Michal: A Novel (The Wives of King David)

Jill Eileen Smith's first book in The Wives of King David series has made me a follower. Michal, not only made me a fan of Smith, but made it easy for me to decide what to read next in the Bible. I want to reread the history of King Saul, David, and Michal; therefore, I've started 1 Samuel again. As far as Biblical fiction is concerned, I believe the ultimate goal is turning readers back to God's Word. Smith stayed true to the Biblical account in her novel, while adding both emotional and historical insights.
The book covers a large time span: from when Michal is a young girl with a crush on her daddy's harpist, through their marriage and separation, to David finally becoming king. What I liked most in the narrative was the clearly show more portrayed interlacing relationships. Michal was Saul's daughter, David's first wife, Jonathan's sister, Paltiel's wife, a woman in David's harem, and she lost most of her family. First, David was a shepherd, Saul's harpist, and Jonathan's friend. Then he was the commander of Saul's army and national war hero. After that he was Saul's enemy and on the run. He lost many he loved as well. Finally he was king of Judah and all of Israel.
The changing relationships and varying emotions within and between the characters was intriguing and raised my awareness to the complexity of these peoples' lives. Michal had two husbands. David had multiple wives. Jonathan was David's friend and Saul's son. David was first given a position of honor by the king, then a death sentence. Smith shows great empathy in her writing, and I believe a major strength of the book is her portrayal of emotion in both the characters and relationships, and in specific situations. She does not explain everything, but as this is a fictionalized account of true events and people, I enjoyed the added questions the narrative raised as to what these people really went through. For example: How did Michal feel when her father ordered David killed or when David was gone for so long and she had to take another husband? What turmoil did she experience when she was separated from her second husband and returned to her first, now only to be one of David's many wives?
(slight SPOILER ALERT)...My favorite part of Smith's retelling was the development of Michal's faith in the end and the demonstration of strength in silent witnessing. David's love for God was evident to Michal and that caused her to look at her own relationship with Yahweh. I actually hope that part really did turn out the way Smith wrote it! I enjoyed Michal and I look forward to reading both Abigal and The Wives of the Patriarchs that Smith has planned next! show less

A fictionalized account of the story of Michal, the first wife of King David in the Bible. In this account, she starts out as a young woman/girl with romantic dreams, impulsive and manipulative. She longs for love and security, hates the angry, violent man her father has become, and loves her brother Jonathon but has a grudge against her sister. After an encounter with the good looking David, she manipulates things so that she will be promised to him in marriage instead of her sister. Her life has it's ups and downs, and she faces many hardships - including being cursed with barrenness and David taking other wives. At the end, she manages to accept them as discipline from the Lord and humble herself before Him and David.
This is a show more romanticized version of the story, in many places I didn't think it could have really happened that way. I had to refer back to the Biblical story several times to see where she got certain events, which I did find support though. She makes Michal a woman with emotions and motivations that the modern day reader can relate too. I felt the ending was kind of contrived though - I understand her wanting a "happy ending" but this of course was all imagined and not something we see in the Bible. A solid read for imagining a Biblical story in a new way. show less

A fictionalised account of the story of Michal, daughter of King Saul and first wife of David. The author has brought this young woman to life in a novel that begins when Michal is a teenager, squabbling with her sister, and developing a crush on the handsome warrior, David. Daily life as a wealthy princess is described without excessive detail, giving a backdrop to this story of love and loss that takes place over many years.

The story follows the Scriptural account from the book of Genesis, taking into account all that was written about Michal; the rest is from the author's imagination, but is consistent with Jewish life in those times, and is very believable.

I was surprised how very readable this book was, although it took me a while show more to finish it, just reading a little at a time over several weeks after downloading it (free) for my Kindle. I found it quite exciting in places, despite already knowing the outline of the plot from the Bible. I had not thought much about Michal before, and found this version of her to be intriguing, and quite believable in context.

Recommended. show less

As a woman it is very difficult to read the Bible’s accounts of King David’s life and not be left somewhat agape at his marriage to King Saul’s daughter Michal. Though little is written of their love, the bare bones descriptions revealed in scripture clearly depict a bittersweet marriage beset by difficulties both within and without.

Taken from her husband and given to another; removed from that home and returned to David who had since wed a variety of other women; plagued by infertility – Michal’s life was clearly not one of emotional ease. The first title in Jill Eileen Smith’s series The Wives of King David explores the life of Michal, her spiritual journey, and the prominent influence of David on her life.

Smith’s work show more of biblical fiction is firmly grounded in the scriptural account, weaving the emotional drama of Michal’s life together with the pivotal historical events that occurred during her lifetime. I have never read a book that has dealt with Michal’s life in such an authentic, and caring manner. From Smith’s descriptions of life as the daughter of a deranged and wildly unpredictable king, to her grief at the deaths of her nephews, we are taken as readers into the previously unexplored emotional vistas of this princess of Israel.

While greatly enjoying this fresh look into the life of David’s first wife, I wasn’t overly fond of Smith’s David, preferring the passion of the king found in Eleanor Gustafson’s The Stones. Large jumps in time (three years, five-years, six-years, and so on) succeed in facilitating the progression of the timeline, but make the development of Michal’s bitterness – as evidenced in her response to David’s joyful procession before the ark – somewhat choppy. Likewise, her first years in the home of Patiel (the cuckold) are entirely missing, robbing readers of Michal’s struggle to adapt and come to care for this new man.

I firmly believe that Christian authors can depict passionate romances without resorting to excessive sensuality. Unfortunately Smith has certainly met the latter goal while falling somewhat short of the former in her depiction of this well-known marriage. Still, Smith’s work was pleasant, and even thought provoking, providing a woman’s reflections upon the inner life of this first wife of King David. After all, who among us hasn’t wondered how we would have reacted in Michal’s place to David’s sizeable collection of wives?

Clearly, I feel that Michal could have been a stronger novel, but still, I’m looking forward to reading Abigail, Smith’s recently released story of David’s second wife. Smith’s writing is solid, just not spectacular, so I’m looking forward to gleaning more of her imaginings of the lives of the women who shared parts of the heart of the man whose heart was likened to that of God Himself.

Reviewed at quiverfullfamily.com show less

NCLA Review - The biblical story of Michal gives few details of her life. In this novel we meet a scheming second daughter of King Saul, successful in her determination to be David’s wife. We applaud her courage, outwitting her father’s jealous attempt to kill David. We mourn with her in David’s absence, tricked into marriage to another. We follow her years as Paltiel’s wife enduring daily hardships and dangers never known as a king’s daughter. We wonder why David with six other wives would demand the return of his wife Michal. Why would Michal see her return to the king to expect to be named his queen? We observe her foolish aggressiveness and the consequences she faces. The biblical story leaves Michal scornful and David show more angry. Our story ends with forgiveness and restoration. Michal will never be queen but she is at peace with her place in the King’s Palace. Rating: 4 —CRP show less

This is a fiction story about something that truly did take place in history. I could not say it better than the author did at the end of this book: "my biggest prayer is that this fictional retelling will inspire you to read the real story in 1 and 2 Samuel of the Bible. Biblical fiction was not meant to replace but to increase our love for the real story in Scripture." I think this story did that. It made me want to go to the Bible and read the real story. It helped me think more about David and Michal and the thoughts and feelings each of them had to face throughout their marriage; to understand more of the history taking place and the struggles David and his wife might have been going through. I hope and pray Michal did end her life show more the way this author wrote it. I felt she stayed true to Scripture as she wrote this thoughtful story on the life of Michal and David, spanning many years. I look forward to seeing how she does with one of David's other wives, Abigail, next. show less

Enjoyable biblical fiction. I loved how the author brought that period of time to life but all the skipped years was a bit annoying and I found Michal rather manipulative.