Walter Wangerin Jr. is widely recognized as one of the most gifted writers writing today on the issues of faith and spirituality. Known for his bestselling The Book of the Dun Cow, Wangerin’s writing voice is immediately recognizable, and his fans number in the millions. The author of over forty books including The Book of God, Wangerin has won the National Book Award and the New York Times Best Children’s Book of the Year Award. He lives in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he is Senior Research Professor at Valparaiso University.
4 1/2 stars! Wangerin draws reader into the life of a woman marred
by sorrow, bitterness and loss. The remarkably vivid and sometimes
graphic scenes will have you on the edge of your seat. Characters
and scenes leap from the page as readers get a fascinating glimpse
into the lives of characters we thought we knew. SUMMARY: The life
of Naomi begins with a daughter we never knew about. When the news
of Milcah’s death is heard throughout the tribes of Israel, a war
breaks out. When famine hits Bethlehem, Naomi, her husband and
their two sons move to Moab, where bitterness and loss sear her
soul. Naomi returns to Bethlehem as much different person. And it
is in Bethlehem where we see the hand of God perform his greatest
miracle yet.
*Romantic Times*
Based on Judges and Ruth, Naomi and her Daughters weaves the
history of ancient Israel into the drama of Naomi’s life as a
storyteller-poet. Naomi enters the homes and hearts of the
residents of Bethlehem where she ministers to their physical needs,
and as their wise woman or Hakamah, teaches them their history.
Wangerin’s Boaz becomes a grief-stricken wanderer through the ruins
of Sodom and Gomorrah as he remembers Naomi’s stories. With
Wangerin’s descriptive tough, even characters briefly mentioned in
the Bible seem to take on flesh and blood. Readers will come to
care about the pain and struggles, the defeats and victories of
Naomi’s contemporaries. The familiar story of Ruth and Boaz retold
by this award-winning author affirms the founding of the lineage of
Jesus Christ
*Christian Retailing*
Good Christian fiction does what all great fiction does---it
introduces us to characters and stories that make us think, feel
and reflect. And this year’s crop is no different. From a retelling
of a classic biblical story to a modern take on faith and family,
our selections will have you reading late into the night. A
versatile writer, Walter Wangerin Jr. has written fiction and
nonfiction for adults and children. In Naomi and Her Daughters,
Wangerin utilizes the books of Judges and Ruth to boldly retell an
often-marginalized biblical story. Not a child’s Sunday-school
version, Naomi’s life story is sometimes a tough read; the
environment was harsh, the language rough, and women and children
were treated as a second (or third) class during the Old Testament
era. Still, timeless issues like murder, war, heartbreak and, of
course, the power of love, manage to come to the forefront.
Wangerin is adept at neither glorifying nor mollifying this pivotal
biblical character, who changes not only the lives around her, but
also the course of an entire nation. This novel might forever
change the way you think about brave, heroic Naomi.
*Book Page*
The indomitable and prolific pastor/teacher/author Wangerin, who
most recently wrote about wrestling with inoperable cancer (Letters
from the Land of Cancer), adds to his imaginative retelling of
religious history with this midrashic amplification of the biblical
story of Ruth and Naomi. The matriarch Naomi is given a detailed
backstory: long before Ruth agrees to stay with her mother-in-law
Naomi, go where she goes, and accept her god, Naomi has an adopted
daughter Milcah, whose brief life is tragic and compelling. Ruth's
husband, Boaz, is also given a history and family, as is the
Moabite Ruth herself. The author is in his element; he knows the
Bible, its cadence in English, and its terse and suggestive
mythopoeic style. Women readers for whom the Bible is important
will especially appreciate the valorizing focus of Wangerin's
sensitive work. A short but profound tale from the Bible comes
alive in the author's capable hands; while general readers can
enjoy this, it is an obvious choice for church-based book groups.
(Sept.)
*Publishers Weekly*
Walter Wangerin reimagines Naomi’s story and the period of the
Judges in this evocative, sometimes brutal novel. Naomi is pictured
as a healer and a singer of the songs of Israel – after the fashion
of Deborah or Miriam. A Wastrel tanner in their village has a
daughter who becomes like a daughter to Naomi and Elimilech.
Wangerin ties together several tales from Judges, showing how Naomi
descended from a state of blessed, fruitful abundance to her dry
and bitter widowhood, before being restored again to life through
her daughter-in-law Ruth. Wangerin’s Naomi lives and breathes on a
raw and gritty stage, with God remaining always faithful – although
she doesn’t always see it.
*World*
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