Solomon and Sheba

http://bookloons.com/cgi-bin/Review.asp?bookid=5420

The maps in this novel enliven and are indispensable to decipher narrative flow and the fiction brings to life the encounter of Sheba and Solomon in a visual and vivid way.It is what might have happened and gives the literary imagination free reign to explore possibilities. Thirteen brief verses of the bible could engender such an imaginative rendering lends credence to the power of this story and to the meaning of its inclusion in the sacred text. The Royal house of David surprises Bilqis and confuses her how the concubines of Solomon (wives) can be happy.The deceased Abishag casts a blinding shadow in Solomon's house as well. Note as well the feminist point of view, and the allusion to Solomon's judgment of the two mothers hearkens back to the scriptural scene exemplifying his wisdom.

Wisdom's Daughter: A Novel of Solomon and Sheba
by India Edghill
Order: USA Can
Picador, 2005 (2004)Hardcover, Softcover
Read
an Excerpt
Reviewed by Barbara
Lingens
From thirteen brief verses in the Bible, India Edghill has fashioned
a beautiful story of what might have happened when the Queen of Sheba met King
Solomon. Well plotted and richly imagined, the novel overflows with stories and
personalities. It is a good thing there are maps and a list of characters and
even family trees (although the difference between the Roman and Italic type in
the latter is not as great as it should be).Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba, has no
heiress and is beyond child-bearing age. She seeks to solve this problem in the
land of Israel, where Solomon reigns. He has many wives and children, but his
favorite is Baalit, his daughter by his deceased first wife Abishag. The royal
house of Sheba is a matriarchy in the fullest sense. Military strength is
provided by women. Male servants are mostly eunuchs. The royal house of David,
therefore, has many surprises for Bilqis and her court. They cannot imagine how
the wives of Solomon can be happy, housed as they are in their own area of the
palace, separated from all worldly affairs. The queen's visit lays bare many
stories, not least of which is that of Solomon as husband and father. Just as
Bilqis must return with a future queen, so must Solomon come to understand how
his continuing grief for the deceased Abishag has blinded him to the reality of
his living family. The author has created a powerful story in the meeting of
Solomon and Bilqis, which turns out to have important ramifications for so many
others in this novel.Necessarily more fiction than history, the novel fleshes
out Solomon's famous judgment of the two mothers who claimed the same child.
Though well done, the scene seems a bit obligatory in the context of the story.
Nevertheless, this is fine historical fiction. Rich in detail, descriptions of
the lavishness of both courts, the exotic jewelry and dress, as well as of the
pets that amused the queens and the horses that served royalty, make this a
highly visual novel. Advancing the story from each character's point of view was
not an easy choice and would be very hard to follow were it not for all the
upfront maps and guides, but somehow it rings true with most of the characters.
Though the novel is written from a feminist point of view, the male characters
do not suffer, and we are enriched by the unusual perspective. Wisdom's Daughter
is highly recommended.

Alexander's Early Bravery and estrangement from Philip

http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_plutarch_alexander.htm
Al4exander at 16 was left as lieutenanty in Macedon ,and went out and reduced the Maedi,taking their town by storm ,drove out the barbarians and replanted a colony,renaming it Alexandropolis.At Chaeronea ,his father fought the Grecians ,he was the first man to charge the Thebans sacred band,and there stood an old Oak by the river Cephisus called Alexander's Oak because his tent was pitched under it. This was early bravery a prelude to later estrangement from his father Philip.even though Philip was pleased at his subjects calling Alexander their king, and Philip their general. His new marriages and attachm,ents casued the later estrangement just alluded to.

• The rifts were made wider by Olympias a jealous woman.


• Philip fell in love with and married Cleopatra and at the wedding (she was much too young for Philip) her uncle Attalus with drink desired the Macedonians implore the gods to give them a lawful successor to the kingdom by his niece. Alexander fell into a rage throwing one of the cups at his head exclaiming,"What am I ,teh, a bastard?"Philip took Attalus' part arose and would have run Alexander through but slipped and fell,fortunately. Alexander then reproached him with additional insult (Quote) "See there," said he, "the man, who makes preparations to pass out of Europe into Asia, overturned in passing from one seat to another." He and Olympias withdrew, he to Ilyria and she to Epirus.


• Demaratus the Corinthian , in response to Philip's question about Greek strife stated it ill befitted Philip to comment when such strife in his own house existed.Demaratus' mediation prevailed and he sent for Alexander to reconcile with him but this did not last for long.


• The affair with Pixodorus quoted below opened wounds afresh. (QUOTE) when Pixodorus, viceroy of Caria, sent Aristocritus to treat for a match between his eldest daughter and Philip's son Arrhidaeus, hoping by this alliance to secure his assistance upon occasion, Alexander's mother, and some who pretended to be his friends, presently filled his head with tales and calumnies, as if Philip, by a splendid marriage and important alliance, were preparing the way for settling the kingdom upon Arrhidaeus. In alarm at this, he dispatched Thessalus, the tragic actor, into Caria, to dispose Pixodorus to slight Arrhidaeus, both as illegitimate and a fool, and rather to accept of himself for his son-in-law. This proposition was much more agreeable to Pixodorus than the former. But Philip, as soon as he was made acquainted with this transaction, went to his son's apartment, taking with him Philotas, the son of Parmenio, one of Alexander's intimate friends and companions, and there reproved him severely, and reproached him bitterly, that he should be so degenerate, and unworthy of the power he was to leave him, as to desire the alliance of a mean Carian, who was at best but the slave of a barbarous prince. Nor did this satisfy his resentment, for he wrote to the Corinthians, to send Thessalus to him in chains, and banished Harpalus, Nearchus, Erigyius, and Ptolemy, his son's friends and favorites, whom Alexander afterwards recalled, and raised to great honor and preferment.
  

While Philip went on his expedition against the Byzantines, he left
Alexander, then sixteen years old, his lieutenant in Macedonia, committing the
charge of his seal to him; who, not to sit idle, reduced the rebellious Maedi,
and having taken their chief town by storm, drove out the barbarous inhabitants,
and planting a colony of several nations in their room, called the place after
his own name, Alexandropolis. At the battle of Chaeronea, which his father
fought against the Grecians, he is said to have been the first man that charged
the Thebans' sacred band. And even in my remembrance, there stood an old oak
near the river Cephisus, which people called Alexander's oak, because his tent
was pitched under it. And not far off are to be seen the graves of the
Macedonians who fell in that battle. This early bravery made Philip so fond of
him, that nothing pleased him more than to hear his subjects call himself their
general and Alexander their king.
But the disorders of his family, chiefly
caused by his new marriages and attachments, (the troubles that began in the
women's chambers spreading, so to say, to the whole kingdom,) raised various
complaints and differences between them, which the violence of Olympias, a woman
of a jealous and implacable temper, made wider, by exasperating Alexander
against his father. Among the rest, this accident contributed most to their
falling out. At the wedding of Cleopatra, whom Philip fell in love with and
married, she being much too young for him, her uncle Attalus in his drink
desired the Macedonians would implore the gods to give them a lawful successor
to the kingdom by his niece. This so irritated Alexander, that throwing one of
the cups at his head, "You villain," said he, "what, am I then a bastard?" Then
Philip taking Attalus's part, rose up and would have run his son through; but by
good fortune for them both, either his over-hasty rage, or the wine he had
drunk, made his foot slip, so that he fell down on the floor. At which Alexander
reproachfully insulted over him: "See there," said he, "the man, who makes
preparations to pass out of Europe into Asia, overturned in passing from one
seat to another." After this debauch, he and his mother Olympias withdrew from
Philip's company, and when he had placed her in Epirus, he himself retired into
Illyria.
About this time, Demaratus the Corinthian, an old friend of the
family, who had the freedom to say anything among them without offense, coming
to visit Philip, after the first compliments and embraces were over, Philip
asked him, whether the Grecians were at amity with one another. "It ill becomes
you," replied Demaratus, "to be so solicitous about Greece, when you have
involved your own house in so many dissensions and calamities." He was so
convinced by this seasonable reproach, that he immediately sent for his son
home, and by Demartatus's mediation prevailed with him to return. But this
reconciliation lasted not long; for when Pixodorus, viceroy of Caria, sent
Aristocritus to treat for a match between his eldest daughter and Philip's son
Arrhidaeus, hoping by this alliance to secure his assistance upon occasion,
Alexander's mother, and some who pretended to be his friends, presently filled
his head with tales and calumnies, as if Philip, by a splendid marriage and
important alliance, were preparing the way for settling the kingdom upon
Arrhidaeus. In alarm at this, he dispatched Thessalus, the tragic actor, into
Caria, to dispose Pixodorus to slight Arrhidaeus, both as illegitimate and a
fool, and rather to accept of himself for his son-in-law. This proposition was
much more agreeable to Pixodorus than the former. But Philip, as soon as he was
made acquainted with this transaction, went to his son's apartment, taking with
him Philotas, the son of Parmenio, one of Alexander's intimate friends and
companions, and there reproved him severely, and reproached him bitterly, that
he should be so degenerate, and unworthy of the power he was to leave him, as to
desire the alliance of a mean Carian, who was at best but the slave of a
barbarous prince. Nor did this satisfy his resentment, for he wrote to the
Corinthians, to send Thessalus to him in chains, and banished Harpalus,
Nearchus, Erigyius, and Ptolemy, his son's friends and favorites, whom Alexander
afterwards recalled, and raised to great honor and preferment.

The Blood of Flowers 17th Century Persia

Tragedy propels an odyssey of growth as it always does in the oriental tales of truth and the narrator now superimposed stresses that as her standard,and that the daughter is that narrator.We get a taste of Isfahan and meet their extended family in the person of Gostaham the carpet maker who works in the palace of Shah Abbas . He has a great talent in color selection as well. Through Gordiyeh his wife, the narrator/niece meets and befriends Naheed a spoiled and wealthy girl who uses their friendship as a smokescreen to meet a handsome young polo rider whom her family will probably disapprove. All in all, the saga, the odyssey, earmarks survival of poverty in a hard world and is similar thematically to the film "Amerika,Amerika,"

tracing the odyssey of a Greek young man during the Turkish oppression who makes it to the statute of liberty on his own and for his family,and goes to America despite an attractive offer to marry into a family of wealth in the old world. Freedom of the spirit as represented by the statue is more of worth than a planned life of wealth and ease lacking adventure and challenge. the impetus to growth .Other elements mollify and enrichen the narrative:

• details on the art of carpet making



• seven tales interweave the narrative, a trait of the oriental narrative.


• Audiobooks has a review of this book read by Shohreh Aghdashloo


• History written after the fact is at its best impregnated with literary imagination, its necessary element and this book is rich in that quality with interwoven folktales.The end of each of these are not marked in the audibles version by musical interludes, possibly an artistic oversight and not a "flaw".


• 'first there wasn't and then there was' is the phrase demarcating the folktales.


• The discussion with the author at the end is enlightening as to why the narrator is not named and her future.


• the melodious reading of Aghdashloo is contrasted with her flat questions to the author.
  
  
  

The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani
Order: USA Can
Little, Brown & Co., 2007
(2007)Hardcover, CD
Read an Excerpt
Reviewed by Hilary Williamson
In a remote village in seventeenth century
Persia, a fourteen-year old girl lives happily with her parents, Maheen and
Isma'il, surrounded by a supportive extended family, and looking forward to
marriage that year. Then tragedy strikes, sending mother and daughter to seek
refuge with Isma'il's wealthy half-brother Gostaham in Isfahan. Though Maheen is
known for her honeyed storytelling, it's her daughter who tells us what happened
and that 'I would never have imagined that I could lie and, worse yet, not tell
the whole truth; that I could betray someone I loved and abandon someone who
cared for me, although not enough; that I could strike out against my own kin;
and that I would nearly kill the person who loved me most.'When Maheen and the
narrator arrive in Isfahan, they're awed by the size of the capital that was
once considered half the world. Gostaham is a skilled carpet maker whose
workshop is in the palace of the great Shah Abbas himself. He has a particular
talent for color selection and design. He welcomes them as family but his
grasping wife Gordiyeh is less kind, treating them as servants and working them
hard. Through Gordiyeh, her niece meets and befriends Naheed, a spoiled girl
from a wealthy family. Naheed teaches her to write and uses their friendship as
a smokescreen for meetings with a handsome young polo rider, of whom her family
is sure to disapprove. Our heroine, who's already a skilled knotter of rugs and
has a passion for the art, learns much from her uncle about color selection and
about overall design integrity.After getting in trouble for lying for Naheed and
also for an impulsive act, the young woman is pressed hard by her aunt to accept
a sighegh, a three-month renewable marriage contract with wealthy horse breeder
Fereydoon. At the time, neither she nor her mother realize how such arrangements
are looked upon and what she has given up by yielding to her aunt's wishes.
She's a strong-willed young woman, who must learn to temper her own drive and
passion with the dictates of reality and what it takes to survive poverty in a
hard world. Though she enjoys sexual pleasure with Fereydoon and works out how
to keep his interest, she's eventually faced with how little he values her. She
makes a decision with frightening repercussions for herself and her
mother.Fascinating details on the art of carpet making are weaved through the
novel - what goes into the design, how a choice of colors should be made, and
the sheer time and effort required in knotting a rug with nimble fingers. The
art of storytelling is also interwoven in the form of seven tales (five adapted
from traditional stories) that enrich and brighten the main pattern of the
storyline. I enjoyed The Blood of Flowers very much for its Iranian background,
for its young heroine's joy in art, and for the manner in which she learns that
she can take charge of her own life and tell her own tale.Audiobook Review by
Barbara Lingens:Beautifully read by Shohreh Aghdashloo, The Blood of Flowers is
a richly imagined look at the life of women in seventeenth-century Persia. Woven
into the story are several folktales, which are probably set off typographically
in the text version. In the auditory version it would be more effective if they
were marked somehow, perhaps with the kind of music that is used at the end of
each CD. As it is, there is some confusion as to what is tale and what is story
until the listener figures out that sequences beginning with 'first there wasn't
and then there was' are folktales.The discussion with the author at the end is
most interesting. Author Amirrezvani is very forthright with her responses, and
I especially appreciated her explanation of why the narrator is not named and
what is in store for her future. Though, after listening to the melodious
reading of the text (Aghdashloo doesn't have so much of an accent as an
interesting pronunciation), it was surprising how flat her questions to the
author sounded. Overall, this is an audio experience to enjoy in company because
there is much to think about and discuss