"Little One, Maid of Israel" is a book written by Bill Harvey and published in 1976. It takes place during the Old Testament, primarily centering around II Kings, Chapter 5. The story revolves around a Jewish slave girl who is taken to Syria to serve the wife of a very famous soldier known as Naaman. The only problem is that Naaman is a leper.
I am happy to say that, for a Christian book, this story was very good and even, at times, exciting. Much of it comes across as slice of life, having to do with the main character, known as Little One. It does evolve into some very startling happenings such as a plot to assassinate the Syrian king.
I didn't really feel like I was being preached to. Little One is a God-fearing girl owned by heathen masters. She does stay firm in her faith, and it feels like God chose to place her there for a reason. The author does not make out the heathens to be horrible people. King Benhadad is shown to be a very benevolent king, and I appreciate the author for recognizing that. He actually was.
The book also has a very fun encounter with the prophet Elisha, and the author's depiction of him was spot on. I always liked him! I was looking forward to his scenes, and they did not disappoint. The man was basically a grumpy hermit that God was talking really loudly to... like right in his ear. The man did everything God wanted, and I love him for it.
The book is very good and I do recommend it, but I do have two very small complaints. I think you should know of them before you set out on this journey.
1. The book is split into two parts. The first part is short and feels like it is written for young children. I felt that, at times, I was being a little patronized. When the second part hits, the book takes a very adult tone, and I no longer had that feeling. I could be wrong, but it feels like the author may have intended to write the book in a certain way... but then decided against it part of the way through. There is no way to confirm this though.
2. The big faux pas of this book is actually a pretty hilarious one. So most of this book is written in a very modern way. People talk to one another like we talk to each other today. The dialog is very modern. That is not the complaint. I liked that. The problem was that, when the book would cross paths with actual moments in the Bible, the dialog would suddenly become word-for-word what was said in the Kings James Version of the book. This sudden crossover to old English is jarring, and I feel that it was a mistake to do so. It would have likely been better to just write it in the same modern way that had been used up to that point or to pick a more modern translation as a source. This instance only happens a handful of times in the book, so it's not that big of a deal.
"Little One, Maid of Israel" is still out there. It's not completely obscure. It is one of the rare good Christian stories and well worth your time if you are up for it. Enjoy!
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The main character seems to be a fly on the wall who gets to see what's happening among the important people of the age. She represents us, the passive observers. When you mentioned the change in style from part one to two, I did assume he meant to write a children's story but decided to upgrade it into something HE would enjoy. His keeping of Biblical wording in older English is probably him trying to be relevant... but yeah, that was a mistake.
ReplyDeleteI really wish he had not done that, but I guess it doesn't actually ruin the story. Weirdly, it would have been an improvement if he had just made the whole book sound like early English.
DeleteGlad the story is great with very few complaints. The aspect of the girl being God-fearing while having heathens as masters reminds me that it's not your environment that matters but what you do. Interesting how the made it into a slice of life or a journey into biblical days.
ReplyDeleteWell said. She was in the hands of the enemy, yet she was still a blessing.
DeleteCentering the story around a slave girl gives the opportunity to see how the common people lived. It would be natural for her to become involved with bigger things because of the one she serves. It is a way to make the scripture feel more real.
ReplyDeleteAnd it was done well honestly. I felt a connection to this ancient land.
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