Book: Rachel and Leah by Orson Scott Card (H, I)

I have been fascinated with the Biblical story of Rachel and Leah since I was a little girl: a man is willing to work seven years to marry the woman he loves, but marries the wrong sister and doesn't even know the difference on their wedding night!

Rachel and Leah is the third book in OSC's Women of Genesis series. It traces the lives of Rachel, Leah, and their two servants from childhood to that fateful wedding night and really opens up the Biblical story with plausible explanations of these people's choices and emotional responses to their unique situation.

Much of the cultural information about family life is the same as in The Red Tent. However, where The Red Tent focused on the pagan practices of the day, Rachel and Leah focuses on how followers of the God of Abraham understood Him and lived their faith in their daily lives. This book was wonderful, and I look forward to reading its sequel. Grade: A