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Abishag was the second wife. She was previously the wife of King David, but married Solomon to be safe from his twisted brothers. Abishag was such a woman! She didn't let herself be played a fool nor did she have any delusions about being Solomon's second wife. She was such a artsy and pure hearted of the four wives. All upcoming public events are going ahead as planned and you can find more information on our events blog The Heart of a King is a compilation of short stories about four of the wives of King Solomon. I was apprehensive from the start as this book seemed to fit into my preconceived notions of what I would be reading. However, I did not enjoy this book very much. The imagined personalities of the first three wives were terrible.
The subject matter here is a little mature, in my opinion, for younger teens. While entirely clean, there are numerous preludes to lights-out liasions.
Second: In telling the story of Solomon’s relationships with his wives, there is mention of his desire and love for them. The author does a great job of never stepping over a line or being inappropriate in any way. I appreciated the author not using these scenes to sensationalize the book. The Library's buildings remain fully open but some services are limited, including access to collection items. We're Nicaula, the virgin Queen of Sheba who seeks Solomon's wisdom and a trade agreement. In her search, she finds wisdom for herself in a relationship with the God of Israel. I liked reading about his relationships but I totally understood how Naamah and Nicaula both felt-that they wanted the love of one man and didn't want to share him. What a complicated time!
I enjoyed being able to see, not only through the viewpoints of the different wives, but also through Solomon’s eyes as well.
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Each thing I did, you had to meet another lot of people who have all sorts of views of you beforehand, all sorts of prejudices,” he wittered at a broadly sympathetic Mayer in their original interview, which he declined to supplement with a second. The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.
Along with the women in this book, Solomon was also a very well developed character. I didn't always like him, but I understood him. This is the first book that I've read by this author and it was fantastic. I eagerly await new books about King David so was thrilled to see this one as his son, Solomon, seems to be just as interesting. The author focused on Solomon's ascension to the throne following this brother, Adonijah's, attempt to take over the rulership of King David's kingdom by force. I've always wondered why King Solomon in all the wisdom God gave him at the beginning of his reign, was foolish in disobeying God's laws in the end. Jill Eileen Smith explores this question in The Heart of a King , taking literary license since scripture doesn't expound on many facets of his life or those of his wives. As I read this fictional account of a true story, I had to shake my head at Solomon whenever he justified his actions in disobeying what God so clearly told him not to do. As in the case of his third wife Siti; she worshiped the goddess Bastet and he built her a palace outside the walls of Jerusalem for her to honor her goddess and to display Bastet's images. In his thinking, as long as it wasn't seen or placed inside the walls, it was okay. He also justified that since his heart remained true to Adonai, he could take many foreign wives, horses and chariots as gifts from the kings & dignitaries to keep his kingdom peaceful. For anyone who knows scripture, would know that Solomon was unwise in these things. If you are looking for a romantic view of Israel's (and the world's) wisest king, then this is the book for you. Smith introduces you to four wives of different histories from different times in Solomon's life.
Nicaula was the fourth wife and queen of Sheba. I loved her second to Abishag. She was smart, kind, pure. Everything about her screamed royalty. She did almost make some dumb mistakes, but she felt convicted about them. I loved her desire to know more about God. She ruled well. Carried herself as a queen and didn't allow Solomon to play with her emotions. Of the four she was the most intellectual. In writing a biography of someone who is first and foremost a figuration, one that cannot by definition be transparent, the sensible course is to examine what exactly he’s a figuration of – and this is the approach Mayer adopts. Yes, she has some interview subjects: princely besties such as Emma Thompson and Nicholas Soames, but what they have to say is anodyne, while the positive remarks of staff members and campaigning associates is for the most part dreadfully dreary hagiography. On some of the hoo-ha the prince has triggered – from the “Spider” memos, to the seven boiled eggs, to his position on Islam – Mayer has had to rely on second and even third-hand testimony. However, this doesn’t matter, because by anatomising what the prince is emblematic of, she reacquaints us with – gulp! – ourselves. It is not my desire to live or reign longer than my life and reign shall be for your good. And though you have had, and may have, many mightier and wiser princes sitting in this seat, yet you never had, nor shall have, any that will love you better.
Here we find no heart and stomach, and no interesting play on the Queen’s femininity or sex. This has led some historians to wonder if Sharp’s later recording of the words is unreliable and inauthentic. My new favorite from this author, The Heart Of A King is a novel I think lovers of biblical fiction would very much enjoy reading! This is a beautifully written story that takes scriptures from 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and Song of Solomon. The use of scripture to create a story was AMAZING! It brought the scripture to life in a different way. Where I struggled with this story was with the wives, as I suspected, but not for the reasons I anticipated. Firstly, I felt as though there was no closure to their stories. Each wife was featured in turn in the lead-up to her marriage to Solomon but then faded out of the story, and seemingly his life, as the next wife came along. I know there are novellas corresponding to these characters that give a fuller account of their stories ( The Desert Princess, The Shepherdess, Daughter of the Nile, and The Queen of Sheba), so maybe I need to read those to get better closure, but I found their stories dissatisfying in the context of The Heart of a King.
Customer reviews
My feelings about this book are a bit all over the place! With four of Solomon’s wives featured as characters, I suspected I might struggle with the story on some level, but one of the things I love about fiction is that it gives me the opportunity to put myself in someone else’s shoes and understand their motives, even if I wouldn’t have made the same choices.
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