Jezebel: A Novel by Megan Barnard
Jezebel: A Novel by Megan Barnard
Publisher: Penguin Books
Genre: Women's Fiction
Format: Kindle
No. of Pages: 297
Date of US Publication: 1 August, 2023
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
My Thoughts
After receiving an invitation to read an early copy of Jezebel, I can say that I was invested in the story before the first chapter ended (this surprised me a bit, as I ordinarily wouldn’t have chosen it for myself).
Jezebel is woman who refuses to be forgotten though the history recorded is solely about men.
This does rather read as more YA than adult fiction; this isn’t a negative, but it’s something I noticed during my reading and it did affect how I viewed the story overall.
I knew the story of Jezebel only in as far as someone men conveyed was an evil woman. Considering that men were also behind the millennia long oppression of women, a book that gives a fresh voice to one of the most reviled women of biblical history made it of interest to me.
Jezebel's retelling is a worthwhile story, and I'm glad I read it.
Thank you to Penguin Books and NetGalley for the DRC!
Description
Jezebel was born into the world howling. She intends to leave it the same way.
When Jezebel learns she can't be a king like her father simply because she’s a girl, she vows never to become someone’s decorative wife, nameless and lost to history. At fifteen she’s married off, despite her protests, to Prince Ahab of Israel. There, she does what she must to gain power and remake the dry and distant kingdom in the image of her beloved, prosperous seaside homeland of Tyre, beginning by building temples to the gods she grew up worshipping. As her initiatives usher in an era of prosperity for Israel, her new subjects love her, and her name rings through the land.
Then Elijah, the prophet of Yahweh and her former lover, begins to speak out against her. Bitter at having been abandoned by Jezebel, he lashes out, calling her a slut. Harlot. Witch. And the people, revering their prophet’s message, turn on her.
As ancient powers and faiths are pitted against each other, bloodshed descends on Israel and Jezebel faces the fall of her legacy. Determined despite the odds to make Israel a great nation, she must decide how far she's willing to go to protect her family, her throne—her name. A stunning revision of a notorious queen’s story, Jezebel is a thrilling lyrical debut about a fierce woman who refuses to be forgotten.
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