When I was asked to review "Delilah" by Angela Hunt, I was super excited because she holds a spot in my top five favorite authors. Her extraordinary ability to take a story from the Bible and turn it into a novel is beautiful and rare. I love how she humanizes the names that appear on those sacred pages.
Delilah. The very name conjures up preconceived judgments that vilify a woman who, in truth, we don't know at all. I've often thought that Delilah has unfairly become synonymous for money hungry traitor. But was she really? It's easy for forget the time and region in which she lived. What drove her to betray Samson? This side of Heaven, it'll remain a mystery but Angela Hunt is an incredible job of sewing together a fictional possibility.
Reading the story of Delilah, and by default Samson, was like watching a new rendition of "Romeo and Juliet". You get to know the characters and care for them but you know the ending. And as the story progresses, you find yourself hoping that maybe this time it won't end the same tragic way as you know it must. But alas, it must.
I was afraid that when it came time to read about Samson's capture and blinding, it would be too much to bear. It wasn't. The author spared us the gruesome details while staying true to the story.
On the other hand, I must give a warning: While not overwhelmingly graphic, sexual violence plays a major role in this novel. I would say it's definitely in keeping with the time and region of Delilah's existence. (after all, she lived during the time of the Book of Judges - ick) But it is still something that distresses me to read about and it's also why I told my teen daughter I didn't want her reading it.
Other than that warning, this book gives two enthusiastic thumbs up. Angela Hunt, you hit it out of the park once again!
"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."
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