Review of The Legacy of Job's Wife

[sayjil gordhan]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Legacy of Job's Wife" by Cynthia Koelker.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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The Legacy of Job’s Wife, by Cynthia J. Koelker, follows Ix’ises and her childhood friend and husband, Job. The story begins as Ix’ises sits and reminisces about growing up with Job. The main theme of the story throughout is their contrasting spiritual journey. The book is in four parts.

The following does not contain spoilers, as the book is fast-paced and many events occur in the four parts, which the reader will find out.

The first part focuses on the early life of Ix’ises and Job. At just five years older than Ix’ises, Job was often thoughtful, devout in his belief in God, and most patient with Ix’ises. Job never was plagued by uncertainty and tried to help Ix’ises understand faith and instill trust in God. As the two grow, they are set on different paths: Job works for the magistrate, and Ix’ises with her music. Eventually, Job’s and Ix’ises’ paths merge, and they marry.

The second part of the book focuses on their marriage. Job and Ix’ises have many kids, and Job becomes a widely successful person and someone everyone recognizes as kind, trustworthy, filled with integrity, and devout. Ix’ises and Job clash on the transference of faith related to God.

The third part of the book is the shortest and most eventful. All the children are now much older. Ix’ises and Job now have a comfortable life. That is until they experience a great hardship. After going through some really tough times, Ix’ises starts to question her faith, while Job stays steady. Their different views add some interesting depth to the story.

In the final part of the book, which is the shortest, Job keeps holding onto his faith, and some surprising things happen that wrap up their journey in a meaningful way.

The book is written in the first person. The prose of the book is good, as the author writes in a way that the reader can feel the protagonist’s reminiscence and the simplicity of the story. The story is not written with melancholy, even though it is somber from the onset when Job is on his deathbed. It is utterly captivating, even if the reader is unsure of the plot. The plot does take some time to manifest, as the first part of the book is lengthy. However, once the reader reaches the climax of the book, it’s evident that the author wanted the reader to feel the descent from an amazing life to one filled with tragedy.

The characters are well written, even though the book is not written in a way that is overly descriptive or convoluted. You can grasp the essence of the character from dialogue and action. For instance, when Job introduces Ix’ises to the idea of sacrifice, she immediately defends animals and asks logical questions. You would expect Job to be offended by her continuously controversial thoughts, but he was not. The reader grasps that Job is patient, understanding, and spiritual, whereas Ix’ises is the opposite. As an academic but one who believes in God, I related to Ix’ises more because it’s easy to always struggle with certain ideas and practices when logic takes over. Ix’ises is very bold and bright even as a child. For example, Ix’ises boldly asked Job why God was taking so long which is bold and yet he is very patient.

“I don’t know, Ix’ises. Father says praying doesn’t make the work go away. Maybe God makes us stronger so we can work harder.”

Job is proven to be as good as everyone says he is, as he always makes a righteous choice but not in a sanctimonious way. Ix’ises said, “I knew I’d never find a better man if I searched the ends of the earth.”

Although the story focuses on and develops more of Ix’ises’ character, Ix’ises’ siblings and parents have depth, and that is also often expressed through dialogue. Her father said,

“You don’t know your own mind, Ix’ises. That’s how your mother put it. Myself, I’d say, You don’t seem to know what you want.”

This is a story of friendship, faith, loyalty, love, and how these can be used to overcome adversity. The only thing I would change about this book is the title, as I think it should be titled “Ix’ises." I had selected this book, and realized a review was due the same day. So, if you are wondering if this book can be read within a day, it can be. I would like to state that I am a reader who is unfamiliar with biblical references, and so, out of respect, I cannot state the accuracy of or criticize or state any references to the Bible. However, I do believe that this book can be read by anyone so long as they are open-minded, but out of respect, I recommend it to anyone who respects the Bible or is a believer in Christianity, as well as anyone looking for hope after tragedy. I think authors exploring any tales of culture and religion are important, as it keeps the discussion of such topics alive. This book was exceptionally edited, as I found no errors. For these reasons, I give the book a five out of five stars.

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The Legacy of Job's Wife
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[Gerry Steen]

Thank you for breaking down the four parts of this book. The relationship between Ix’ises and Job is inspirational. In their case, opposites attract. How they live their life together and cope with adversity can motivate others to do the same.