Lilith

By: Nikki Marmery

Narrated by: Lara Sawalha

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Before Eve, there was Lilith.

Lilith and Adam are equal and happy in the Garden of Eden. Until Adam decides Lilith should submit to his will and lie beneath him. She refuses—and is banished forever from Paradise.

Demonized and sidelined, Lilith watches in fury as God creates Eve, the woman who accepts her submission. But Lilith has a secret: she has already tasted the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Endowed with Wisdom, she knows why Asherah—God's wife and equal, the Queen of Heaven—is missing. Lilith has a plan: she will rescue Eve, find Asherah, restore balance to the world, and regain her rightful place in Paradise.

Lilith's quest for justice drives her throughout history, from the ziggurats of Ancient Sumer, to the court of Israel's Queen Jezebel, and to the side of a radical preacher in Roman Judea. Noah's wife, Norea, Jezebel and Mary Magdalene all play their part in Lilith's enlightenment. In the modern age, as she observes the catastrophic consequences of a world built on inequality, Lilith finally understands what must be done to correct the wrong done to women—and all humankind—at the beginning of time.

©2023 Nikki Marmery (P)2023 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Powerful and thought provoking

A beautiful tail of the life of Lilith, the betrayal she suffered at the hands of a patriarchal god and her quest to usher humanity into a better way of being. I wish I could gift this book to every woman in the world.

beautiful awakening story

The real story of the beginning of religion and the true meaning of life and how it should of started and what could've been. truly recommen

Exceptionally Done!

Thought provoking and inventive! What a wonderful weaving of scripture and story. The narration is perfection!

Amazing and thought provoking

I absolutely love this audiobook. I think it is my all time favorite to date. It’s provoking and empowering. All the new age TikTok “romantacy” authors like Lola Glass, Eva Chase, LJ Andrew’s should read this book to get a batter grip on their women protagonists. Lilith is everything I need, crave, and look forward to when purchasing a book, where unfortunately 99% of the time the FMCs description are just words and no action. Where did women authors learn how to make their protagonists for the male gaze? The weak willed, meek, wallflowers that remain untouched for their male counterparts? Seriously if you plan on writing your own protagonist that happens to be a women, I recommend this book first to empower you to make her correctly.

While I enjoyed this book…

It never really explored what happens to Lilith after her initial union with Sameal. Regardless of your opinion or personal views, it cannot be denied that Lilith is the Mother of demons, succubi, incubi, and related to the creation of vampires as we know them today. She is the wife, or at least the consort of Lucifer, and this book never goes into any of that. This book tends to represent Lilith as a strong woman almost faint at heart and not as a force to be reckoned with.

Like I said, the book is good, but limited in the exploration and overall etymology of Lilith’s development throughout history.

Amazing listen!!

Loved her interpretation of Lilith!! Thank you for giving her life and a story about not believing everything your hear. 🖤

Gnostic Circe

This is a classic example of a book with alot of potential and a very flawed and disjointed execution. In modern times, Lilith (the first wife of Adam, created before Eve) has become a feminist icon and symbol of feminine autononmy. Let’s not forget that Lilith was created as an equal to Adam and was only banished from Eden because she refused to be sexually subservient to him, after which she became a symbol of horror and villainy. The right author could do something very thought-provoking and compelling with the story of Lilith. We've gotten similar and instantly addicting stories about other maligned women in various mythic traditions. Characters like Circe, Medusa, Clytemnestra, and Jezebel have all gotten a modern reappraisal. The right author, someone like Natalie Haynes or Madeline Miller, could have leaned into the feminist iconography of Lilith and said something really important (and entertaining) about the unequal, arbitrary, and patriarchal sexual dynamics of the Abrahamic traditions that feature Lilith, as well as the all too prevalent religiously motivated sexism and inequality we see to this day. Instead what we get is what I call "Gnostic Circe". It's basically the cliffnotes version of the Lilith myth as well as a road-trip story featuring other maligned women of the Old & New Testament. Again, that is a very interesting and seemingly enthralling idea for a novel, yet the whole is never nearly as good as the sum of its parts.
The most frustrating part however is the disjointed and nonsensical cosmology of the piece. The monotheistic, Abrhahamic God of the Old Testament is here quite literally lording over Eden, yet at the same time the polytheistic gods of the Egyptian and ancient Mesopotamian pantheons not only exist concurrently but also have just as much power and influence. I get what the author was trying to do but it only muddles an already dry and somewhat meandering story and leaves the reader trying to puzzle out how gods work in the story instead of being invested in it. To be sure, the author does an admirable job incorporating themes and ideas that are certainly worth discussing or ruminating on and the character of Lilith herself is well-written, rounded,and serves as a very interesting main character to follow. Its the story itself that comes up rather short however. While your mileage may vary, I can't help thinking this is far from the definitive take on the Lilith story and also can't help but hope that someday someone will tell her story properly.

If however you enjoyed "Lilith" and are looking for similar titles then definitely check out "CIrce" by Madeline Miller, "Stone Blind" by Natalie Haynes, "Jezebel" by Megan Barnard, or "Clytemnestra" by Constanza Casati. You might also appreciate "Helen of Troy" by Margaret George or "Morgan Is My Name" by Sophie Keetch.

Boring

The initial story about Lilith in the garden of Eden was kind of interesting, but it went downhill fast. Maybe it was because of the biblical nature but it was so boring I couldn’t even finish it.

Narration fine, story terrible.

One-dimensional protagonist, supposedly tyrannical and overbearing antagonists who are also weak cowards that fold at the slightest resistance, and an author who doesn’t seem to actually understand the faiths she’s criticizing or the historical setting for her story. The author’s ham-fisted message gives off strong TERF vibes. Can’t recommend it.

Riding the cost tails of better books

To have such an interesting character in the hands of a mediocre writer is sad. Couple this with an annoying narration and this is a recipie for a refund.