Review: interesting, but could be better
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 25, 2014
I have some mixed feelings about this book.... (warning, there might be some spoilers)The positives:I enjoyed Tamar's feisty spirit & resilience as well as the descriptions of life during the time of the Bar Kochba revolt. Her relationship with her family was not always easy, & that rang truer than a family where everything is perfect. I liked format of the side-by-side  stories -- one in antiquity & one in the present.  There were fewer errors (typos, spelling, grammar, homonyms, punctuation, missing words, etc.) than I find in many Kindle books. Sad to say that finding *only* 20 or so errors is a positive!The negatives:There was never an explanation of how Lem & Emi's daughter died, nor how hold she was at the time, not how long ago it happened. Why didn't Lem just flat-out tell Jemma that he is married & he'd prefer she not overtly flirt with him, especially when Lem's wife has accompanied him on the dig?There were mentions that certain artifacts uncovered at the dig site were inconsistent with the level in which they were digging, yet no explanation (or theory) was offered for how or why these objects came to be where they were found.Would Tamar really have made the decision to strike out alone without telling anyone that she was leaving? That was quite a momentous & risky decision for a teenage girl.When Tamar meets Yacob & then finds out that he is a Christian, she runs away, knowing that a life together between a Jew (even a non-religious Jew) & Christian was not possible. Then, when she is along & scared, she starts talking to both God (Adonai) & Jesus (Yeshua). Huh? When did she all of a sudden become religious AND a Christian? I know the old saying that "there are no atheists in a foxhole", & I can understand a frightened young woman turning to God to look for comfort, guidance, etc., but to suddenly become a follower of Christ when you were raised as a Jew & had never even spoken to anyone about Christ, & now, suddenly, she is having conversations with both Adonai & Yoshua (God & Jesus)?  I think the story would have been more interesting if dealt even a teensy bit with the differences Tamar & Yacob's religious beliefs & the challenges presented by those differences.