First Impressions: A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers

A lineage of Grace is a collection of stories based on five famous women of the bible; Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. I’ve owned this anthology for a number of years. And I felt that it was finally time to read it. Honestly I was in the mood for something uplifting and God and female centered. However, the first story Unveiled, which is about Tamar - a 14 year old girl married off into a traumatic family situation. She is abused and used and continously hurt by her husband and his family. The entire time Tamar must rise above, by loyal and remember she is to be a child bearer. The story is violent and at times hard to read; while this was most likely the pilight of the women of the time It is still hard to read. I get what Rivers was trying to do here. However, the womanist in me....Really finds the narrative of this story a tad dangerous.
Tamar by no fault of her own is forced to play a harlot in order to have a wrong righted. She must take abuse and remain loyal. The story, from my point of view, could lead some women to believe that abuse is okay in a marriage. And that one most look beyond it and remain loyal. Its troublesome. I hope the other stories in the book are better. If I had to rate it today I would most likely give it a 3 out of 5 stars - just based on the narration.

Here is the synopsis (amazon) for the first story in the book:

Her name meant "date palm," and like her namesake, Tamar hoped to survive the harsh environment she was placed in: to bend but not to break. Rubbed with scented oil and arrayed in wedding finery, 14-year-old Tamar is thrust into a world of abuse, betrayal, and disillusionment when she is given in marriage to an evil, idol-worshiping man. In the face of her suffering, she must make choices: Will she let her new husband, Er, destroy her innocence and corrupt her? Will she leave the religion of the Canaanites and embrace the God of the Hebrews despite the life of misery she is cast into? Or will she fall into despair and become as wicked as her husband and his brothers?