The Secret Chord

I raced through this novel in record time, which is pretty funny considering I knew exactly what was going to happen throughout its 300 pages! That's a testimony to Geraldine Brooks' storytelling and writing ability. Everything I learned in religious school is here, but it seems new, compelling and relatable. As Natan says early in the novel, he wants to set down the story of David as a man, not just a historical figure, and boy does he succeed. David was a brilliant strategist, dynamic leader and skilled musician but he was also violent, sexually abusive, blind to his faults and those of his sons. He used whatever means necessary to unite the Israelites and suffered the consequences by losing many of his loved ones and not being allowed to build the temple he dreamed of. Somehow Brooks makes it seem realistically Biblical but also at the same time strangely modern. Bravo.