Michael Arditti has never held back from difficult or unfashionable subjects. His dozen novels, including the prize-winning Easter, as well as Jubilate, The Breath of Night and Of Men and Angels, explore faith in an increasingly secular modern world. Half a century ago he would have brushed shoulders with Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh, but the ‘religious novelist’ is today an endangered species.
Critically acclaimed but published by a small imprint, Arditti has an unusual voice and perspective that deserve a larger audience. The Anointed reworks the still familiar Old Testament story of David, the youngest son of a shepherd who fells the mighty Goliath with his sling and goes on to be revered as the all-conquering king who established Jerusalem as the Jewish capital, and, at the start of the New Testament, is an ancestor of Jesus.
The legend loses some of its lustre, however, when the details given in the Books of Samuel are tallied up — of David’s many wives and concubines, his army of children, his flip-flopping allegiances and his cold-hearted amorality that seeks only power.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in