Saturday, June 30, 2012

The Girl's Still Got It-Liz Curtis Higgs

The Girl's Still Got It


Liz Curtis Higgs

WaterBrook, Jul 10 2012, $14.99

ISBN: 9781578564484



In circa 1200 BC (give or take a century or two) in Moab, three women stand by graves grieving the deaths of two brothers. The widow mother of the deceased Naomi has decided to travel to Bethlehem. One daughter-in-law hysterical Orphan selects to remain in Moab; the other Ruth chooses to accompany her mother-in-law on her journey. Impoverished, the two women meet Boaz who takes both of them into his home and soon weds Ruth. Their great-grandchild becomes the King of Israel.



This is an excellent retelling of the biblical tale of Ruth using contemporary idioms and metaphor to tell the backstory while also extracting line by line the Old Testament entry; for instance Liz Curtis Higgs explains how Naomi the Jew ended up in Moab not explained in the bible. The three prime stars are fully developed as readers will understand their motives and their beliefs especially in the Lord. Though some fundamentalist might take exception as heresy this entertaining breezy treatment of the story of Ruth, I found the tale refreshing, insightful and lighthearted yet reverent to the Lord. Ms. Higgs takes her audience back over three millennia ago (without a DeLorean) as she provides a unique way to tell the Lord’s message.



Harriet Klausner

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