Wonderful images abound in Napoli's work: the titillating taste of pomegranate seeds shared by the young lovers; the raw sensuality of an apple from Sodom bitten by a Roman soldier as "its sweet juice perfumed the air and made his bottom lip shine"; the shape of the mandrake root fondled by Abraham in his living right hand. The reader is aware of the young people's love even before they are. The story evolves over six years before their mutual love flowers in consummation, even as Abraham's spirit begins to fade. Miriam grows from a coltish child of ten to the hungry-for-life aspirant of sixteen without a true awareness of the impact her behavior and beauty have on the petty people and cruel community values of Magdala.

Napoli's prose has a fluid resonance that bespeaks her love of language. Nowhere is it more evident than early in...