This is to call to your attention a new Biblical Novel, THE SONG OF HANNAH, by Eva Etzioni-Halevy, which is about to be published by Plume, a Division of Penguin, in August.
Apart from making for enjoyable reading, the book gives voice to two women of the Bible, Hannah and Pninah (I Samuel). It provides an original interpretation of their intricate relations with each other, and with the men in their lives: the husband they share, Elkanah, and Hannah's son, the Prophet Samuel. By bringing these Biblical figures to life, the book also celebrates the continuity of Judaism: it leads us back to the roots of our faith, and to the manner in which it shaped up some three thousand years ago. It shows that although much has changed in Jewish religious outlooks since then, many of the fundamental values are still the same, including love for the land of Israel. The book is written from a feminine perspective. While women who lived some three thousand years ago cannot be presented as modern feminists, the book takes up a theme that is eminently evident with respect to most of the women in the Bible: although these women lived in a patriarchal society, they found various ingenious ways of promoting and defending their interests. By describing the wars between the Israelites and the Philistines, the book is also topical. It reminds us that the struggles over the same piece of land, the (somewhat enlarged), Gaza Strip is anything but new under the sun. More information about the book may be obtained at the following website: <http://www.evaetzionihalevy.com/>www.evaetzionihalevy.com Best regards, Eva Etzioni-Halevy Professor Emeritus Bar-Ilan University Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the AJL =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
