Jezebel by Jacquelin Thomas

So I just read this book (see title) and despite some weird content-edit issues, it was rather good. Basically a modern day version of Jezebel from 1 and 2 Kings, Jessie Belle (clever name, right?) marries a pastor and uses her beauty to dominate and manipulate every relationship in her life, as well as those relationships' relationships. She's flat out awful, and I had to slam the book down and mutter angrily several times before I could pick the book back up again and continue reading. Then bad things happened (which I already knew about because before I actually read the book, I flipped through and skimmed every couple of pages, plus the last page) and at first I cheered. Then I cried. Out of freakin' nowhere.

The book is interesting in its portrayal of Jessie Belle, specifically because she dominates and controls everything for the sake of her husband, whom I think she really does love, but she just sucks at loving him like 1 Corinthians 13 commands, as well as her constant connection to her church background. She frequently prays and tosses up thanksgivings, but obviously she is not living in connection with the true and living God.

I think the most powerful thing about this book is the question that loomed over me while I read it: am I possessed by the spirit of Jezebel? The author notes that this spirit is one of greed and dissatisfaction, as well as manipulation in order to achieve more more more.

I wonder if I'm like Jessie Belle--manipulative and luke-warm in my reverence for God. Although she perceived quite a bit as if gifted with the spirit of knowledge, she clearly took those perceptions into her own hands to make them happen. Which, for me, begs the question: how far is too far? I think I relate to her dual nature, a nature that she's not even aware of, and that makes her a powerful character. She is contradictory in nature, but that's what makes her compelling: she is just like us.

A fuller review may come, but I always need time to digest before writing anything definitive. Whether I do or not, I'll be on the lookout for more of Thomas' books, particularly the newest one about a modern day Vasthi.