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Asenath (2011)

by Anna Patricio(Favorite Author)

3.69 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1926997263 (ISBN13: 9781926997261)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Imajin Books

review 1: It sounded like it would be a good story but didn't end up that way for me. I am used to more historically accurate fiction. This one missed the mark in several areas. Too many modern day slang & colloquialisms were scattered throughout the story. It sounded like it was written by a modern college kid...making Asenath sound like a typical American teen in how she interacted w/her adoptive parents. I also didn't see the point in her calling one of the story's antagonists a 'bitch' several times, during what would be characterized by most as a teenage temper tantrum. I thought this was supposed to be christian historical fiction..perhaps I was wrong. Also, back in Asenath's time, girls were married young (almost always 'arranged') & already had children by the time this aut... morehor considered her character 'a lady'. Her character acted immature throughout the story, even after she was married, she still acted as a modern teen would. She never seemed to grow up. Not much research or realism was given to this character, her time period, or even her culture. The author also skips ahead by weeks & yrs w/in two or three sentences. If the reader isn't paying careful attention, you miss that the author just jumped ahead in time quite suddenly and repetatively. There was also the repetative use of the phrase 'and then' to describe what the character did next. Overall, the idea of a story about Asenath was a great one, but it just didn't reach the level I'm used to reading. I was pretty disappointed & had to force myself to finish it. I think that if the author went back and rewrote it with a more adult audience in mind, as well as more depth and research, it would be a great story.
review 2: When it comes to historical books, I go for them, because they are fun and interesting. This book was no different.Kiya, who will later become Asenath, is the daughter of a fisherman and his wife. After her parent's are killed, she and the other orphans are taken to the Temple of Atum-Re in Heliopolis. There, the high priest and his wife adopt Kiya, where they rename her Asenath. Afterwards, life for her changes drastically. Once just the daughter from a peasant family, she is now apart of the upper class. Soon she and her new parent's travel to Thebes were she meets Joseph. This tale is a mixture of a historical novel with a Biblical account about Joseph of Canaanite, who was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt. Patricio does an amazing job of mixing history and Biblical stories together in a wonderful tale about love, betrayal, family, and I especially love the setting. I have always had a strange fascination with Egypt, so this story was a wonderful change. Not just for the setting but it just took me into another world and I really liked that. The story starts out slow, in my opinion, which is why I gave it three-stars. I almost put this book down several times because I just kept wondering when something interesting would happen. I am glad, though, that it does pick up. I also wish there was a little more background. I didn't feel fully immersed into the story as I could have been. Bring Egypt to life, not just the characters. This was a great novel and with a few rough edges, but it doesn't take too much away from the central story. I am really glad that Patricio let me read her debut novel. Recommended out there for the Biblical character readers out there. less

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