A Deeper Well

A Samaritan woman struggles against the constraints of womanhood in ancient Israel in the affecting latest from Smith (Sarai). Nessa is the most beautiful girl in her Samaritan community of Sychar and draws the attention of almost every man she meets, whether she likes it or not. When she reaches marrying age, her money-hungry father promises her to wealthy widower Amichai, despite her lingering feelings for her cousin Lavi, who disappeared from Sychar shortly before her wedding. Just as Nessa adjusts to life with Amichai, he dies, forcing her to return to her childhood home. Though she’s reluctant to get married again, Nessa’s father quickly arranges her betrothal to Harel, an angry farmer with a hostile mother. When circumstances outside of Nessa’s control unravel the marriage, it isn’t long before she’s trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of doomed unions that leave her grappling with her relationship with God, particularly when a former husband forces her to make an impossible decision. Though the series of bad marriages grows repetitive, readers will have no trouble relating to Nessa and her desire for love and companionship. Fans of biblical fiction will be swept up. (Feb.)