Rachel & Leah

Title: Rachel & Leah

Author: Orson Scott Card

Pages: 9 discs

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade: A-

Synopsis: Rachel and her tender-eyed older sister Leah are the daughters of Lord Laban, brother of Rebecca (who married Isaac, the son of Abraham). Rachel dreams of meeting a man at a well as a young teenager. He kisses her and asks Laban if he may serve 7 years for her hand in marriage. The young man was Jacob, the brother of Esau. For those who recall the story from Genesis, Jacob becomes the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, but the situation surrounding his marriage makes a great story.

My Review: Orson Scott Card is an author that has churned out books at an amazing pace throughout his career. Everything from fantasy (Ender's Game), thrillers (The Abyss), to religious based (Sarah, Rachel & Leah). Amazingly, his books based on the Women of Genesis are just as good as his more well-known other books. As very-little information is given in the Bible about the specifics of the relationships between Rachel and Leah and their handmaidens Zilpah and Bilhah, Card must use his imagination to fill in the gaps. He weaves a story that is very believable and structured around the specifics given in the Bible. I was very disappointed that the story ended right at Jacob's wedding, but the author's epilogue indicated that the book would have to be completed in a trilogy and not one book as he had originally planned. Unfortunately, that was 5 years ago and he has not yet completed the next book and Card had a stroke a few months ago that may or may not inhibit his ability to complete the series at all.