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Description edit
Joseph Heller's powerful, wonderfully funny, deeply moving novel is the story of David -- yes, King David -- but as you've never seen him before. You already know David as the legendary warrior king of Israel, husband of Bathsheba, and father of Solomon; now meet David as he really was: the... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- David: Eventual king of Israel and Judah. For purposes of the book, Bathsheba is his wife, although he has a harem with many concubines and wives, including Michal, the daughter of Saul, whom he loathes. David returns the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem and units Israel with Judah as well as fighting numerous wars and of course slaying Goliath and tens of thousands of Philistines.
- Bathsheba: For purposes of the book, Bathsheba plays a very important part. Apart from Abigail, Bathsheba is one of the major motivators for everything King David does in later life. A large majority of the book is spent in dialogue between the two and the history of their controversial relationship.
- Saul: King of Israel before Samuel anoints David. Goes crazy with jealousy and God has a hand in making his life miserable until he eventually is killed in battle with Jonathan in Jezreel.
- Samuel: Samuel is a prophet whom God instructs to find a new king after Saul disobeys him. He anoints David, who is the son of Jesse, a servant of Saul's.
- Jonathan: Jonathan is the son of Saul, who is sympathetic to David and the two are very close friends. Heller makes frequent jokes about the relationship between the two of them having been interpreted by some as being homosexual. Jonathan is killed in battle with Saul.
- Solomon: Solomon is the somewhat thick-headed son of Bathsheba and David. Per the Bible, Solomon succeeds King David. Solomon is not David's first choice, but Heller makes the decision of succession appear to be based upon his love for Bathsheba rather than for the sake of the nation of Israel. In the book, it isn't made clear how Solomon rules. The Bible however is much clearer on this.
- Judah: Add a description of this character.
- Amnon
- Abigail
- Uriah
- Joab
- Absalom
- Adonijah
- Abishai
- Joseph
- Tamar
- Jacob
- Sarah
- Abiathar
- Jesse
- Isaac
- Moses
- Abraham
- Benaiah
- Ahitophel
- Hagar
- Shlomo
- Gibeah
- Benjamin
- Asahel
- Hiram
- Shunammite
- Ahinoam
- Samson
- Rachel
- Fineberg
- Mahanaim
- Kidron
- Joshua
- Maccah
- Hushai
- Ephraim
- Zadok
- Adam
- Dan
- Shammah
First Sentence edit
Abishag the Shunammite washes her hands, powders her arms, removes her robe, and approaches my bed to lie down on top of me.
Authors & Contributors edit
- Joseph Heller (Author)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 813.54
Subjects edit
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