Sarah

Sarah by Orson Scott Card

Although I am sure there was much poetic license taken, this is the story of Sarah, wife of the great prophet Abraham. The story begins with Sarai (Sarah's first given name before it was changed by God) as a ten year old girl. She lives with her father, a king without a country. Abram (Abraham) comes to secure a bride price for Sarai's sister Qira, for his brother Lot. Abram and Sarai meet. He tells her he will return in less than ten years to marry her. She sees that he is a truthful man that worships the one true God and that the priesthood of that God is his birthright.
Abram does return. He marries Sarai and takes her off to the desert where he has many herds. There is a severe drought and they move from well to well in order to care for their herds. In the mean time Sarai becomes a great woman in a great house hold. Abram studies the stars, copies the scriptures and writes his own writings. Sarai remains barren throughout their first years of marriage despite God's promise to Abram that he will be the father of a great nation.
The drought drives Abram and Sarai into Egypt. Abram is met by the men of Pharaoh. Abram is told by God not to divulge that Sarai is his wife. He instead introduces her as his sister Milcah. They are taken to different places in Egypt and are kept separate for a year. Pharaoh wants to marry Milcah so his children will have the blood of the priesthood. If he knew she was Sarai and the wife of Abram he will kill Abram and marry Sarai because he is a princess of Ur. Sarai is given Hagar as her handmaid, a gift from Pharaoh to lessen the blow of being held hostage. Abram teaches Pharaoh of God and Sarai warns Pharaoh of an uprising by his highest advisor. Abram and Sarai are allowed to leave Egypt. They finally tell Pharaoh Sarai's true identity after he makes promises in front of his men that Abram and his household will come to no harm. They return to the desert.
Lot and Qira are living in Sodom. The city life is not for Lot but Qira loves it. Sodom and its surrounding cities are wicked. Abram gives Lot some of his herds so that he can move out to the desert. Qira comes very begrudgingly. She makes the camp of Abram miserable. Lot decides to split his herds from Abram and spend some time back in the city to make Qira happy.
There is war in Sodom and her sister cities. Abram takes some of his men to take back the prisoners of war, Lot included. Abram and his men triumph. The prisoners are set free. Sarai goes to Abram. She learns from God that she is to give Hagar to Abram that he may have a son. She can do this because she owns Hagar and so Hagar will stand in for Sarai's body.
Hagar becomes pregnant. It is miserable for Sarai but she handles it like a queen. Hagar shows her true colors and becomes a pain in the rear. Ishmael is born of Hagar. Abram loves him.
Years later Abram and Sarai are aging. Abram prophesies the destruction of Sodom and surrounding areas by meteorites. He also prophesies that Sarai will bear him a son that will build up a great nation. God changes the name of Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah.
Sodom is destroyed just as Lot escapes. Qira turns back to get her jewels and gowns and is turned into a pillar of salt..........or basically zapped by the fire from Heaven.
Sarah becomes pregnant at an advanced age. Isaac is born. Ishmael and Hagar mistreat him. Ishmael is given his herds and they are turned out of Abraham's camp in order to preserve the life of Isaac. Isaac grows into a young man and he and Abraham go out to visit wells and check herds. Abraham seems distraught.......the book ends before we find out why?????
Obviously Card and we can only know so much about Abraham and Sarah. The rest he has studied a great deal to assume. I do not take this book as truth only speculation therefore I am not bothered by anything in the book. I enjoyed it immensely. I liked getting to know Sarah as a person and how she may have felt and reacted to the situations we learn about in some vagueness from The Bible.
Rating 4 This is my second reading so I should probably give it a higher score. Tiny but necessary bits were a little dry........the political and land issues. Still worth the read.
Rating G