Samson

Publishers Weekly

In two previous novels, Maine showcased a great gift for fleshing out the lives of biblical characters (Noah and his relations in The Preservationist; Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel in Fallen). He returns to the Bible for this wildly pleasurable first-person account of the life of Samson, the Israelite judge remembered for his voluminous hair, Herculean strength and ill-advised relationship with Delilah. Samson delivers his monologue from the Philistine temple of Dagon where, shorn and shackled and awaiting execution, he reflects upon a life of "frustration and pain plus a fair bit of sex and lots of killing and broken bones." Hatred of the Philistines is the narrative's central theme, and Samson delights in recalling his violent exploits. Though he is a brute and a blowhard, he's also hilariously plainspoken and not above ruefully admitting his shortcomings, chief among them his weakness for "a pretty face or the swelling of a woman's backside." Which brings us to Delilah. Though the outcome of their doomed tryst will surprise no one, Maine keeps the story captivating, a result of the sensationally entertaining voice he's dialed into. The combination of archaic language and setting with modern sensibilities again demonstrates Maine's talent for making the familiar intriguing. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

The biblical story of Samson has always been problematic. How could a man personally responsible for thousands of brutal deaths be a hero in the eyes of God? Maine, who is carving out a niche as a novelist of biblical tales (see The Preservationist, about Noah; Fallen, about Adam and Eve), allows Samson to narrate his own story. As a captive of the Philistines, Samson looks back at his life, attributing all of his bloody actions to his service to the Lord. The bare outlines of the story are faithful to the Bible; however, motivations are fleshed out, and secondary characters, like Samson's parents, are developed. Maine's use of a Philistine priest to question whether one people's God has the right to destroy all nonbelievers and whether one people has a God-given right to the land suggests a contemporary agenda. The language is also largely contemporary, and the casual use of four-letter words makes the book inappropriate for YA collections. Purchase where Maine's previous titles have been popular. Andrea Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, KS Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Maine's superb third novel continues his sly examination of the Old Testament, this time delineating the story of Samson and Dalila. The Preservationist (2004) and Fallen (2005) stand as far more than jaunty, modern retellings (of Noah and the Ark and Adam and Eve, respectively), and this tale, too, offers a dark, thought-provoking account of the Bible's great warrior and judge. As Samson begins his narrative, he is already imprisoned by the Philistines, blind and chained, his hair shorn and his strength gone. All he has left is his tale, and this he spreads out before the reader in all its bloody, bawdy glory. At Samson's birth (foretold by an angel who issues the vital warning that he must never drink wine, touch a dead body or cut his hair), the newborn sits up between his mother's legs and crushes a rock in his tiny fist. His size and strength are Herculean, and he has been sent by God to deliver his people from heathens. Samson, not the wisest of fellows, takes these words literally, killing Philistines and Canaanites, razing their crops and villages, wreaking murderous havoc whenever his God (though more often he himself) has been dishonored. The central episodes of the novel come directly from the Bible-he tears apart a lion with his bare hands (frightening his parents with his violence), kills 30 men at his wedding feast because of a riddle gone wrong, kills thousands with the jawbone of an ass in a slaughter that leaves him knee-deep in body parts. Then there's sexy Dalila, a warrior of another kind, to whom Samson loses his power and heart. Maine contemporizes these mythic tales and questions the kind of zealot who delights in killing for God, the kind of man who denies humanityto his victims. Samson speaks of the strange buzzing he hears when he kills so righteously and the speed and strength given to him by God to murder. It is chilling indeed when the line between hero and serial killer is blurred. Provocative and beautifully told-a breakout novel for Maine.