Official Review: The Elixirist by Avraham Azrieli

[Eriny Youssef]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Elixirist" by Avraham Azrieli.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Sall, the son of Edom's healer, encountered a girl that knocked him down with just one glance. He couldn't get the long, golden braid with the red bow out of his mind. Being a young man filled with love, he decided to do everything he could to win the girl's heart. After seeing an unusual dream, in which an old dwarf was transformed into a tall, handsome man by means of a golden fountain, Sall decided to journey away from the city to meet with a dream reader. He was willing to do anything that would take him to that golden fountain and the Elixirist. All he wanted was for the beautiful girl's contempt that she showed him to be changed into love.

The Elixirist by Avraham Azrieli is set in biblical times in the lands of Edom, Canaan, and Damascus. The story follows Sall in his quest to find the notable Elixirist. Along the way, Sall was continuously bombarded with unexpected events that tested his character in ways he didn't anticipate.

I liked how accurate the author got the details of that period. For example, Sall always said he wanted to be transformed into a tall, dark, and muscular man so that An can fall in love with him. While beauty standards may vary, it's fitting that all boys at that time regarded those standards as desirable. Also, the author shows a great deal of knowledge of the geography, history, and customs of that period. At the end of the book, he mentioned the experts and sources he consulted in order to provide reliable information.

I also liked that the novel imparted wisdom that wasn't in the form of lectures that extended for pages. It was subtle yet powerful. Those wise words were normally short sentences like "If you wish to change how another person feels about you, start by changing yourself" and "A young man must follow his heart’s journey, or his heart will go without him, lost forever." Another thing that I found valuable was the repetition of those one-liners throughout different parts of the story. You keep being reminded of them. Eventually, you learn them by heart.

There's nothing that I disliked about this book. The story was both entertaining and edifying. The writing style and the chapters' short lengths made the reading process easy and enjoyable. The text is well written and professionally edited. I only found three minor errors.

I give The Elixirist 4 out of 4 stars. It was easy to rate this book. Every aspect of it was masterfully crafted. The character development of the protagonist is inspiring. It was also refreshing to learn about the details of how people lived at that time and the rules they followed.

I highly recommend this book to fans of the ancient Near East. Also, for anyone who is looking for a good novel to get their minds off things but doesn't want just another mediocre story, this book is for you. The book contains slight violence and brief descriptions of torture. So, it might not be suitable for people uncomfortable with reading portrayals of this type of events. The Elixirist is one of those novels that has a deep structure and lingers with you for a while after you finish it.

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The Elixirist
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[Alheotuci]

Great review!

[Eriny Youssef]

Great review!

Thank you so much for reading it!