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	• Lilah: A Novel (Canaan Trilogy) Marek Halter Three Rivers Press, 2007 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 13 reviews view larger image
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He does it again!

Another can't-put-it-down book. A page-turner. A very decerning eye for detail. Written from much mediation of Scripture.

The only negative point is some missing detail from the French to English translation. Not as fluenty translated as the first 2 books of the trilogy. But saying that it is well-translated and VERY WELL WRITTEN.

EXCELLENT STORY LINE!

Great!

What great reading. I've read all 3 books of the Canaan Trilogy and have enjoyed being able to put them in the prospective of "real" lives and real stories. They are "fiction", but the characters are very real and help us to realize that they did exist and they did have lives very similar to ours. Thank you Marek Halter to making the stories come to life.

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Those Canaan Days (Part 3)

This is my least favorite book in the trilogy, probably because I was not as familiar with the story of Ezra and Lilah as I was with Abraham and Moses. But this book is enjoyable because of the diversity of the characters that evoke emotion. Lilah is strong, proud, and full of love, like Sarah and Zipporah. However, we have a wider range of characters. Some are easy to root for, like Ezra's mentor, his servant, and Lilah's lover. And others are easy to despise, like the Queen, and even Ezra himself, who is not a very sympathetic character. Yes, the Jews are lead to the Promise Land and the Temple is rebuilt, but Ezra does not care at what cost these tasks are done.

MY REVIEW OF THE TRILOGY AS A WHOLE (SPOILER ALERT!!!)

I may seem like I'm slightly bashing these books just because I'm pointing out some flaws, but I did give these books 4 or 5 stars.

Halter should not switch from first person to third. Yes, he distinctly separates them via prologues and epilogues and parts, but once he's really established style in one or the other, he changes ineloquently.

These women of god were not as chaste as we were lead to believe. Mind you, I'm no conservative, but generally, when people are reading biblical stories, they're not reading it for moderately steamy romance. Sarah committed adultery with Pharaoh, Zipporah slept with Moses before they were married and acknowledged that she lived in sin, and Lilah slept with her lover before they were married and did so with considerable passion.

All of these women had a bit too much in common, and having concluded the third book, the trilogy seemed a bit redundant. All three women were raised in privilege and wanted men outside of their class. They all embarked in holy journeys and received both blessings and sorrow. It was a bit formulaic.

Overall, I enjoyed the series. It was a quick read with familiar characters and a good sense of setting and atmosphere. I felt the heat of the deserts and texture of the fabrics. But while I knew what was in the character's hearts, I never FELT it.

As I said in my review of Sarah, I don't typically compare books to other books, but this series didn't hold a candle to The Red Tent.

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What are you people talking about

I loved Lilah, just as I did the rest of the Canaan Trilogy. Sarah was my favorite, but be fair reviewers. Lilah was a great book. I have never written a review before, but I felt I needed to after reading what had been written about this one. I recommended this trilogy to a neighbor last week before reading all the negative things written here, and I stand by my recommendations. Another fantastic book in the "Biblical Fiction" category is "The Red Tent" (not written by the same author). It is my absolute favorite.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3

Set in the magnificent culture of the Middle East more than four thousand years ago, Lilah is a rich and emotionally resonant story of faith, love, and courage.

Living in exile, Lilah is in love with Antinoes, a Persian warrior. They have known each other since they were children, and Antinoes dearly wants to make Lilah his wife. Yet Lilah does not feel she can marry without the blessing of her brother, Ezra. She and Ezra are close, and Lilah knows her brother well?he does not want his sister to have a husband outside their faith. Ezra is a scholar of the laws of Moses, and Lilah believes it is her brother?s destiny to lead the Jewish people back to the Promised Land. While Antinoes pressures her to accept his proposal, Lilah realizes that before she can consider her own happiness, it is her duty to help her brother accomplish the seemingly impossible task that is before him.

Putting herself in grave danger, and with the help of Antinoes, Lilah wins Ezra an audience with Artaxerxes II, the King of Kings, who grants permission to lead the exiles on their journey back to the Promised Land. After a hazardous trip across the desert, Lilah, Ezra, and the thousands who join them arrive in Jerusalem. But the hardship of rebuilding the Temple takes its toll, and the religious enthusiasm of some turns to extremism. Ezra, listening to the zealots, orders all non-Jewish wives and their children banished from Jerusalem. Lilah, whose love for Antinoes has never wavered, is horrified by this command. She knows she must now choose between her brother and her conscience, which tells her that the time has come to defy him.

Lilah is a timeless story of one woman?s stand against intolerance; it will linger in the reader?s mind long after the last page has been turned.

From the Hardcover edition.

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