Deborah Rising
Set in ancient Israel, Deborah Rising imagines the young life of the Hebrew prophetess Deborah, whose coming of age begins in death: that of her parents and beloved sister, Tamar, at the hand of Seesya, vicious son of a wealthy Hebrew judge. Seesya wants to marry Deborah of Ephraim to increase his power by acquiring the abundant, water-laden land which is her inheritance. She begins her quest for rebirth through the powerful hand of the Elixirist, Kassite. Her epic journey is littered with injustices righted in faith and determination, grit, and the elegance of unlikely friendships. She escapes her brutal husband, aided unwittingly by his mother, a fearful priest, a wise Edomite slave, a blacksmith and his son, and the kindness of tradesman tribes and lepers. From behind the walls of Judge Zifron’s Emanuel to the holy city of Shiloh, and further to Aphek‘s tannery, Avraham Azrieli invites readers into the kingdoms, tribes, and customs of Israel.
A captivating read from the opening shock of a stoning to the cliffhanger conclusion, Deborah Rising provides action-packed adventure steeped in Jewish tradition and tribal institutions, wrapped in the mysticism of a heroine whose character is at once mired in the eternal female struggle and reveling in the hope of freedom through gender transmogrification. Azrieli explores escape from Biblical gender roles through male metamorphosis, toying with the epitome of female empowerment as the male archetype. He creates an illiterate child bride whose shaky first attempts at boldness and unexpected retreats into timidity wreak havoc with this reader’s expectations of women’s power, even when confined to Biblical norms. Though 21st-century standards may not apply, perhaps fickleness is Azrieli’s ploy to create depth of character. As such, this reader remains on the fence. It’s a great action-adventure and historical fiction read, but a feminist novel, not so much!
