Wells and Wanderers - Amorites (#01 in Light Of Nations Series)

I enjoyed reading Wells and Wanderers, a historical fiction novel set during ancient times when events recorded in the book of Genesis took place. The twins, Inanna and Utu, are Amorites who were enslaved as young children and ended up working in Avram and Sarai’s household. Avram and his family didn’t own land and they wandered around the desert, setting up camps in different places for various lengths of time while awaiting God’s promises to come to fruition.

It was fascinating to walk in Inanna and Utu’s shoes and see their perspective on the choices made by Avram, Sarai, Lot and their family. The Amorite twins were raised in a dysfunctional household where they feared the demanding and fickle gods of their ancestors. Avram’s God was unlike any god they’d previously known or experienced.

Inanna had issues with the limitations imposed on women and she craved freedom. Her friendship with Hagar was beautiful and provided an insight into Hagar’s world and the unique challenges she faced in Avram’s household.

Utu walked a different path to Inanna. He was willing to consider faith matters and observed firsthand how Avram’s God was different to the other gods.

Being familiar with the stories in Genesis, I knew how certain events would play out in the story. The beauty was in how the story events impacted the characters and influenced their life choices. The story ending was satisfying and heartfelt. I recommend Wells and Wanderers to historical fiction readers who like…

I loved this book. It brought the Old Testament story of Sarah and Abraham to life in such a helpful way. Christine has done an excellent job of weaving the biblical text and creative text together in such a way that the story comes alive. She has also brilliantly remained faithful to biblical truth particularly in relation to the character of God and who he is/ and how he works in the lives of others. It certainly moved me greatly and caused me to want to read over the biblical text again.

If you are curious about stories in the Bible but don’t have the desire to pick up an actual Bible, Christine Dillon’s retelling of this classic story would be an excellent introduction for you. She keeps the facts from the Bible straight, but brings the story alive with modern narration. Her imaginative telling through the perspective of fictional minor characters (fictional but realistic in the roles they play) also make this an interesting read for those who already know the story of Abraham. You’ll have greater appreciation for the miracle of the promises God gave his family, and I have a feeling future books are going to show how those promises lived beyond Abraham himself.

Really enjoyed this book! Love good Biblical era novels that bring stories and characters to life, but ultimately point you to God and encourage you to go back to the Bible! Really resonated with the main characters, and especially loved the representation of Hagar's story. While tackling big questions, and delving into different cultural contexts, it was still a relatively easy read so is great for a variety of ages and reading levels - definitely recommend!