Sarai Blog Tour by Jill Eileen Smith

Today I am having a tour for an interesting Biblical historical novel called Sarai. This is written by Jill Eileen Smith and I thought it was pretty interesting how she wrote about the time period back then.

Sarai, the last child of her aged father, is beautiful, spoiled, and used to getting her own way. Even as a young girl, she is aware of the way men look at her, including her half brother Abram. When Abram finally requests Sarai's hand, she asks one thing -- that he promise never to take another wife as long as she lives. Even her father thinks the demand is restrictive and agrees to the union only if Sarai makes a promise in return -- to give Abram a son and heir. Certain she can easily do that, Sarai agrees.

But as the years stretch on and Sarai's womb remains empty, she becomes desperate to fulfill her end of the bargain -- lest Abram decide that he will not fulfill his. To what lengths will Sarai go in her quest to bear a son? And how long will Abram's patience last?

MY REVIEW-This book follows the storyline of Sarai and Abram. Starting from when she is younger it leads into her life after marrying Abram and how she struggles with giving him a child. There is also a lot of the story of Lot and his family in here which I found interesting to read.

I normally do not care for Biblical historical novels. They often stray too far from the facts we know from the Bible for me to enjoy them. And this one did that somewhat. There were still times I think Jill went too far but overall there was not as much as most. One of the things I found interesting was how Jill portrayed Sarai. At times she goes from being upbeat and believing things will work out and then she sways back down to despairing of never having a child. Abram is always kind and the type of man you expect from the Bible. He deals with things in the way they need dealt with.

There is a lot of detail to the research and how life was back then. The story is rich in detail! Life was so different then and how women were treated, etc. You see the idol worship and the Egyptian life. It makes you look more at how you read your Bible. Kind of brings things to life:)

Overall a good book. Like I brought up there was some liberty taken with details, which I often find with Biblical novels. Good story!

Available March 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group
I received a copy of this book for review purposes. I did not receive any monetary compensation.