Alice Hoffman’s Bible-adjacent (for lack of a better word, since the story of Masada isn’t in the Bible) The Dovekeepers sparked my interest in Biblical retellings and spin-offs, which I find much more compelling. Whose voices don’t we get in the original text that we might get in a retelling? What insights and stories can someone add to the traditional stories? When I was making this list, I did notice that a lot of retellings out there leaned on the religious/inspirational side, rather than the general fiction side, although I’ve tried to keep most of the books on the general fiction end — as in, no proselytizing or overly religious text — with more focus on the storytelling aspect. The field of Bible retellings is also very white, and very Christian. I would love to see more retellings of these stories that are a lot more inclusive and really diving in there and presenting it in a new way. Here are some to start you off! If you’re interested in more books about religion and retellings, check out this 100 must-read list of women and religion, and this post on inspirational romance.
