Sarai

February 13, 2012
Following the successful Wives of King David series, Smith opens her new Wives of the Patriarchs series with this midrashic expansion of the story of Abraham and his wife, Sarah. In the biblical account, Sarah gives birth in her old age to Isaac, as God has promised her husband, Abraham, whose descendants will be as numerous as stars. In this account, the beautiful Sarai, as she is first called, deeply loves her husband and follows him when his Lord calls, even as she waits for decades for the promised child and endures a dangerous passage to Egypt that produces a threat to her marriage in the form of her maid Hagar. Smith is at her best in handling the triangulated relationship between Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar; the subplot involving Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family is less emotionally compelling. The pace occasionally drags, but most of the book is about faithful waiting. Smith breathes new imaginative life into a well-known sacred story. Agent: Wendy Lawton.

April 15, 2012

Sarai, half-sister of Abram, agrees to marry him on the condition that he not take any other wife as long as she lives. He agrees, but her father puts another stipulation on the union--that Sarai bear Abram a son. Sure that she can, she agrees to the condition. But years pass, and Sarai remains barren. Determined to keep her promise, she offers Abram Hagar, her servant and the Pharaoh's daughter, a move that changes not only Abram and Sarai's marriage but also the course of a nation. VERDICT Though slow-moving at first, the story eventually picks up. Well-developed characters make this retelling of the Sarah and Abraham story one that fans of Orson Scott Card's "Women of Genesis" series will want to read.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 15, 2012
Smith retells the biblical account of Sarai (Sarah) and her husband Abram (Abraham) in an exciting new way in this colorful and compelling novel. Sarai, already an old woman by today's standards, is told by Abram that they are leaving their home in Ur in search of the land Adonai has promised them. Jealous of their nephew Lot's children, Sarai, without Abram's knowledge, is constantly urged by Lot's wife, Melah, to go to the temples of the more familiar fertility gods and ask for an end to her barrenness. After all, Sarai has only Abram's word that his God exists, and, even then, she doesn't think that he's done anything for her, even if he is real. What happens after the journey is an amazing tale of faith. This is an excellent addition to Smith's Wives of David series (Michal, 2009; Abigail, 2010; and Bathsheba, 2011). Readers who enjoyed Anita Diamant's best-selling The Red Tent (1997) will also enjoy this story of women and their struggle with leaving their old gods for the God of Abraham.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)