Adiel Book

Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers
Five years ago, Anita Diamant wowed readers with The Red Tent, a powerful retelling of the story of Dinah, a minor character in the Old Testament. This fall, Israeli writer Shlomo DuNour enthralls readers with his own remarkable Bible-based story, Adiel.

DuNour's novel is a reimagining of the Book of Genesis as seen through the eyes of the angel Adiel. In lyrical prose, DuNour recounts how Adiel, a "junior angel," is transported to the Garden of Eden. There, the angel Michael informs him that he has been chosen for a larger mission; Adiel is summoned to appear before God, where he learns that he is to record the history of mankind.

Adiel eagerly accepts his assignment, witnessing events as momentous and extraordinary as the creation of Eve from Adam's rib and the devastating flood that killed all living things not sheltered in Noah's Ark. But Adiel finds more questions than answers in what he sees. If God didn't want Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, why didn't He stop them? And why did Noah and his family have to wait such an agonizingly long time before God finally allowed the waters to recede?

Adiel's questions are very much our own: questions about the nature of good and evil, and about God's dominion and free will. In 1999, octogenarian DuNour won the Jerusalem Prize for his body of work, but Adiel is his first novel to be translated into English. A daring, wise, and wholly original take on the greatest story of all time, it deserves a wide, appreciative audience. (Fall 2002 Selection)

Library Journal

This retelling of the Old Testament's stories, narrated in personal tones by Adiel, a minor angel in the heavenly panoply, illustrates once again the myriad ways that these biblical tales can be interpreted. Winner of the 1999 Jerusalem Prize for Literature, the book uses the ancient forms of midrash, the Jewish term for literary and creative biblical exposition. Initially entrusted with guiding the sun on its appointed path, Adiel, under the tutelage of the archangel Michael, moves on to the Garden of Eden, where he acquires memory. DuNour, a former history professor living in Jerusalem, uncannily explores an angel's growth and development, taking the reader from the creation of Adam and Eve through the ten generations, culminating with Noah and the flood. At that point, as a protective angel of history, Adiel is responsible to recording the events of humankind. Our place in the universe and the concept of good and evil are some of the verities retold here with extraordinary skill, fantasy, and wonder. Recommended for all libraries.-Molly Abramowitz, Silver Spring, MD Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.