Thursday, September 6, 2012

Book Review::This Scarlet Cord

I. Love. Historical. Fiction.

It is probably my favorite genre.

And yes, this is fiction. Please keep that in mind as you read this and the book.

This Scarlet Cord  by Joan Wolf brings the story of Rahab to life. Rahab was a real Canaanite girl who turned away from her false gods and helped some of Joshua's spies escape the city of Jericho. Joshua was leading the Israelite army into the Promised Land. The spies were sent in ahead of the army to relay information about the much fortified city. As the infamous Bible story continues Joshua marches around the city and the walls that never could fall crumbled at the hand of God. This is the historical part of the story.

Wolf takes this story to a fictional level. Through research about the culture and history of the time period when it is believed Rahab lived, Wolf develops a beautiful story of Rahab and how she becomes an agent of God in His will. Rahab gets a history, a personality and a future. She gets a family. Wolf even produces a reason and way of Rahab's change in beliefs. (Really, who hasn't sat and wondered how and why Rahab decided to give up her gods for the One True God?). She makes Rahab a real person we can all relate to, feel and know that no matter what we have done in our history, God has a plan for us and will use us for His glory!

I had to remember as I was reading this book that it was truly fiction. But it was fun trying to take the real story and piecing together what was going on in the book. It's always fun to dream up what isn't written in Bible as a background (as long as it doesn't take away from the Truth, anyway).

My only complaint is that in the beginning of the book I feel Wolf tried too hard to make this story real. Her descriptions to bring the story to life were a bit over kill and a lot was repeated for no reason. We got the picture the first time. But after the first few chapters, Wolf settled into a rhythm and flow that made this story a good one!

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Booksneeze.com for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

No comments:

Post a Comment