Status
Available
Series
Collection
Publication
Forge Books (2002), Edition: 1st, 416 pages
Description
Religion & Spirituality. Nonfiction. HTML: Born into a time and place where a woman speaks her mind at her own peril, and reared as a motherless child by a doting father, Rebekah grew up to be a stunning headstrong beauty. She was chosen by God for a special duty. For Rebekah must leave her fathers house to marry Isaac, the studious young son of the Patriarch Abraham. Her struggles to find her place in the family of Abraham are a true test of her faith, but through it all she finds her own relationship with God and does her best to serve His cause in the lives of those she loves. In Rebekah, Orson Scott Card has created an astonishing personality, complex and intriguing, and her story will engage your heart as it captures your imagination..
User reviews
LibraryThing member justine
Fantastic read. I love Orson Scott Card, and the Women of the Bible series is no exception. The characters are well realized and the story is emotionally told.
LibraryThing member esmecat
because of his Mormon faith combined with his belief in the failability of scripture, Card takes liberties with changing the story. aside from this, it is well written and an interesting read. if you are a protestant christian, read these books with a careful eye.
LibraryThing member benfulton
Starts a bit slow, and I really wonder if women in Rebekah's age really had as much power to affect their destinies as Rebekah seems to. Still, Card does a great job of bringing the simple Bible story to life, and even the religious aspects are lightly and delicately handled, unlike in some other
Rebekah is quite nice in the early part of Card's rendition, as in the Bible, but where that good book shows her and son Jacob growing up to be sort of, well, jerks, Card keeps his main characters as unadulterated good guys. Jacob especially comes across as a goody-two-shoes. It might have made for a better story if Card had attempted some more complex characterization. Nevertheless an excellent read if you have interest in the time and place.
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series (where such delicacy is left behind, so to speak).Rebekah is quite nice in the early part of Card's rendition, as in the Bible, but where that good book shows her and son Jacob growing up to be sort of, well, jerks, Card keeps his main characters as unadulterated good guys. Jacob especially comes across as a goody-two-shoes. It might have made for a better story if Card had attempted some more complex characterization. Nevertheless an excellent read if you have interest in the time and place.
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LibraryThing member librisissimo
Card is often at his best interpreting women to men, and men to women. Here he adds some insightful interpretations of God and the Abrahamic milieu as well.
LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
Some thoughts - I liked the fact that men who are prophets can be fallible but they can still be inspired. Abraham & Isaac made poor decisions because of their personal failings and weaknesses, but God could still use them at key moments. I also thought Mr. Card made an interesting observation when
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Isaac described his father when his mother was still alive. In effect, he said that his father was a different, better man. I also thought the whole exploration of deception was interesting. Fear often drives us to do things we are opposed to in theory. I still can't decide if the deceptions that were made were overall positive or negative. Finally, the impact that poor self-image can have on a marriage was also an interesting thing to see played out. Show Less
LibraryThing member Esquiress
For some reason, I read Rachel and Leah before reading Rebekah; I'm still not sure why. However, since I am very familiar with the stories on which Card's Women of Genesis books are based, I did not suffer in the slightest.
I do not have an opinion on whether or not Card successfully embodies the
I enjoyed reading Rebekah just as much as I enjoyed The Red Tent and Card's other Women of Genesis books. I was definitely drawn in and had a hard time putting the book down.
I do not have an opinion on whether or not Card successfully embodies the
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female character in writing these novels, particularly because Rebekah places a very strong woman at its center. I do think that the story of Rebekah, Isaac, Jacob, and Esau really gains something from Card's retelling, though.I enjoyed reading Rebekah just as much as I enjoyed The Red Tent and Card's other Women of Genesis books. I was definitely drawn in and had a hard time putting the book down.
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LibraryThing member KR_Patterson
Very mixed feelings on this book. I enjoyed it for the most part.
LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
This is one of Card's "Women of Genesis" series, his historical novels about Biblical figures. It's not at all bad, but I wouldn't say it was Card's greatest work. These books were primarily written to illustrate Card's religious faith, but they do a good job of creating characters that bridge the
Interestingly, in the book the "birthright" of Abraham is not just a collection of blessings (as I have always read it) but the actual physical guardianship of holy, Biblical writings. Card works in a lot about the right to literacy. (Against Abraham and Isaac's will, Rebekah is literate and wishes to read the holy writings).
She's portrayed as a both strong and strong-willed woman, able to competently manage people, but also rigid and intolerant, with an unbending opinion of what she thinks is right, especially in religious matters. She doesn't hesitate to even criticize the patriarch in religious and family matters, and has no sympathy for religious practices other than her own. Card, disturbingly, but not surprisingly, seems to think her intolerance is pretty much a good thing, seeing as, of course, in his opinion, she is Right and the worshipers of Asherah and Baal are Wrong. I don't see things that way (and I totally disagree with the whole Importance of Raising Your Children in the True Faith theme which is a big part of Rebekah's life), so it made his Rebekah a very unsympathetic character to me.
Card's very idealized view of How Families Ought To Be is also a big part of the book, and there's a lot of a message that conflicts between people in families are often based on simple misunderstandings and everyone would get along if they just put more effort into understanding each other. That would be nice - but it's often also not true.
Finally, one hard-to-avoid weakness of the book is that, in this story, the conflict between Rebekah's sons, Jacob and Esau, and Jacob's 'theft' of the firstborn Esau's birthright is originally the main focus and most interesting part of the story. Concentrating on Rebekah as protagonist in this part of the book makes it slightly awkward, when the main drama is happening between other characters.
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gap between being historically believable and contemporarily accessible.Interestingly, in the book the "birthright" of Abraham is not just a collection of blessings (as I have always read it) but the actual physical guardianship of holy, Biblical writings. Card works in a lot about the right to literacy. (Against Abraham and Isaac's will, Rebekah is literate and wishes to read the holy writings).
She's portrayed as a both strong and strong-willed woman, able to competently manage people, but also rigid and intolerant, with an unbending opinion of what she thinks is right, especially in religious matters. She doesn't hesitate to even criticize the patriarch in religious and family matters, and has no sympathy for religious practices other than her own. Card, disturbingly, but not surprisingly, seems to think her intolerance is pretty much a good thing, seeing as, of course, in his opinion, she is Right and the worshipers of Asherah and Baal are Wrong. I don't see things that way (and I totally disagree with the whole Importance of Raising Your Children in the True Faith theme which is a big part of Rebekah's life), so it made his Rebekah a very unsympathetic character to me.
Card's very idealized view of How Families Ought To Be is also a big part of the book, and there's a lot of a message that conflicts between people in families are often based on simple misunderstandings and everyone would get along if they just put more effort into understanding each other. That would be nice - but it's often also not true.
Finally, one hard-to-avoid weakness of the book is that, in this story, the conflict between Rebekah's sons, Jacob and Esau, and Jacob's 'theft' of the firstborn Esau's birthright is originally the main focus and most interesting part of the story. Concentrating on Rebekah as protagonist in this part of the book makes it slightly awkward, when the main drama is happening between other characters.
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Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2001-12
Physical description
416 p.; 4.24 inches
ISBN
076534128X / 9780765341280