My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Although there exists accounts of Queen Jezebel and her husband, King Ahab in the bible, the book is more like a fictional story that has been a product of author Gigner Garrett's creativity and imagination.
The book begins with a disturbing scene where Jezebel pushes her sister Temereh to her death in a religious rite. The Phoenicians, on that day, had to sacrifice the person they love the most by throwing them onto a fire pit to die.
Ahab, the son of Orim and is the Prince of Israel, travelling with his father to Pheonicia to meet his future wife, Jezebel. Along the road, his friend Obadiah, the royal administrator, follows a girl named Mirra to a cave where he finds small bones -- the bones of thousands of children.
Ahab had been warned by Elijah not to go ahead with his father's plans but Ahab did as he was expected to do and went ahead with the marriage. It appears that Jezebel is not happy with what is going on. She goes with her husband to Israel but continues to worship her old gods. The couple has three children, but Jezebel is not happy with her situation at all. She wants power but she never achieves it.
All the bitterness, rage and hatred within Jezebel appears to stem from a very difficult childhood where she was an unwanted child. She was a twin that was never truly accepted within her family. To eat, she had to scour the garbage. She was unloved, unwanted, and unnoticed. For years, she had wanted someone to want her and to love her. But she has become disillusioned. In her mind, only her goddess, Ashera will show her love for her some day.
In the end, she managed to turn everyone away from her including Ahab though he had truly loved her.
The book is interesting. Ginger Garrett writes a believable account and she has researched the beliefs and traditions of the people within that time. She also considers the accounts in the bible. She tells the story well.
I find the book an okay read. I would have given it more stars but there are parts of the book where the pace starts to lag. As interesting as the story is, the story tends to fluctuate in terms of pace, all throughout the book. Other than that, it is a good book
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