the secret chord geraldine brooks review

The power of David’s music to bring a kingdom to a standstill with his voice and his harp. The power of a king over his people, or of men over women. How power is determined, fought for, maintained and lost. But these all stem of the central theme of King David’s story-power.

Various ideas flow through The Secret Chord: corruption and violence, love and loyalty.

The latter part of the novel has a more linear timeline and traces David’s life from his killing of Batsheva’s husband and his punishment as a result of this.

Brooks thoughtfully gives voice to characters whose perspectives are missing from biblical and historical recounts. Here, we come to know David and his rise to power through many lenses. Others have been meticulously created by combining historical research with a talented re-imagining, which is the hallmark of Brooks’ previous novels, including People of the Book and the Pulitzer Prize-winning March.įor the first half of the novel, at David’s command his advisor and friend Natan retraces the king’s past by interviewing his mother, one of his brothers and his first wife. And smaller stories are recounted within this greater one some are familiar tales from Old Testament readings, like David and Goliath, or the story of Bathsheba (referred to as Batsheva in the novel). There is never any doubt that the story of David as a fascinating, debated and entirely unique historical character is the mainstay of Brooks’ new novel. But when told with Brooks’ beautifully crafted sentences and original approach to a three thousand year-old story, the result is an extraordinary exploration of timeless themes and motifs.

King David’s story of rags to riches to divine punishment as a result of an abuse of power is a compelling one in itself. Historical biographical fiction is difficult to write at the best of times because of issues with source evidence and conflicting views Brooks does a superlative job in her latest novel, The Secret Chord, taking inspiration from a historical figure from three thousand years ago.

The secret chord geraldine brooks review