The Fruit of Her Hands
Michelle Cameron
Pocket, Sep 8 2009, $25.00
ISBN: 9781439118221
Her widower father Rabbi Ashkenaz raises her with his Christian housekeeper as if Shira is a boy as he educates her. When her father is arrested as a heretic, she and one of his students Rabbi Meir ben Baruch saves his life. Shira and Meir fall in love and marry. They relocate to Paris where French scholar Nicholas Donin obsesses over the beautiful intelligent Jewess. Ironically as he fixates on Shira, he continues his angry harangue that Jews are Lucifer’s supporters. Meir believes they must counter his anti-Semitic tirade while Shira is more passive about what they should do. However, she understands Donin also threatens her marriage, which she concludes is a microcosm of the Jewish situation in Europe since the assault by Donin began in earnest. So she agrees with her spouse they must take a stand before a continent wide ethnic cleansing purge begins.
This is an intriguing thirteenth century biographical fiction novel starring a somewhat sedate heroine and the two livelier passionate men in her life. The irony of this engaging historical is that the volatile Donin and the courageous Baruch are much more fascinating than the somewhat flaccid lead character whose goal like many Jewish moms is keeping her family together safely. With a deep look at the Jewish lifestyle in peril in medieval France, readers will enjoy the “story of Shira Ashkenaz”, wife of a renowned Jewish thirteenth century scholar.
Harriet Klausner
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query the fruit of her hands. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query the fruit of her hands. Sort by date Show all posts
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The Woman Special Edition-Jack Ketchum and Lucky McKee
The Woman Special Edition
Jack Ketchum and Lucky McKee
Cemetery Dance, Jan 2012, $35.00
ISBN: 9781587672538
The Woman’s clan ate human meat with the heart and brain being their gourmet delights. A rival clan attacked them leaving all dead except or The Woman. Severely injured and exhausted she escaped and hid in a cave. While cleaning her wounds in a creek, Christopher Cleek spots her. Fascinated by this feral she beast, he decides to domesticate the wild animal. He takes her prisoner.
He directs his wife Belle and his teenage oldest offspring Peggy to clean up the Woman Cleek holds in chains in the fruit cellar. Neither female wants to go near the wild Woman, but both know never disobey Father, the family martinet patriarch. Cleek tries to break his captive just like he has done to his spouse and three children (Peggy, Brian and Darleen), but her defiant spirit refuses to bend against every abusive effort he deploys. Belle is frightened; as the truth she kept out of her conscious mind for a decade surfaces. She expects her predatory mate to do to the Woman what he has done to her and their daughters. Bell encourages Peggy to lie, but when the teen’s pregnancy becomes known, violence erupts.
The Woman is a gory frightening horror thriller that looks at human ugliness towards others even alleged loved ones. The Father’s mental and physical control of his family focuses on how psychological warfare works as neither Belle nor Peggy can act even passively defiant like getting the cops until the pregnancy forces their hands. Although the storyline is choppy, the plot asks readers to consider values as ironically; the Woman is the most moral character in site of her being a cannibal and the question lingers over what is civilized?
Harriet Klausner
Jack Ketchum and Lucky McKee
Cemetery Dance, Jan 2012, $35.00
ISBN: 9781587672538
The Woman’s clan ate human meat with the heart and brain being their gourmet delights. A rival clan attacked them leaving all dead except or The Woman. Severely injured and exhausted she escaped and hid in a cave. While cleaning her wounds in a creek, Christopher Cleek spots her. Fascinated by this feral she beast, he decides to domesticate the wild animal. He takes her prisoner.
He directs his wife Belle and his teenage oldest offspring Peggy to clean up the Woman Cleek holds in chains in the fruit cellar. Neither female wants to go near the wild Woman, but both know never disobey Father, the family martinet patriarch. Cleek tries to break his captive just like he has done to his spouse and three children (Peggy, Brian and Darleen), but her defiant spirit refuses to bend against every abusive effort he deploys. Belle is frightened; as the truth she kept out of her conscious mind for a decade surfaces. She expects her predatory mate to do to the Woman what he has done to her and their daughters. Bell encourages Peggy to lie, but when the teen’s pregnancy becomes known, violence erupts.
The Woman is a gory frightening horror thriller that looks at human ugliness towards others even alleged loved ones. The Father’s mental and physical control of his family focuses on how psychological warfare works as neither Belle nor Peggy can act even passively defiant like getting the cops until the pregnancy forces their hands. Although the storyline is choppy, the plot asks readers to consider values as ironically; the Woman is the most moral character in site of her being a cannibal and the question lingers over what is civilized?
Harriet Klausner
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Crops and Robbers-Crops and Robbers
Crops and Robbers
Paige Shelton
Berkley, Dec 6 2011, $7.99
ISBN: 9780425244999
In Monson, South Carolina Bailey's Farmer's Market manager Allison orders everyone to be on their best behavior when the Central South Carolina Restaurant Association visits them. Allison’s fraternal twin Becca, who has a stall where she sells her jams and preserves, is excited even if she thinks her sibling is acting loco with her demands to clean everything in sight and many things not; Becca muses sweeping the dirt floor will be the final commandment.
Central South Carolina Restaurant Association President Joan Ashworth and her son Nobel make the rounds tasting and praising everyone until she tries Becca's strawberry preserves. In front of the vendor’s parents, who just came home, Joan instead of orgasmic joy as her customers show 1000 percent of the time on their face, the woman’s visage turns sour. Feeling rejected, Becca and her dog Hobbit go home only to find her mother’s hands bloodied and Joan dead on her kitchen floor. After fainting, Becca knows she must investigate to prove her mom’s innocence as even her friend on the force Sam probably will not look elsewhere.
The latest A Farmers’ Market Mystery (see Farm Fresh Murder and Fruit of All Evil) is an enjoyable Magnolia State amateur sleuth as the heroine feels obligated to investigate the murder that occurred in her house in which her mom is the only suspect. The story line is fast-paced and filled with twists while recipes from the farmer’s market sellers may be a sub-genre staple of culinary mysteries but fans will relish their inclusion.
Harriet Klausner
Paige Shelton
Berkley, Dec 6 2011, $7.99
ISBN: 9780425244999
In Monson, South Carolina Bailey's Farmer's Market manager Allison orders everyone to be on their best behavior when the Central South Carolina Restaurant Association visits them. Allison’s fraternal twin Becca, who has a stall where she sells her jams and preserves, is excited even if she thinks her sibling is acting loco with her demands to clean everything in sight and many things not; Becca muses sweeping the dirt floor will be the final commandment.
Central South Carolina Restaurant Association President Joan Ashworth and her son Nobel make the rounds tasting and praising everyone until she tries Becca's strawberry preserves. In front of the vendor’s parents, who just came home, Joan instead of orgasmic joy as her customers show 1000 percent of the time on their face, the woman’s visage turns sour. Feeling rejected, Becca and her dog Hobbit go home only to find her mother’s hands bloodied and Joan dead on her kitchen floor. After fainting, Becca knows she must investigate to prove her mom’s innocence as even her friend on the force Sam probably will not look elsewhere.
The latest A Farmers’ Market Mystery (see Farm Fresh Murder and Fruit of All Evil) is an enjoyable Magnolia State amateur sleuth as the heroine feels obligated to investigate the murder that occurred in her house in which her mom is the only suspect. The story line is fast-paced and filled with twists while recipes from the farmer’s market sellers may be a sub-genre staple of culinary mysteries but fans will relish their inclusion.
Harriet Klausner
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