Book Recommendation - The Queen's Cook
One of my absolute favorite genres to read is Biblical historical fiction. Because I'm not overly imaginative, the dryness the comes with the oral traditions and laws of scripture make it so that reading the Bible on my own does not allow it to stick very well. But when an author who has researched the culture and has the imagination to tell stories in Bible times, even using Bible characters, it brings the scriptures to life for me. When I next read the passages related to a Biblical novel I've read, I see the stories more clearly in my mind's eye. One of my favorite Biblical fiction authors is Tessa Afshar. I jump at the chance to read anything she writes and The Queen's Cook was one of my most anticipated releases for this year. Though the story of Esther has been told by countless novelists, Afshar took a different tack. Esther was a bit of a minor character in this book and it focuses primarily on one of the cooks in her kitchen, and the palace physician. Here