The story of the Maccabees is not in the regular Bible but is included in some Catholic Bibles as part of the Apocrypha. While religious scholars do not consider the books canon, they are acknowledged as historical records. Hunt takes these stories and adds drama to it thru the eyes of Judah and his wife Leah. Each chapter is written from the perspective of either Judah or Leah. I've always enjoyed books that do this because it helps me get to better understand characters. While this story is set years in the past, the family situations and emotions are common for any time period. Generational curses are expounded as Leah's abusive father makes her scared of her husband who has never laid a hand on her. When Judah becomes a warrior and has to be gone for long periods of time, Leah has extreme inner conflicts. How is this different from modern-day army wives whose husbands go on deployments? When there is marital conflict, Leah hopes that having a child will change her husband. Women all over the world will relate in some way to Leah and her personal struggles. What I will note is that some of the brutal history in this book are not easy to swallow. Moments of war and bloodshed and decapitation are noted. This book is not for squeamish readers and should not be read before bed.
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