Novel about Samson and Delilah brings new light to characters from the Bible
Rating: 3 Stars
“Delilah’s been a favorite of mine ever since I saw Cecil B. DeMille’s 1949 Samson & Delilah at an impressionable age,” says Delilah author India Edghill. “The color! The glamour! The passion! The peacock feather dress! So when St. Martin’s wanted another biblical woman novel from me after Queenmaker and Wisdom’s Daughter, I naturally thought of Delilah.”
As a young child, Delilah is given to the temple of Atargatis so she may become a priestess to the Five Cities that rule Canaan. She is trusting. When Aylah, a young girl purchased at the slave action, comes to the temple Delilah is charged with her care. They become heart sisters and spend all their time and learn to dance together. Their opposing coloring lends them an air of mystery and they’re known as sun and moon dancers. As they dance they bring wealth and prestige to the temple.
While the girls are learning to dance, Samson is a joy to his Hebrew village. He’s kind, generous and befriends Orev, a club-footed young man in their village who’s a harper, learning the craft of storytelling through song. When Samson sees Delilah the first time he knows she’s the one he wants for his wife, even though they are of different faiths. Can he complete the tasks the temple goddess Derceto sets out for him to win his chosen bride?
“In one sense, I’ve been researching any book I write since I learned to read,” says Edghill. “I’m from a long line of readers. I’m a librarian. I read widely and work inter-library loans like a racehorse. So for Delilah, I was able to do a sweeping and broad-based exploration of Delilah’s position in Western culture and literature.”
Based on the bible story from Judges 16, Edghill’s Delilah presents Samson and Delilah in a different light than movies and books. There’s little about Delilah in the Bible but Edghill fills in the blanks, painting Delilah as naïve and loving, a girl devoted to the temple and the goddess Atargatis. Samson is a good-natured peace-loving man who only wants to see a just world around him.
The Hebrews see Samson as their savior. The Philistines see Samson as their enemy. The visual impact is strong in Edghill’s writing. However, the pace of the story moves slowly at times due to being in Delilah’s head so much. It’s refreshing to see Delilah not as the villain, but a victim of the situation. The story starts moving when Edghill brings Samson and Delilah together. Unfortunately, by then we’re almost to the end of the story.
Edghill was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and currently lives in The Mid-Hudson Valley in New York. She’s currently working on a retelling of the story of Queens Vashti and Esther.
Delilah: A Novel by India Edghill. Hardcover, 368 pages, Publisher: St. Martin’s Press; 1 edition (November 24, 2009), Language: English ISBN: 9780312338916, $25.99.
