Wow. There is SO much to say about this book! First off, Potiphar’s Wife is some of Mesu’s best work to date and is possibly my new favorite of her books–I’m still really partial to The Pharaoh’s Daughter after reading it earlier this year, so it’s hard to decide! Mesu brought the story of Joseph to life like never before and made me see it in a new light. Even though I know the story of Joseph well, I found myself anxiously waiting to see what would happen!
From the first chapter, I was sucked into Zully’s island world. I felt her horror and pain as her life was quickly turned upside down and she was thrust into an uncertain future. Which really surprised me!
I have always disliked Potiphar’s Wife in the Bible–I mean, who doesn’t dislike her when they read the story of Joseph? At first glance, you can only assume that she is nothing more than a terrible villain, and you may even hope that she got her “just desserts” for what she did. But in this book, Mesu brings to life a complex and layered woman that has many good qualities, and you can’t help but care about her. It’s the hard hand that life deals her, and her choices she makes in response, that slowly morph her into the villain of her own story. It’s a perfect example of how villains are not born, they’re made over time.
As Zully’s life spiraled out of control, bringing her ever closer to that fateful encounter with Joseph, I kept marveling at Mesu’s writing skills. To create such a complex character that starts out very lovable and gradually becomes so twisted and broken is a feat. It’s more than just writing a character who does bad things for the sake of being bad, or putting a character through difficult things just for the sake of drama. She made me feel everything alongside Zully and somehow understand, if not agree with, her motives. I even found myself hoping for grace for the real life wife of Potiphar. She’s still a villain in Joseph’s story, but now I genuinely hope that she somehow found redemption.
As for if Zully finds redemption in Mesu’s version of the story… Well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out! ?
There is so much more I could say about this book–how I loved Joseph, Ahira, and Pushpa, the complex plot, the fascinating historical details, the fact that everything felt so real, etc. But then this review would be a mile long!! So just know that Mesu has crafted a masterpiece here, and you need to read it! ?5/5 Stars!
PS: I CANNOT WAIT to read the sequel, Of Feast and Famine!
One of the Bible’s most notorious women longs for a love she cannot have in this captivating novel from the award-winning author of Isaiah’s Legacy.
“Mesu Andrews yet again proves her mastery of weaving a rich and powerful biblical story!”—Roseanna M. White, author of A Portrait of Loyalty
Before she is Potiphar’s wife, Zuleika is the daughter of a king and the wife of a prince. She rules the isle of Crete alongside her mother in the absence of their seafaring husbands. But when tragedy nearly destroys Crete, Zuleika must sacrifice her future to save the Minoan people she loves.
Zuleika’s father believes his robust trade with Egypt will ensure Pharaoh’s obligation to marry his daughter, including a bride price hefty enough to save Crete. But Pharaoh refuses and gives her instead to Potiphar, the captain of his bodyguards: a crusty bachelor twice her age, who would rather have a new horse than a Minoan wife.
Abandoned by her father, rejected by Pharaoh, and humiliated by Potiphar’s indifference, Zuleika yearns for the homeland she adores. In the political hotbed of Egypt’s foreign dynasty, her obsession to return to Crete spirals into deception. When she betrays Joseph—her Hebrew servant with the face and body of the gods—she discovers only one love is worth risking everything.
