The Song of the Blue Bird
In this final installment in the Desert Songs Trilogy, the lives of the Israelite women, both in Israel and during the Exodus from Egypt, are illuminated by the Hebrew woman Serrah, daughter of Joseph and granddaughter of Jacob, Rebecca and Leah.
In this novel, Serrah doesn’t age and observes hundreds of years of biblical history. Her youthful appearance allows her to travel, both to Egypt and during the Exodus, with relative ease and bear witness. The agelessness of Serrah is suggested by the only two mentions of her in the Old Testament. She was one of the women who left Israel to go to Egypt because of famine. She is mentioned a second time as an Israelite woman who left Egypt for home during the Exodus.
This story is told in a lyrical fashion with historical details shared not as fact, but more as an imagining of how women lived at this time. Serrah is our guide through these centuries with her sharp eye for detail and light-hearted manner. Along with other women, Serrah frequently bursts into song as her nickname “Blue” (like bluebird) suggests. Serrah tells us that in Israel, groups of females linked by matriarchy lived together in tents tending sheep, caring for children, and performing other domestic duties. When Serrah reaches Egypt, her father Joseph has her placed in the Pharaoh’s harem with the understanding that she will remain untouched. Again, she is living in a world of women. Especially striking are the descriptions of the Exodus, led by Moses, which involved Hebrew men and women of all ages and physical limitations traveling back to the Promised Land.
Readers will be entranced by Serrah’s observations. With its frequent references to the “Scrolls of Deborah,” starting with the first volume in this series may be best.
