The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks

In spite of the fact that I went to a Lutheran college l and had many hours of religion, my knowledge of Old Testament history consists mainly of Sunday school stories and Charlton Heston images.  David slew Goliath and became the king.  Oh but there is so much more to the story.  With Nathan (the Biblical seer in David's court) as the narrator, we come to know a very different David.  This is not your Sunday school version.  Lascivious, blood thirsty, devious, cruel - all qualities you hope to find in a great leader anointed by the Name? Well maybe not - there is a lot of confessing and garment renting in the end - shades of Shakespeare's Lear - as David looks back on the decisions he made.  Brooks' earlier novel, People of the Book, is one of the ten books I would want with me on a deserted island.  I'm not sure what she wanted us to take away from this violent tale but I wouldn't feel too badly if I had to use this one to send up smoke signals.