Desired: The Untold Story of Samson and Delilah by Ginger Garrett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The story of Samson and Delilah from the view of the women in his life intrigued me. So I picked this up from Amazon and started reading.
The author paints Samson as a slobbish, self-centered man who sees wants he wants and takes, often pouting or throwing an adult hissy fit if he doesn't get his way. The story is peppered with lines like: "Samson sweats like a beast all the time," and "I did not even want to think what his beard would smell like tonight when he tried to kiss me".
Some parts of the book were confusing, and didn't quite follow the story of Samson as written in Judges. For instance, his first wife was given to one of Samson's companions in Judges after she betrayed him by telling her people the answer to his riddle. In this book she is given to an elderly man who appears to also be a Philistine. Given that there isn't much detail of his life given in the Bible, I expected this book to stick to what we know a little more than it did.
I also wasn't fond of the end, in which the author takes the liberty of having Delilah and Samson's family witness what appears to be Jesus welcoming Samson after his death and saying "Well done, my good and faithful servant." Delilah "opens her arms to him (Jesus)" as if accepting him as her God now. While the author doesn't go as far as to say that Samson's mother recognized Delilah for who she was, I find it implausible that they would have connected after such a horrible event just in time to witness something taking place on a spiritual plane. It felt to forced.
This gets three stars because it is well written and the characters definitely have some dimension to them. However the portrayal of Samson and the drifting from accuracy prevent me from rating it higher.
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