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Marek Halter's SARAH is already a bestseller in France and has been translated into ten languages. The debut of SARAH in the United States will lend credence to Halter's sensitive treatment of women in the Bible. His plans for the two subsequent books in the trilogy are the stories of Zipporah and Lilah, lesser known than Sarah, wife of Abraham, but with tremendous impact on the shaping of society.
SARAH is the story of civilization's first rebellious teenager who became one of the world's most powerful women. An interview with the author reveals that he sees his women as those "beside," not "behind" great men. The book emphasizes Sarah's working side by side with Abraham to create a life filled with his religious beliefs. Sarah was not a believer in Abraham's God until late, after her early mistakes came back to haunt her unfulfilled life.
SARAH begins in the region now known as Iraq, the cradle of history, between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. The region was then known as Sumeria and the city-state where Sarai lived was known as Ur. She is the daughter of a powerful lord of Ur, a beautiful child who comes to womanhood in the first chapter. Her father arranges a marriage with a suitable man when she is twelve years old. The young girl is terrified of the prospects of the marriage bed and flees. Overnight, she runs from safety in the walled city to unknown terrors beyond it. On a riverbank she meets Abram, a poor but exotic member of a nomadic tribe. She spends the night with him and longs for his kiss. But soldiers discover her in the morning and return her to her father's house.
Halter has a unique way of entering his heroine's mindset and allowing the reader to see and feel the turmoil swimming in her head. Sarai's beauty is the quality that sets her apart from other women and allows her to once again return to family's favor. But her fate rests solely with her father. He again arranges a marriage, not as opulent with preparation as the first. Sarai is terrified. She cannot erase the memory of her night with the young nomad, Abram. Terrified, she sneaks away, buys a powerful potion from a witch and drinks it. She has made herself barren, unfit to wed. She becomes the powerful priestess of the god, Ishtar, idolized by residents of the entire city. During this period she meets Abram for the second time and follows her heart to remain with him.
The Bible has inspired Halter with stories of its feminine heroines. He feels that women were at times the true founders of world history. He takes liberty with Sarai's life, introducing stories about her that cannot be documented. But the sensual, exotic role she plays in Abram's story is one of both support and leadership. Aloof at times, her beauty both enhances and betrays her power in her newfound home. She has qualities that all humankind possesses: tenderness, love, jealousy, self-loathing, self-servitude, kindness and leadership. Sarai becomes Sarah, in final recognition of her husband's one God.
SARAH is the story of a modern woman, one who learns and profits from her mistakes. From her experiences, she is able to lend strength to the others in her care. This is a story of desire, intense emotion and consequences of sins committed to justify those feelings. I look forward to reading the second and third books in the Canaan Trilogy. Halter's message is one of hope for future generations through reflections upon a rich past.
--- Reviewed by Judy Gigstad
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