A collection of poetry that focuses on retelling Bible stories in vivid little snapshots. There's a strong focus on women, which is appreciated, and underlying themes of expectation and of absence.

The language here is really beautiful, though I think it faltered occasionally when encompassing the odd reference to other (future) occurrences or references. The comparison to Grendel, for instance, smacked me right out of the "Virtuous Woman" poem, as the word "Grendel" comes with imagery (with environmental imagery, specifically) that doesn't fit with the collection as a whole. Otherwise it was remarkably consistent.