Books, hockey, and a bucketful of snark

I love Brooks' writing. It doesn't matter where or when her novels are set, she brings the people and places completely alive. And her re-telling of the story of King David seen through the eyes of Nathan the Prophet is no exception. 

We see Saul, Jonathan, Absalom and the other men who appear in the Book of Samuel, and we also see a young Solomon with hints of the wisdom to come.

And Brooks also gives a voice to some of the women in David's story. His daughter Tamar, and his wives Bathsheba, and Abigail all get tell their version of events we know from the Bible. 

I'll be honest - I'm not religious; Bible classes at school bored me rigid, and I always thought David was an arrogant jerk. But in Brooks' hands, he becomes a complex, flawed, multi-faceted character (though still something of a jerk), doing "what is necessary" to become a great ruler and unite his kingdom.