started t More...

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Mar 05, 2011

Sarah rated it:

Book One of the Canaan Trilogy tells the story of Abraham's wife (yes, the one from the Bible), enjoying the freedom of fiction to paint a more vivid character than that left by the Bible story focusing on her husband.

While the book does not strictly follow every word of biblical detail, that's partly because the first half of the story takes place before Sarai is mentioned in the Bible. As the biblical part of her story is picked up, Halter seems to falter in incorporating the ancient More...

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Nov 17, 2010

Julie rated it:

I don't typically write reviews to compare one book to another, but since so many have already said, "If you loved The Red Tent, you'll enjoy Halter's Canaan Trilogy." I'm not disagreeing with that statement, but Sarah lacks the emotional depth and heart of Diamant's epic.

We meet Sarai as a child on the brink of womanhood, and the first half of the book observes her luxurious life in the city of Ur and her first encounter with Abram. The second half deals with her marriage More...

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Aug 25, 2009

Leah rated it:

Ok, so I liked this book better than Pilate's Wife, BUT, it smacked way too much of The Red Tent vibe. There was lots of talking about "bridal blood" and women's menstrual processes. Seriously? Can't we just have a decent biblical historical novel without all the female blood?!

The story itself is actually decent, although many liberties are taken with the actual story from scripture. Sarai is a beauty who becomes a priestess who is then rescued from the temple by Abram More...

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Jan 14, 2010

m.allen rated it:

I already loved the Biblical story of Sarah so I assumed that I would enjoy this book just from that. But I didn’t expect just how much I would love it! I think the thing that I enjoyed the most was that Abraham knew that Sarah was infertile when he married her and it didn’t change how much he loved her. I think the author did a very good job showing that if you put your trust and faith in God then He will give you what you want. Throughout the book, Sarah refers to God as ‘Abraham’s God’ an More...

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Sep 01, 2010

Ann rated it:

Sarai was born to one of the great lords of Ur. Hers was a life filled with wealth and beauty until the fateful day when she became a woman. Suddenly, she was expected to marry a man she’d never met and serve him as a virtual slave, his every whim her command. It was not to be borne!

Sarai flees her father’s house and plunges into the countryside, where she stumbles across Abram, a simple man to whom she is strangely drawn. Although Sarai is caught and returned to her father, she More...

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Dec 11, 2008

Michal rated it:

I read this quickly and enjoyed the story. The depiction of Sarah, Abraham, and Jehovah did not mesh with my own views--so I didn't come away from the book feeling like I understood them or the story better. However, the storyline itself and the liberties the author took make for an enjoyable read. I would say that this was less sexual than The Red Tent but more so than Orson Scott Card's version. If you are thinking of reading this, make sure that you are expecting very fictional historical fi More...

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Apr 12, 2011

Thalia rated it:

I realy enjoyed this quick little historical read. This time period is way back in the early Jewish/Christian story. The author imagines what the bible doesn't tell us. I love fiction like this (as long as it doesn't take it to far) and even better when it's a period of history and a culture I don't know very well (and I tend to be more gracious with my stars too because factual errors aren't usually perceptable to me, unlike my favourite time periods). I am familiar, ofcourse, with the scri More...

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Jun 13, 2007

Sammy rated it:

I really enjoy Christian literature, as long as it's well written and not continuously trying to be written as a conversion book. You know one of those books that always somehow gets to talking about how everyone needs to be a Christian. If the book still does that but does it in a real subtle manner so that you barely even notice.

Sarah was really an enjoyable read. It was well written, with a captivating story, a story taken from the Bible and elaborated upon. Sarah, our title chara More...

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Jan 21, 2009

Kelsey rated it:

Liked it. Didn't love it. But I always think it is fun to read a fictional representation of what people and things could have been like. I will say this though. The author (Marek Halter) has a very positive perspective of the influence of women in the bible, and attributes much of the success of the ancient prophets, like Abraham, to how incredible their spouses were. Which I totally agree with.

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Feb 14, 2010

Sharon rated it:

I love the way Marek Halter brings us the lives of important women in the Bible. Sarah's story comes to life, and we are able to fill in the blanks in our collective conscious about what we don't know about the lives of Sarai and Abram, who become Sarah and Abraham.

Bravo! I can't wait to read more! I loved Zipporah, and highly recommend this author's work.

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Jan 27, 2010

Karen rated it:

Biblical history of Sarah and Abraham, their relationship with God, their love and struggles surrounded with customs of the times. After finishing it, reread their story in the book of Genesis. Felt the book was well written, educational and very enjoyable. A fast comfortable read, it adhered closely to the Bible story, with a lot of added embellishment. Would recommend.

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Jul 03, 2011

Breeze added it

Oh so good. We don't hear enough from the women of the Bible. No worries, I get that it was fiction but it's so cool to get some insight into how these women lived and felt and thought. What a wonderful, tragic life she led. This would make a good chick-flick although, except for the obligatory eye candy, I don't imagine any film could do the novel justice.

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Oct 09, 2010

Bojojoti rated it:

The cover art was lovely; the story was hideous. The Sarah of this story had very little in common with the Sarah of Biblical fame. It annoys me to have historical figures written with severe deviations from the recorded character of the person in question.

I donated this to my library as I didn't want it sitting on my shelves.

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