Thursday, December 9, 2010

David Grossman's Lion's Honey: Amazingly Succinct Plot Synopsis

From The Spectator:

At a time when Israel was under the rule of the Philistines, the angel of the Lord appeared to a certain barren woman and promised her a son who would deliver Israel. This son, Samson, when grown meets and wishes to marry a Philistine girl. On his way to her he encounters a lion and kills it with his bare hands. On a subsequent visit to her, he finds the carcase of the lion filled with a swarm of bees with their honey. He takes the honey in his hands and he and his parents eat it. Samson is sent 30 companions to whom he poses a riddle about the honey. The companions extort the meaning of the riddle from his wife and Samson kills 30 of the men. Later, denied access to his wife, Samson catches 300 foxes, ties them two by two, attaching torches to their tails and lets them loose amidst the corn of the Philistines. The Philistines then burn his wife and her father to death and Samson slaughters those responsible. Men of Judah, afraid of what the Philistines might do after such provocation, try to deliver him, bound, to them. He escapes and inflicts further slaughter. Subsequently he falls in love with Delilah. The Philistines ask her to find the source of his strength and after three false attempts she succeeds. She then cuts off his hair. The Philistines capture him and put out his eyes. Later they use him as sport in a feast in their temple. But his hair has grown again and his strength returns and he pulls down the pillars of the building, killing all within and himself

No comments:

Post a Comment