Download Naomi And Her Daughters Picturized By Walter Wangerin Jr. Shown In Hardcover

wanted to like this book, but it never happened, Written in an older style it was a little harder to get into but once I got used to it, . . I loved it. Great retelling of the book of judges and so beautiful, I read this book after Pearl in the Sand and realized that this is the successive story to Rahab, Great read, but if you choose to read it, make sure it is either a single read or you take notes throughout the book.
I have been doing multiple reads, as many asbooks, for years and thought it would be no problem to keep characters straight, however, there are alot of them that interplay and need to be kept straight.
I made the mistake with The Red Tentof not doing this and it really screwed me up, I also think I would have been better prepared for a reading group which I needed to read it for, I think I would have enjoyed it more, as well, This read, I made sure to take notes and I enjoyed it more than the red tent,
In his powerful and original retelling of the story in the book of Ruth, Wangerin gives Ruth's motherinlaw Naomi, portrayed in the biblical story mainly as an unsympathetic character, embittered by tragedy and grief, a back story and a character that explains and justifies Ruth's devotion to her.
The character of Boaz, the man who befriends Ruth and Naomi in their impoverished widowhood, is also given motivation and a past.


Moving back and forth over some thirty years, Wangerin never loses control of his narrative and paints a portrait of an entire society, effortlessly weaving in other biblical stories and poetry from the Psalms and the Song of Songs, particularly through the chants and musings of Naomi, who is portrayed as a hakamah, a wise woman, healer and storyteller in her native village of Bethlehem.


Naomi and her Daughters is sure to deepen any reader's appreciation of the book of Ruth and the world in which it is set.
From master storyteller Walter Wangerin, Jr, comes this familiar biblical saga told in a fresh, transfixing way, You'll feel you've never heard it before! Melding historical accuracy with imaginative detail, Wangerin uses the biblical books of Judges and Ruth to explore themes of love, faith, grief and community set against a backdrop of war and political instability.
The widow Naomi grieves the deaths of her two adult sons after the shocking murder of a beloved adopted daughter, while pondering her responsibilities toward her Moabite daughtersinlaw.
Ancient Israel is in chaos, When her daughterinlaw, Ruth, begs to return to Israel with Naomi, events are set in motion that will change the course of history.
But wait this isn't the tame, flannel graph story you heard in Sunday School, In the tradition of Anita Diamant's The Red Tent and Elissa Elliott's Eve: A Novel of the First Woman, Wangerin imbues his tale with strong female characters and an earthy realism that gives the timeless Old Testament narrative so much power.
You'll find echoes of contemporary issues throughout: deceit, heartbreak, loss, war, and, of course, the power of love, Naomi's combined strength and tenderness becomes the pivot upon which a nation turns her decisions ultimately lead to the founding of the family lineage of Jesus Christ.
Breathtaking descriptions, shocking violence, and inspirational courage make this spellbinding novel by a beloved awardwinning author a story you won't soon forget.
It's the perfect novel for your book group, and a satisfying read for those who love thoughtful biblical fiction, I love reading Biblical fiction but this audiobook, read by the author, wasn't my taste at all, I abandoned it after the first chapter because I could not stand the narrator's voice or how he read, It was horrible. I might try the paper version at a later date, Hopefully it will be better, Knowing the story of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz, I read this entire book, hoping that there would be some redeeming value to it, at least at the end.
I am so very disappointed by this book, The Bible story of these three people is so filled with honor, blessing, hope, patience, service, kindness, love, This book was raw and dark, ugly in all the ways of this broken world, I understand that there was more to the lives of these three individuals than the four chapters in the book of Ruth.
I am also aware that they were human, prone to sin, subjected to the darknesses of this world, no matter their role in the Divine lineage.
But the way in which they were portrayed, in fact, the over and undertones of this entire book were so repulsive to me, that I became increasingly grateful that I had just completed a personal Bible study on the book of Ruth to help me see all the ways this book didn't just fall short, but missed the mark by miles.
Otherwise, I think this "telling" would have hurt my very soul, rather than merely disgusting me,

This book is NOT Biblical fiction, It's not even Christian fiction, It's not even really historical fiction, It's just pure fiction. I realized this aboutpages in and hoped that by casting it in the proper light, I might at least find a good story told.
I never did. Good Christian fiction brings us a lesson and concludes with hope and some sort of restoration or redemption: this book offered none of these things.
I haven't read much Biblical fiction, and I'm going to try not to allow Naomi and Her Daughters to deter me, as I am sure that there are better examples of it out there.
I have to believe that, much like good historical fiction, the story is heavily colored by fact and research, Mentioning some people and places from the Bible, alluding to a few of the events that take place, does not make a book Biblical fiction, just like randomly sprinkling in a few historical references does not make a book historical fiction.
I was hoping that the end would, at the very least, include an author's note, as my favorite historical fiction authors often use to share where they took liberties and why.
It provides context, shows integrity in its honor of the known facts, These liberties should enhance the facts that we know, giving them color and life, not rewrite history and then sell it as based in reality.
This book went so far sideways, it wasn't "out of the box" nor a "retelling," but an entire work of fiction with some familiar names and places scattered about.
Not even good fiction, it was fragmented, jerking back and forth in time, the sentence and paragraph structures awkward and jerky,

I am utterly disappointed, The truth of it is that I only finished this book so that I could write this review without any chance I was going to be inaccurate or incomplete with my assessment.
I have read many of Wangerin's novels and this is one of his best, He really captures the time of the judges from the old testament, and brings it to life through the lives of Naomi and Ruth.
It is so hard to bring something new to this familiar Bible story, However, this author did well! It was interesting to think about how the story of Ruth might have fit in with other Biblical narratives from Judges.
I listened to the audiobook of this, It was intriguingso many layers of ideas to make life in that time period more realistic, and to answer questions that inquiring minds may ask.
The story begins in Judges, with Wangerin imagining Naomi and Elimelech being closely involved in the life of the Levite's concubine and the abuse that started a civil war in Israel.
The concubine was from Bethlehem, after allElimelech's hometown, How would I react to such lawlessness in my nation

Then the story of returning to Bethlehem with a foreigner as daughterinlaw.
And who is this man, Boaz, who is not unkind to this dark girl from an enemy nation Wangerin shows him as a man deeply wounded by the events and losses of the civil war, but more mature for the experience.


Wangerin skillfully uses flashbacks, cultural details, and that imagination of his to paint a rich story of human beings adapting to the adversities of their time.
Most Christians are familiar with the story of Naomi, and her famous daughter in law, Ruth, Naomi is one of the few women whose story is told at some length in the pages of the Christian Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible.
But as with so many other stories, many a reader has often wondered what it would be like to be there, living in Naomi's day.
The story as found in Scripture is evocative and powerful, but it hints at so much more,

Storytellers have long sought to embellish and add life to the stories of the Bible, Walter Wangerin Jr. takes up his pen to weave a rich tale around the life of Naomi, His novel sitelink Naomi and Her Daughters covers many Biblical accounts and situates the characters in the story firmly in a believing Jewish context.
And in his storytelling, Wangerin transports us to life in Palestine circaB, C.

Without giving away the plotline, I can say he imagines Naomi's life as a spiritual leader in the village of Bethlehem.
He sees her adopting another daughter, whose story is recounted in another Old Testament book, He also recounts the tale of Boaz, finding him in other tales of Scripture, As the Biblical book of Ruth is situated before the accounts in Samuel and Kings, the mysterious period of the Judges must be its background.
That era had its ups and downs and Wangerin traces the paths of the main characters through that turbulent period,

The book is a story of faith in a covenant keeping God and of long periods of doubt, It's a story of redemption and grace, and also the miseries of evil and suffering, War and peace, love and despair, bravery and cowardice, honor and depravity the juxtapositions of human experience find their place in this story.
The technique the author uses of bouncing back and forth between the past and the present helps the reader experience the story vicariously with all its ups and downs.


Wangerin doesn't shy away from reading in between the lines and drawing out implications from the Scripture accounts, He puts psalms and Scripture promises in the mouths of the characters as well, and succeeds in bringing that day and age to life.
In so doing, he runs the risk of interpreting accounts differently than the reader, but we will grant him this privilege, The history most likely didn't play out as he envisions it, and at times the tale is more earthy than some readers will want.
But I believe he has captured the heart and spirit of the tale of Naomi most powerfully,

Naomi's tale has much relevance for our own day, Hers wasn't a rosy life free of thorns, Hers wasn't a happygolucky faith detached from the realities of life in a sincursed and ever so fallen world, Her story is

meant to inspire strong faith in a covenantkeeping God, Christians share Naomi's God and can have Naomi's faith, Sharing Naomi's life story will help us find that faith, and Naomi and Her Daughters will help us in this quest.


Disclaimer: A prepublished galley of this book was provided by Zondervan Publishing for review, I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review,

Pick up a copy of this book at sitelinkAmazon, com or through sitelinkZondervan direct, An expanded version of this review will also be available at sitelinkCrossFocuseds, com. For the first time, a novel by Walter Wangerin, Jr, is not holding my attention, I have started this novel three times in several weeks, thinking I must have missed something, Determined to finish it though, Sometimes, if a put a book down for a while, I get a better read, May have to do that with this one,

I really enjoy Biblical historical fiction and looked forward to reading Naomi And Her Daughters by Walter Wangerin Jr,

This was the first book Ive read by this author and he certainly added some interesting twists to the age old story of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz.
Dont be fooled by the cover this is not your typical “romantic” retelling of the Ruth/Boaz story, This book is full of war and death and is grittier than you might anticipate so if youre expecting a kind and gentle love story, you may be let down.


To be honest, I was caught off guard by the rough language and sexual innuendos, At times this story is a bit crude and I didnt expect to find it in a title being marketed as Christian historical fiction.
The book also begins with a rather grisly murder however, if those issues dont concern you, then you will probably enjoy Naomi And Her Daughters.


You have to keep in mind that this is a work of fiction and the author includes characters who are not related to scripture.
All in all, readers will need to decide for themselves if this is a book for them,

I would strongly caution parents to preread it before allowing their teens to pick it up,
.