A very good book and it helped make the time of David more realistic. ( )

A fictionalized account of the story of Michal, the first wife of King David in the Bible. In this account, she starts out as a young woman/girl with romantic dreams, impulsive and manipulative. She longs for love and security, hates the angry, violent man her father has become, and loves her brother Jonathon but has a grudge against her sister. After an encounter with the good looking David, she manipulates things so that she will be promised to him in marriage instead of her sister. Her life has it's ups and downs, and she faces many hardships - including being cursed with barrenness and David taking other wives. At the end, she manages to accept them as discipline from the Lord and humble herself before Him and David.
This is a romanticized version of the story, in many places I didn't think it could have really happened that way. I had to refer back to the Biblical story several times to see where she got certain events, which I did find support though. She makes Michal a woman with emotions and motivations that the modern day reader can relate too. I felt the ending was kind of contrived though - I understand her wanting a "happy ending" but this of course was all imagined and not something we see in the Bible. A solid read for imagining a Biblical story in a new way. ( )

I have read this story in the Scriptures about David and his first wife Michal. Skimming over it and not giving it much thought. I appreciate the way Jill has taken the time to imagine what the back seen to this situation might have been and how Michal might have felt. I have already started on her next book Bathsheba. I would heart ally recommend this book. ( )

Great book,gives great insights of the times ( )

A fictionalised account of the story of Michal, daughter of King Saul and first wife of David. The author has brought this young woman to life in a novel that begins when Michal is a teenager, squabbling with her sister, and developing a crush on the handsome warrior, David. Daily life as a wealthy princess is described without excessive detail, giving a backdrop to this story of love and loss that takes place over many years.

The story follows the Scriptural account from the book of Genesis, taking into account all that was written about Michal; the rest is from the author's imagination, but is consistent with Jewish life in those times, and is very believable.

I was surprised how very readable this book was, although it took me a while to finish it, just reading a little at a time over several weeks after downloading it (free) for my Kindle. I found it quite exciting in places, despite already knowing the outline of the plot from the Bible. I had not thought much about Michal before, and found this version of her to be intriguing, and quite believable in context.

Recommended. ( )