The Scent of Bright Light

"""Jean Dudek's inviting presentation of Sarah and Hagar invites readers to imagine what could have been, and what could still be, when women tell their own stories."" --Amy-Jill Levine, distinguished professor of New Testament and Jewish studies, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace ""Jean Dudek's The Scent of Bright Light reimagines Sarah and Hagar's story not as a text of terror but one of feminine rapport. Dudek builds on an ancient Jewish midrash that Hagar was a gift of Pharaoh after he slept with Sarah because Abraham passed her off as his sister. With a feminist twist, she creates a back story, depicting the women as close. It is a fascinating retelling of a familiar story."" --Alice Ogden Bellis, professor of Hebrew Bible, Howard University School of Divinity ""An important addition to the body of modern biblical fiction, The Scent of Bright Light is a brilliant work by an author-scholar who clearly knows her subject matter. Jean Dudek brings Sarah, Abraham, and Hagar--and their unexplored stories--to vibrant life with all the humor, frustration, irony, heartbreak, and dignity of humanity. Thoroughly engaging and ingeniously imagined."" --Tosca Lee, author of Havah: The Story of Eve ""An achievement of imagination, wit, learning, and tenderness. Jean Dudek's debut novel brings the reader into intimate, almost familiar contact with the mysterious and strange biblical world in which Sarah lived--in which she breathed, ate, suffered, endured, and laughed. With characteristic concision and precision, Dudek lays before the reader a lavish work about pain and triumph, faithfulness and frailty, gain, loss, and most importantly humanity. Be prepared to be surprised and delighted!"" --Paul K.-K. Cho, professor of Hebrew Bible, Wesley Theological Seminary"