Rating: 
Summary: Happy to reach the end...
Review: I am normally a fan of the Biblical Fiction books such as The Red Tent and The Queenmaker but Sarah did not live up to my expectations. Unlike the two books I previously mentioned, Marek Halters writing in Sarah was very choppy which made the story hard to follow. He would skip years at a time between major events in her life, which left me confused and wondering what happened to get us from point A to point B. There are so many good Biblical Fiction books out there, don't waste your time on this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Very intelligent--and entertaining--reading...
Review: I hate the idea that really "literary" novels have to be hard to read, so I applaud Marek Halter and his publisher for bringing out a novel that's thoughtful and well-written and yet also entertaining and vivid. The heroine of this novel, Sarah, is the Sarah of the Old Testament, but she comes across not as a one-dimensional religious figure but as a bold, highly intelligent woman whose beauty is as much a curse as a blessing. Her relationship with Abraham and his family (whom she joins after leaving a life of great wealth in her home city) has the feeling of real family life, with all its conflicts, and while Sarah is not always perfect--she can be jealous, doubting, vain and despairing--you always empathize with her and keep rooting for her. This is a very good novel to share with female friends and discuss in book groups. If you're into the Bible, you'll enjoy reading an expanded and vivid version of the story of this great matriarch. If you're a secular reader, this book is just as entertainig as any finely written historical novel, with an unusually exotic setting and compelling characters.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read!
Review: I read this book and found it exceptional. It has an interesting perspective on the Biblical truths of the story of Sarah and her husband. I definitely reccomend this book!!
Rating:
Summary: beautifully written thoughtful novel
Review: I really enjoyed this novel--it's not only entertaining as an afternoon read, it gives the reader a lot to think about without ever being didactic. Ignore the reviewers who argue over whether Sarah was Abraham's sister (they had a child together, so I'm guessing that unless the Bible sanctions incest, they were not. And honestly people, did you even bother to READ the book?) This is a very well-written book that takes a look at the life and times of an influential woman, without ever losing sight of her essential humanity and the beauty of her spirit. Sarah's constant wrangling with God's will and with whether or not to believe in an invisible God speaks a great deal to what all of us deal with in our own lives, even if we don't go to church or synagogue regularly. It's also a terrific love story between a very intelligent, mystical, headstrong man, Abraham, and his bold, intelligent, practical wife, Sarah. I am glad to see a book that celebrates the love a man can have for a woman who is not only beautiful, but who challenges his worldviews and acts as a total partner with him in his journey to find God. I highly recomment this book to anyone who likes a good novel, especially a historical one.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic entertaining historical novel.
Review: I so much enjoyed "Sarah" that I read it in twenty-four hours. The day before I read the "Red Tent". If you are searching for a historically accurate portrayal of the story of Sarah and Abraham you won't find it here. What you will find is an entertaining historical novel focusing on the women in biblical times. The male author does a really good job (contrary to one reviewers opinion) of writing in a famale voice. I felt he understood the trials and tribulations of women at that time very well. This book is about Sarah so to say it would have been better if it had been written about another character is ludicrous. The ongoing debate between reviewers about the relationship between Sarah and Abraham is also ludicrous given that there is no way to know exactly if they were related or not. The Bible is filled with historical inaccuracies and exaggerations as it was written by men who had an agenda of their very own to protect. The point I'm trying to make here is that this is a fictionalized version of the story of Sarah and Abraham. It is enjoyable, fast paced and gives an overview of life at that time. If you are looking for biblical truths you won't find it here and no amount of arguing will change that.
Rating:
Summary: Just O.K.
Review: I so much enjoyed "Sarah" that I read it in twenty-four hours. The day before I read the "Red Tent". If you are searching for a historically accurate portrayal of the story of Sarah and Abraham you won't find it here. What you will find is an entertaining historical novel focusing on the women in biblical times. The male author does a really good job (contrary to one reviewers opinion) of writing in a famale voice. I felt he understood the trials and tribulations of women at that time very well. This book is about Sarah so to say it would have been better if it had been written about another character is ludicrous. The ongoing debate between reviewers about the relationship between Sarah and Abraham is also ludicrous given that there is no way to know exactly if they were related or not. The Bible is filled with historical inaccuracies and exaggerations as it was written by men who had an agenda of their very own to protect. The point I'm trying to make here is that this is a fictionalized version of the story of Sarah and Abraham. It is enjoyable, fast paced and gives an overview of life at that time. If you are looking for biblical truths you won't find it here and no amount of arguing will change that.
Rating:
Summary: A true woman's journey, beautifully written...
Review: I was a bit skeptical about whether I would enjoy a novel based on one of the characters of the Bible, but I was really moved by Sarah's story. The author, Marek Halter, beautifully recreates the world of the ancient people of Sumeria, including Sarah and her family. A beautiful young girl, Sarah panics and refuses to marry the man her father has chosen for her. A chance encounter leads her to Abraham, a young man from a tribe of nomads who sculpt the idols that Sarah's people worship. Although she is drawn to him, they do not consummate their relationship until several years later, when Abraham returns to Sumeria to find that the girl he once knew is now the high priestess of Ishtar and the most powerful woman in her society. But Sarah has a premonition, and feels called to leave her life of great luxury in Ishtar's temple and join Abraham and his tribe. Abraham claims that God speaks to him, although no one else can hear it, and little by little, his people come to believe his prophecies. Sarah, however, remains skeptical, and it is only after many years that God reveals himself to her as well, and brings her the same power and grace as her husband. She has many adventures along the way, including a marvelous episode with the Pharoah, which read like a great scene from a movie. This is a novel about an amazing woman, and it truly takes you back in time to the long-ago world that she lived in. It also gives you some clues to how and why our spiritual way of thinking came to be, although it's not a book about religion at all. This was a very thought-provoking read and an entertaining one as well, like watching a good epic mini-series with a female hero. I highly recommend it to others.
Rating:
Summary: Could have been much better
Review: I was reluctant to read this book, as its beginning (Sarah is the daughter of a lord of Ur) is not possible according to the Bible. Abraham directly tells King Abimelech (Genesis chapter 20 verse 12) that Sarah is his half sister, the daughter of his father. There is no misinterpreting this, and anyone who says that this is untrue has little biblical education.
Ask any biblical scholar and they will confirm that Abraham and Sarah were half siblings. However, some biblical scholars have speculated that Sarah is also Abraham's neice. The bible certainly doesn't condemn incest the way we do today. It isn't a matter of ethics: things are different now than they used to be.
Another problem with this book was that it was written by a man. I hasten to add that I have nothing against male authors. It's just that at least this man has failed at accurately depicting what it is like to be a woman. As often happens when an author writes from the perspective of a character of the opposite gender, Sarah does not "feel" like a woman to female readers, and the male characters (Abram, Lot) are much more realistic.
It is also odd that Mr. Halter is writing such a gushy, femenist novel. The book starts out with Sarah getting her menstrual blood, but the author clearly has not idea how this works (or feels).
Despite the design flaws, the beginning of the book is a decent afternoon read. Despite ignoring a lot of biblical tradition, the author makes his setting work.
The real problems start up again when Sarah leaves Ur with Abram. Nothing feels right. The story just doesn't work well. It feels jerky and forced, and the writing is abominable.
The book continues all the way through Hagar giving birth to Ishmael. Another problem with the book that comes up is the paraphrasing of famous biblical passages. Instead of doing what many other authors have done and used biblical language, the author puts famous words into "modern" speech. This really doesn't work, and diminishes from any archaic effect created by the story.
Strangely enough, Issac isn't born until the epilogue, and the binding of Issac takes place in two pages. It feels incredibly hurried. Issac is never a character in the story, just a device for Sarah to launch into a long, outrageously weird (and badly written) rant about why God should spare her son.
Abraham is not an important character in the story. This book is not only from Sarah's point of view, it is all about Sarah. Sarah is the leading factor in the Jewish religion from now on.
This book would have worked better if it hadn't been about Sarah. Mr. Halter clearly didn't do much research, so if you like cheap romance novels with a bland "pagan-ish historical" setting, this is a book for you. It you want anything else, don't look at Sarah.
I wonder if in Marek Halter's future books in the Canaan trilogy, Tzipporah will be God's greates prophet, not Moses.
There are many other things I could complain about in this book, but I'm sure you see my point. If I haven't made myself clear already, "This isn't a good book. Don't waste your money. If you are curious, go to your local library."
I am giving it two stars, and not one, because the fifty pages after the beginning were somewhat readable, and the writing in the book itself was not atrocious. Unfortunately, everything else was.
Maybe Marek Halter will learn to leave the bible alone, do some research, and come out with a few gushy woman-power romances set elsewhere. I'd be curious to see what he could do with a male character, because that would be so much better.
I hope that someone will write a good book about Sarah. She has so much potential.
I've tried not to rant too much. I think all of what I have mentioned is true, and a legitimate problem with the book.
THE END (at last)
Rating:
Summary: beautifully written thoughtful novel
Review: Marek Halter's SARAH is already a bestseller in France and has been translated into ten languages. The debut of SARAH in the United States will lend credence to Halter's sensitive treatment of women in the Bible. His plans for the two subsequent books in the trilogy are the stories of Zipporah and Lilah, lesser known than Sarah, wife of Abraham, but with tremendous impact on the shaping of society. SARAH is the story of civilization's first rebellious teenager who became one of the world's most powerful women. An interview with the author reveals that he sees his women as those "beside," not "behind" great men. The book emphasizes Sarah's working side by side with Abraham to create a life filled with his religious beliefs. Sarah was not a believer in Abraham's God until late, after her early mistakes came back to haunt her unfulfilled life. SARAH begins in the region now known as Iraq, the cradle of history, between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. The region was then known as Sumeria and the city-state where Sarai lived was known as Ur. She is the daughter of a powerful lord of Ur, a beautiful child who comes to womanhood in the first chapter. Her father arranges a marriage with a suitable man when she is twelve years old. The young girl is terrified of the prospects of the marriage bed and flees. Overnight, she runs from safety in the walled city to unknown terrors beyond it. On a riverbank she meets Abram, a poor but exotic member of a nomadic tribe. She spends the night with him and longs for his kiss. But soldiers discover her in the morning and return her to her father's house. Halter has a unique way of entering his heroine's mindset and allowing the reader to see and feel the turmoil swimming in her head. Sarai's beauty is the quality that sets her apart from other women and allows her to once again return to family's favor. But her fate rests solely with her father. He again arranges a marriage, not as opulent with preparation as the first. Sarai is terrified. She cannot erase the memory of her night with the young nomad, Abram. Terrified, she sneaks away, buys a powerful potion from a witch and drinks it. She has made herself barren, unfit to wed. She becomes the powerful priestess of the god, Ishtar, idolized by residents of the entire city. During this period she meets Abram for the second time and follows her heart to remain with him. The Bible has inspired Halter with stories of its feminine heroines. He feels that women were at times the true founders of world history. He takes liberty with Sarai's life, introducing stories about her that cannot be documented. But the sensual, exotic role she plays in Abram's story is one of both support and leadership. Aloof at times, her beauty both enhances and betrays her power in her newfound home. She has qualities that all humankind possesses: tenderness, love, jealousy, self-loathing, self-servitude, kindness and leadership. Sarai becomes Sarah, in final recognition of her husband's one God. SARAH is the story of a modern woman, one who learns and profits from her mistakes. From her experiences, she is able to lend strength to the others in her care. This is a story of desire, intense emotion and consequences of sins committed to justify those feelings. I look forward to reading the second and third books in the Canaan Trilogy. Halter's message is one of hope for future generations through reflections upon a rich past. --- Reviewed by Judy Gigstad
Rating:
Summary: An unusually good read!
Review: There are so many "stories from the Bible" novels out there right now, and I have read most of them, but Sarah really stands out from the crowd, and while it's based in the Biblical story, it never hits you over the head with religious dogma.
Sarah is really the story of the journey of Sarai from a pampered daughter of a rich lord to the wife of the nomadic prophet Abraham of the book of Genesis. She's known for her beauty, but is remarkably gutsy and intelligent, and acts as a full partner to the charismatic and determined Abraham. There's a wonderful love story to be found in these pages, the love of two bold and adventurous people who risk everything for each other and for what they believe in.
The descriptions in this book are marvellous, from the opening pages in the great Babylonian city of Ur to the palaces of the Pharaoah and the wide open fields of Canaan. The author has a talent for bringing places and people to life without loading down his work with lots of adjectives and flights of fancy--all the images are vivid and real, and it makes for a great "curl up and enjoy" kind of read.
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