Reviewed by MariaBook provided by the publisher for reviewReview originally posted at Romancing the BookI was thrilled to get my hands on a copy of this book. I love historical fiction, and combining two of my favorite history topics, Ancient Egypt and Biblicial times, I knew that this was a must read.Well, I wasn’t disappointed. This book is as vivid and colorful as an Egyptian tomb painting. I often read the story of the Old Testament Joseph and wondered about the lady Asenath, his wife, mentioned but once in the Bible. This book fleshes out the character and makes for an interesting story. As Bible readers might know, in the Bible, adoption is considered as valid as the actual physical begetting of children. Jesus Christ Himself was adopted by the New Testament Joseph and this is how He came to be considered of the lineage of King David, that Joseph’s ancestor. This book shows lady Asenath as having been a village child who lost her parents when she was taken into captivity by a marauding tribe, later to be returned to Egypt and adopted by the High Priest of the Temple of Heliopolis as his own daughter. The writer does a creditable job in bringing alive the sights and sounds of Ancient Egypt. At the same time, she doesn’t mince words about the social inequality and how the slaves were treated as sub-human. Asenath is shown as a caring and compassionate woman, having seen life from both sides, as a member of a poor family at first and later as a member of one of Egypt’s most influential families.It’s probably quite well known that ladies in Ancient Egypt had a lot of social freedom. Living in modern Asia, I was rather taken aback when I read Asenath taking her high priest father to task for opening the seals on scroll letters sent to her by male acquaintances. It certainly isn’t the way in eastern societies today. A father is considered there as having a perfect right to take certain measures to protect the honor of his unmarried daughter. I couldn’t help wondering if the writer had made a mistake or if that really was the way in Ancient Egypt. Then there’s the matter of the papyrus scrolls. The writing of that time was quite exquisitely artistic and while people in the past are supposed to have been much more prolific letter writers than people today, I just can’t see the Ancient Egyptians having long philosophical discussions with each other using papyrus scrolls, as Asenath and Joseph are shown as doing in his story. I could certainly imagine the pair as newly wedded lovers sharing their life stories with each other, but not exactly discussing Hebrew history via letter, given the fact that producing a page of papyrus script was such an artistic labor. I’d imagine that greetings and the exchange of each other’s welfare would be about the most they could communicate through that particular medium.Biblical romance? Well, why not? The Bible folk too were living, breathing people with feelings and emotions. The romance between Joseph and Asenath is what would be categorized as ‘sweet’, There’s much breathless admiring of each other’s physical beauty, the odd stolen kiss and walks in exquisite surroundings. Given the fact that Asenath was free before marriage, according to this book, to roam about with men she was friendly with, that’s kind of astonishing. Considering that Joseph was such a spiritual powerhouse, I find it difficult to imagine him emotionally dependent on a woman for whom spirituality was simply religious and magical ritual. I was expecting Asenath to have some kind of spiritual experience regarding Joseph’s God. I thought it would happen in quite a powerful way, but it never really did.But overall, I enjoyed the book. It is a brave attempt to bring to life a fascinating woman who has been hiding in the Biblical shadows for a long, long time. The writer has particularly vivid powers of description, which adds to the charm of the novel.Favorite Quote: The garden was magical. Silver beams from a full moon drifted upon the flower beds and lotus ponds. Fountains tinkled, their drops splashing like watery stars. Lotus blossoms glowed against the darkened ground. As I strolled down the path, a handful of honeybees fluttered together like a golden halo above my head. Their delicate wings caught the moonlight, making them look like gleaming petals. The bees seemed calm and I felt tranquility wash over me. An unreserved five stars for 'Asenath' so far as I am concerned! Anna Patricio has done a great job at imagining and describing a possible reality behind the scanty details given in the biblical book of Genesis regarding Joseph's Egyptian wife.I started this book not quite realising that it was aimed at a young adult audience, and so after a chapter or two had to readjust my thinking. That done, it was easy to slip into the swing of the narrative and enjoy the reconstruction. Others who begin reading with the right expectation will not have to carry out this internal switch – but you will need to be aware of the target audience in order to have the right expectations.Anyone writing around a biblical episode faces the problem that, to a degree, readers already know the ending. Anna is aware of this, and in my view does a great job of instilling a sense of 'so that's how it happened' when you get to items already known from the source materials. The points at which the storyline intersects with the biblical context come over as natural rather than forced, and one feels that Anna did not feel blocked or constrained by these boundaries to her writing.It's a while since I read young adult rather than adult material, and it did not take long to appreciate the differences. Obviously sex is toned down substantially from one recent novel I reviewed (Michal's Window, by Rachelle Ayala), and from my own writing (In a Milk and Honeyed Land). Even within those constraints, Anna manages to show that human intimacy can be pitched anywhere from tender and loving to violent and brutal.Also, the characters tend to be more easily pigeonholed for character and motive, and the issues and moral problems they face are simpler. There are few people about whom one is in doubt about their intentions. Writing for a more adult audience, I would personally have been inclined to write more moral ambiguity into the characters, especially Joseph's family who are presented in Genesis as a very dubious collection of individuals , but here seem uniformly attractive. But I think the simpler depictions are appropriate for, and consistent with, the overall standpoint of 'Asenath'.Having said that, one of the great themes of the book is to see how men and women can be transformed, and redeemed, by the contagious power of moral courage. Here, as in so much of the Hebrew Bible material from which the story is drawn, real change is effected by prolonged personal contact with lives lived out by consistent moral principles, not by listening to speeches or reading texts. So the characters definitely change and grow through the book, mostly but not entirely from bad to good. Prior events, experiences and traumas are not glossed over, but frequently return to haunt, be confronted by, and (typically in the end) overcome by the participants. This narrative theme can resonate equally well in both ancient Israel and Egypt.From a technical background the details are reasonably well researched. Anna makes a brave choice to select a specific year to start her book (1554 BC), where I would be a little more vague! A range of proper Egyptian terms are used, typically words for rank or items used in worship. Place names are given in modern forms (for example Karnak), which the geeky part of me regretted – but since there is no map, those who are not geeks will therefore be able to look them up on a regular map and orient themselves! Some rituals and key life events which we do not have actual source material for (such as the wedding ceremony) are invented in a rich and consistent manner that does not disrupt the sense of immersion in ancient Egypt.All in all, a most enjoyable and compelling read, and I look forward to other books by Anna, including a follow-up novel based in ancient Egypt that she mentions at the end of this book.
What do You think about Asenath (2011)?
Great work of Biblical fiction. The author stays true to the scriptures.
—gaby
I received a free copy of this eBook from Imajin Books.
—mariya
