Really enjoyed this book. Her prose was so lyrical but grounded, and deceptively simple. It felt like a quick read despite the heavy subject material. Cook really pulled off the switch in tone between the first two sections (about David and Bathsheba) and the third section (about Thomas Wyatt). Will look forward to other books by this author. ( )

This beautifully lyrical book begins in horror. A woman is buried up to her waist outside a city and stoned by her community as punishment for having a baby outside of marriage. A child who witnesses it is traumatized. The story shifts to retelling the return of the Ark of the Covenant to ancient Israel and the rise of King David. This setting is the backdrop to a tale of desire, faith, and duty.

When I accepted a copy of this book for review, I was under the impression I was receiving a slim little thing; so when a 400+-pager showed up instead, I was a bit nonplussed. But the original pitch---David and Bathsheba, Henry and Ann, both filtered through Thomas Wyatt, with wisdom and poetry and subtle religion---still attracted me. So eventually I picked it up from the floor under my nightstand and started reading.

And was immediately enraptured by the quality of the prose. Cook is a marvelous writer.

The first two thirds of the book are about David and Bathsheba and it dances through theirs and other characters' points of view, before largely settling on David as he hides in a cave during the early stage of his penance. It's not until these hundreds of pages pass that we then switch to England where Thomas Wyatt will be our companion the rest of the way. I was perplexed that we had had to wait so long for his appearance. And although in the early pages of Wyatt's appearance we see an elaborate tapestry starring David and Bathsheba which the king has purchased, the connection between the two portions of the book remains ambiguous.

Ambiguous but certain. This is the first time in as long as I can remember* that I have an impulse to immediately start reading the book again because I think I will understand it utterly anew if I do so. But will I?

I've intentionally left it on the bed. I've already told Lady Steed she will like it, so if she jumps right in I won't get the chance. And I rarely reread these days because it makes me impatient. But this could be the exception.
The cover is a curious thing as well. It's lovelier in person---and stranger as well. It's a peculiar cover and I suspect it's terrible as selling the novel, but I actually quite love it. It's just as subtle and unclear as the title and it only makes sense if you put some work into understanding it.

Which I'm not sure is the accepted purpose of bookcovers, but still. At least it's utterly different and interesting and pleasant to have around.

Anyway, this novel is a sentence-by-sentence pleasure and is filled with hidden treasures and richly drawn characters and fully plumbed emotions and provocative themes wisely explored.

The one thing is it not is tiny. Although it did not feel like a slog at all. I enjoyed every page and the chapters are mostly short so it feels not so dissimilar from tiny after all.

An interesting premise here to look at the life of David through the writing in Samuel I and II and juxtapose it with the life of Henry VIII during the time he is chasing Anne Boleyn. Two Kings behaving badly. The first half of the book detailing David was better in my opinion than the second half dealing with Henry. While an interesting concept it just didn't come together and it felt like two books rather than a seemless integration of the two tales. ( )

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Lux by Elizabeth Cook is part a retelling of Books 1 and 2 Samuel in the Hebrew Bible, the story of King David, and how it applied to King Henry VIII, as well as the poet Thomas Wyatt. Ms. Cook is the editor of the Oxford Authors John Keats, and a seasoned writer.

King David sees Bathsheba from his window and desires her. The married Bathsheba cannot deny the King his wishes and soon finds out she is impregnated by him.

Centuries later, King Henry VIII sees the story of King David as an inspiration, a King who sees what he wants and takes it. King Henry is in a juncture where he wants to marry Anne Boleyn, but, like King David, defending his faith and getting his way.

Poet Thomas Wyatt, sees King David in a different light as he translates his psalms. Wyatt sees David as a man who repents his fidelity, faith, and abuse of power.

Biblical fiction, when done well, is one of my favorite genres, and the story of King David is an amazing story with twists and turns that can be told many times in thousands of different ways. Two thirds of Lux by Elizabeth Cook is a rich retelling of the King David’s story.

Much like the beloved book Kings III (Melachim Gimmel) by Yochi Brandes, Ms. Cook has a great narrative through biblical women, most of them do not get a voice or to tell the story through their eyes. The author takes her time to demonstrate the power of repentance that occurs in King David after he commits adultery with Bathsheba. The part were David expresses remorse over his transgressions, seeking forgiveness from YHWA is well written and gets the point across.

The last third of the book started off in a very interesting manner, King Henry VIII is looking at King David as an inspirational figure before he breaks away from the Catholic Church to marry Anne Boleyn. Unfortunately this part didn’t go anywhere and quickly moved to tell of poet Thomas Wyatt’s trials in prison for one reason or another.

And then, the novel just… ends.
I felt that the payoff wasn’t there, the last third had great potential and I was excited to see where it was leading me. Unfortunately it was no-where. ( )