The Garden of Ruth

by Eva Etzioni-Halevy

Overview

A historical novel imagines the riveting story behind the Book of Ruth

Sitting beneath a tree in ancient Bethlehem, Osnath, niece of the prophet Samuel, examines a dusty scrap of parchment she found hidden in her relative’s scroll room. Scrawled on the decaying page is an intriguing message addressed to Ruth the Moabite—great-grandmother of David, the future king of Israel. Compelled to discover the truth about Ruth’s life, Osnath begins searching for the identity of Ruth’s nameless lover and the secret that is cloaked behind his anonymity. But as she digs deeper into the past, she finds her inquiries blocked by David’s brother Eliab. What is the long-buried truth he fears will come to light? And what is the threat that Ruth’s story poses to his family’s vast inheritance?

Eva Etzioni-Halevy’s novel deftly interweaves history and fiction to create a compelling exploration of a prominent biblical figure. Told through the voices of both Osnath and Ruth herself, The Garden of Ruth transports readers into the ancient world—and offers a dramatic and thought-provoking new perspective on a well-known tale.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440649486
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	12/26/2006
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	566 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Eva Etzioni-Halevy is professor emeritus of political sociology at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. She has published 14 academic books and numerous articles, as well as 2 biblical novels. Born in Vienna, she spent World War II as a child in Italy, then moved to Palestine in 1945. She has also lived in the United States and spent time in Australia before taking up her position at Bar-Ilan. Etzioni-Halevy lives in Tel Aviv with her husband; she has three grown children.

Editorial Reviews

Etzioni-Halevy, an Israeli sociologist and author of The Song of Hannah, returns to the ancient Middle East for an imaginative second novel riffing on the story of the biblical Ruth. (Ruth, a widowed Moabite princess, converted to Judaism, married Boaz and gave birth to the future king David but only after a mysterious man, known only as the man who was by law next in line to inherit her family property, declined to marry her.) As Etzioni-Halevy's story opens, Osnath, a head-strong and literate 15-year-old girl, discovers on a visit to Bethlehem an old piece of scroll, addressed to a woman "red-haired and fair" and written by "the man to whom you are pledged." It begs her to "abandon him, who is unworthy of you." Intrigued, Osnath proposes to Ruth's great-grandson Eliab, in whose scroll room Osnath discovered the text, that Osnath research the mystery. Eliab discourages her; she persists. After being "wickedly seduced" by Eliab, she falls in love with his brother David, who spurns her. Osnath then reluctantly returns to Eliab, who promises to unravel the "web of lies... as sweet as honey" that surrounds Ruth's life but at a price. The mystery is intriguing, and Etzioni-Halevy depicts ancient women chafing at limited choices with verve. (Jan.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Etzioni-Halevy (Emeritus, Political Sociology/Bar-Ilan Univ., Israel; The Song of Hannah, 2005) offers a beautifully sensitive, lustily feminist romance inspired by the Book of Ruth. The author frames her story of Ruth the Moabite several generations after the flame-haired widow married Boaz and lived with him in Bethlehem, embracing his Jewish religion. As the story opens, 15-year-old maiden Osnath, from Ramah, has come to spend time with her relatives, the clan of Jesse, in Bethlehem, at the prodding of her wise Uncle Samuel, who believes she can uncover the true story of great-grandmother Ruth. Able to read, Osnath tries to penetrate the scroll room guarded by Jesse's eldest son, Eliab, but he seduces her-compliant Osnath isn't sure she wants to fend him off. Her interest in reading Ruth's story only increases, however, when Osnath gleans from the scrolls that Ruth had an unnamed lover before she remarried Boaz-yet everyone insists on blocking her queries. Moreover, Osnath herself is not-so-secretly sleeping with Eliab's honey-tongued youngest brother, David, the shepherd who is soon anointed successor to King Saul and bequeathed in marriage to a princess, thus scorning poor Osnath. In tedious circuitry, Osnath ends up marrying her former nemesis, Eliab, perhaps only to get her hands at last on Ruth's story-although the sex is definitely hot, too. Thus Part Two shifts to Ruth's perspective as she recounts her famous tale of migration with her mother-in-law back to Naomi's home in Bethlehem, then meets the stolid provider Boaz-though first there is the delicate matter of a secret lover. The stories of Osnath and Ruth fulfilling their sexual identity nicely parallel each other. A brazenrendering of the biblical material breathes fire into a ripping good saga. Agent: Judith Riven/Judith Riven Literary Agent

Kirkus Reviews