"Miriam's Song" is the latest offering by a superb writer of Biblical Fiction, Jill Eileen Smith. "Miriam's Song" walks through the life of Miriam from her early childhood to her death. Her voice is not the only one narrating this book. Both Moses and Zipporah take turns in having a first-person voice and perspective to the various events.
I really struggled to connect with this book. This is an action-driven, events book. Characterization is of lesser importance. Miriam’s feelings are sometimes reported on, but this creates a disconnect with her character. Most of the time I cannot connect to her as to what she is experiencing and feeling. Moses's and Zipporah's turns in the narration adds to this disconnect. I would say the author’s previous book on Samson’s mother was a far stronger book at immersing you in the time period of the book.
However, the book offers a unique timeline of dating Moses to Hatshepsut’s reign and offering conjecture that Moses had contact with his family of origin all while growing up. This is not a perspective I had previously considered. I wish the author would have provided notes as to why she choose this for the novel.
Overall, read for the action and interesting perspective, but it’s not the author’s best work.
I received an advanced reader copy of the book as part of the Revell Reads Blogger Program in exchange for my honest opinion.
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