The Secret Chord is Geraldine Brooks latest story and brings to us a fresh look at King David.  I confess that I know very little of King David – apart from the very well know episode of David and Goliath of course – and this is a retelling of history and myth that is really intriguing to read told by an author who is an expert at delivering a well told tale.

The story begins with David, as an older man, sending Natan (his prophet) out to meet people from his life to record his story and so we begin with David’s mother and move on from there.  As I mentioned above this is a story that I really knew very little about although I believe David’s life is well documented and this is a retelling of those events.

This is a bit of a step away from my usual type of read as it contains no fantasy or sci fi elements but is a very creative reimagining of David’s life.  Told through the eyes of Nathan, David’s prophet, who became so at a young age, after he witnessed the massacre of his family at the hands of David and his men.  Being a prophet Nathan was greatly feared, some believed him to be a sham, others avoided him like the plague, his life revolved around David but apart from that he seems to have been the one man who could deliver the truth, even if nobody wanted to hear it.

I think Geraldine Brooks is a master of storytelling.   She could probably make a shopping list fascinating to read and so in that respect this is a compelling read.  Although, I will just mention at this point that this is in parts a violent book.  This is definitely an age of little or no remorse in the face of death, in fact reading this the one thing that really stood out was that life seemed incredibly cheap and to be honest David was not without taint in that respect.  There are scenes of battle, murder and rape and although these are not sensationalist they may be upsetting for some readers so bear that in mind.

What Brooks does here is show a side to David that is new.  He has a fairly sad start until he is anointed as the chosen one.  He is then greatly beloved for his heroics in battle until King Saul becomes jealous of him and he of necessity undertakes the life of a fugitive.  From there things move on – but I won’t document everything here.

The absolute winning element to this story is the writing.  I admit that as I started reading I did wonder if I would get on with this book and then before I knew it I was glued to the pages.  Of course, David had a fascinating life and the story unfolds here in a compelling manner, the scenery is set so well, and we see a side to David that is maybe not quite so endearing.  At the end of the day these were not easy times to live in with much warfare and bloodshed.

In terms of criticisms – well, I can’t really say that any of the characters were particularly endearing to read about.  Well, the main characters are clearly Natan and David and neither of them are easy to like in some respects.  Natan is very solitary and a bit abrasive.  David, well, he certainly doesn’t come across endearing here.  Okay, he has the ability to be likable and fair but to counterbalance that he also appears vain, difficult, a pretty dreadful husband and father and not always the best judge of his own actions.

I enjoyed The Secret Chord, maybe not as much as some as Brook’s other work but still thought it was a compelling and quite fascinating read.

I received a copy of this courtesy of the publishers through Netgalley for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.