TEL AVIV, Israel — When mystery, romance and suspense book lovers are looking for a page-turner, they usually look for the names they know.
James Patterson. Terry McMillan. Nora Roberts.
But for three-time author Eva Etzioni-Halevy, all of the elements that make for a good read are in the best-selling book of all time — the Bible.
“I was searching for my roots in the Bible and when I read the Bible I found it very fascinating,” Etzioni-Halevy said in a phone interview from her Israel home.
Etzioni-Halevy, a Jewish retired professor emeritus of political sociology at Var-Ilan University in Israel and child Holocaust survivor, said when she decided to trace her heritage in the Bible, she didn’t expect to it to be as entertaining as it was enlightening.
“The people described in the Bible are so similar to us,” she said. “They lived thousands of years ago, yet they’re so similar to us in their desires and hopes. They are not described as angels. They all had strengths and weaknesses, many of which stem from their personality.
“The Bible is a divine book and also a very human book,” she said. “If everyone in the Bible were described as innocent, I would have put it down.”
She said she was especially intrigued by the women of the Bible for their various acts of bravery and leadership, though they are not as spotlighted in the Bible as their male counterparts.
With this in mind, Etzioni-Halevy said she took her rekindled religion and decided to give the heroines of the Bible her own version of the spotlight that she felt they deserved.
“Five years ago I decided to switch over to writing biblical novels,” she said. “This is a completely new chapter of my life which I never dreamed of doing before.”
Her first novel, “The Song of Hannah,” was released in 2005. Then came “The Garden of Ruth” in 2006 and her latest installment, “The Triumph of Deborah,” released late last month.
Though her stories are fictional, Etzioni-Halevy said she used the convenience of her Israel residence to bring authentic and believable detail to her readers.
“When I decided to write a novel about the Bible I knew I needed to do a lot of research,” she said. “I was on location, as you might say, in walking distance of some of the sites. I went and physically looked at all the places where the plot and the action took place.
“I also read lots of books in archeology and ancient history,” she added. “A lot of it is actually in the Bible. Of course, I’ve added things from my imagination, but at the same time, I didn’t detract anything.”
She said though the dramatic plots in her books aren’t spelled out in the Bible, she was able to use her imagination to “connect the dots.”
“It’s very strange, but I took time to imagine this is how it really was,” she said. “This is how I imagine what their lives must have been like. If you read between the lines it is interpreted. When you read some of the stories in the Bible you find it is very dramatic.”
Etzioni-Halevy said she has been told by many of her readers that her combination of factual detail with her imagination helped make the characters more relative for them, and has even inspired some to become avid Bible readers.
“Many people have told me I have brought the biblical times alive for them,” she said. “Some people have told me they haven’t looked at the Bible at all or haven’t looked since they were children, and after they read the book became interested in the Bible.”
In preparation for her two book tour stops in Albany Tuesday and Wednesday, Etzioni-Halevy spoke with The Herald about how she related to the women in her books, how men react to her women characters and how her readers respond to her twist on the Bible.
Q: How do you go about choosing which women of the Bible you will expound upon?
A: I started actually with the first woman identified in my first novel (Hannah). She was the woman who was rejected by her husband and I was troubled by her story. She was the first personality I found myself identifying with. There’s no sympathy for this woman whose husband didn’t love her. I started to identify with the other women because I loved their stories.
Q: What was your initial inspiration to feature women in novels?
A: I could identify with women. I thought that the Bible put too much emphasis on men. I thought in a way we need to bring out the feminine aspect of the Bible.
Q: Did you have anyone in the biblical history or archeology field to help you with your research for your books?
A: I did take a few courses on the Bible, but not a lot. Basically, I wanted to have a direct access to the Bible but not have people interpret it for me. I’d much prefer to have my own interpretation based on my own research.
Q: Have you received any negative feedback for your own spin of how things took place for these women?
A: Very little. My position (as professor emeritus of political sociology) is in the religious orthodox university. My colleagues accepted it and weren’t too shocked by my interpretation. On the Internet, I got a few nasty e-mails but not a lot. The people were very supportive, but I usually turn to a more liberal audience. Some orthodox people are not open minded, so I don’t want to get into a quarrel with people. I just want to do my own thing and interpret the Bible the way I see it.
Q: Does or will reality ever play a role in future novels, i.e. a woman running for president?
A: I started to write the novel long before any woman candidate came out in the U.S. and in Israel there was no female leadership, but as it is now there is. It became topical without my intentions after the fact. There is no implication that Deborah in any way resembled anyone, but it does answer the question can a woman be a leader. The Bible gives a positive reply to this question.
Q: What is the reaction from your male readers or audience members who come to hear you speak at different churches?
A: It’s interesting because the men who come are usually the minority and are more into the political aspects of what can we learn from the politics of that time about the politics today. Women are more inclined to relate to it in their personal lives. It really shows how different men and women are. Women have more empathy for the heroines. I found that most book lovers are really women. I think if men want to interpret and put emphasis on different things that’s fine. I want to see what men are going to dig out from the book and what interests them.
Q: Is there any other aspect of the Bible that you would like to treat as you have women?
A: I’m trying very much in depicting the life that actually took place, the atmosphere, the customs, the way they talked to each other and the people in biblical times. I think it’s absolutely fascinating in itself so many years ago how people went through everyday life. There’s a lot about it in the Bible and the rest comes from research.
Q: Will there be any additional books in the future?
A: I am working on another book, but it’s very far a way. It’s about the daughter of King David named Tomar, a victim of sexual rape by her brother. It is describing the sum of the rape and how she slowly rebuilt herself.
CHECK IT OUT
• WHAT: “The Triumph of Deborah”
• AUTHOR: Eva Etzioni-Halevy
• WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday and 5:30 p.m. Wednesday
• WHERE: Temple B’nai on Tuesday and Porterfield Methodist Church on Wednesday
• FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call Rabbi Dana Kaplan at (305) 725-5756, Temple B’Nai at (229) 446-6536 and Porterfield at (229) 436-6336. Guests who want to attend the dinner before the book lecture at Porterfield must R.S.V.P by Tuesday.