Ahoti: A Story of Tamar by Miriam Feinberg Vamosh and Eva Marie Everson

Ahoti: A Story of Tamar
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Paraclete Press (May 14, 2024)

Review by Mae Clair

Ahoti in Hebrew is translated as “my sister.” This is the story of Tamar, daughter of King David. If you’re familiar with the Old Testament, you know that Tamar was the sister of Absalom, the half-sister of Amnon. The Bible tells us that “Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill.” (2 Samuel 13:2a NIV). This obsession eventually led to an incestuous assault, after which “Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her.“ (2 Samuel 13: 15a NIV).

When David fails to discipline Amnon for Tamar’s violation, Absalom takes her into his own home. The Bible sheds no further light on what becomes of Tamar, though we do learn after a period of two years, Absalom kills Amnon in revenge, setting the stage for an unrepairable rift with his father that will ultimately result in a divided kingdom and Absalom’s death.

No spoilers there if you know the Biblical account of how David’s family implodes. I’ve always mourned Tamar, wondering what became of her, horrified by how her father failed to defend her. This book explores her life from the time of the assault through the decades that follow, leading up to Solomon’s accession to the throne of Israel. According to the Authors’ Note in the back of the book, the content (though fictional) is based on a book mentioned in the Bible (I Chronicles 29:29) that further documented several Biblical figures, including Tamar.

I’m a fan of Biblical fiction, especially stories set in the Old Testament, and King David is a personal favorite of mine. There is no question this great leader was flawed and failed in many ways as both King and father. Perhaps those grievous failures are what make him so relatable. Throughout his tumultuous life, however, his devotion to God never wavered.

While David is more of a peripheral figure in this story, I still found myself struggling with the way he is presented. All the gloss is gone, the man remains.

On the flip side, this is Tamar’s story as it should be. Almost immediately the reader is dumped into her assault and shame (the authors handled the attack with minimal description, nothing remotely graphic). While I felt for Tamar—mourned with her—and hated how she was treated by her family and her own people, the beginning of the book didn’t grab me like I thought it would. It took a good 40% before I was truly invested. By that time, Tamar had started to emerge from a cocoon, becoming a character who felt three-dimensional.

Forced to make her way beyond Jerusalem, guided only by the advice of a few loyal counselors, and a single servant/mother-figure, her journey is one of courage and change. Her pampered life as a healer in her father’s palace is long past.

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… he gestured vaguely toward a few tattered lean-tos as he directed larger families and wealthier travelers to more spacious accommodations in another part of the camp. What must he think of me, a haggard and sullen woman traveling alone? Would he be surprised to know that I was a daughter—the daughter­­­­—of a king?

Ahoti: A Story of Tamar
By Miriam Feinberg Vamosh and Eva Marie Everson

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While I found this book slow to get started, the second half kept me enthralled. I admire the authors for their attention to Biblical truths, and the amount of research that surely played a larger part in this story. You may need to stick with this book, but the journey is one I recommend taking.

Four solid fish!

I purchased the Kindle version of Ahoti: A Story of Tamar