Review: Pearl in the Sand: A Novel

Pearl in the Sand: A Novel by Tessa Afshar

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Unlike some Christian Fiction books I've read, Pearl in the Sand does not go preachy on the reader. Maybe because it is set in the Old Testament, it focuses more on other aspects of Israelite culture and life — especially the nomadic, post-Egypt/pre-Canaan part of their history.

I learned a lot from the book: how God was portrayed in the Old Testament (conditional and sacrifice/ritual-requiring) vs. how He is portrayed in the New Testament (loving, unconditional); how prostitutes were classified (temple prostitutes vs the zonahs or the "garden-variety" prostitutes) in the olden times; and how the Israelites were actually fierce warriors, as opposed to their general reputation as obedient, God-fearing desert nomads.

This book is primarily a love story between Canaanite zonah Rahab and Israelite warrior leader Salmone. However, Pearl in the Sand is also a special book for "the broken" — abused kids, etc. ("He believes the past remains the past. It becomes God's domain. He also said, 'Our job is to rescue the present from its rotting carcass.' — p.124).

For Christians, this book has special meaning as written in the author's foreword: "Rahab's destiny is revealed in one third of a verse in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus. These simple words reveal Rahab's amazing destiny: Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab (Matthew 1:5)."

The author further pointed out that Jesus Himself counted Rahab, a Canaanite harlot, as one of his ancestors. Amazing indeed.



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