Escape from Egypt

By: Sonia Levitin

Narrated by: Grace Conlin

Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Jesse, a Hebrew slave, and Jennat, a half-Egyptian, half-Syrian servant girl, both serve the Egyptians, but they live in vastly different worlds. Though Jennat serves a wealthy mistress, Memnet, she is content to share in the glitter of Egyptian life and idol worship. But Jesse’s life is filled with cruelty inflicted upon him by Egyptian task-masters. Jesse’s father believes only in survival and will stop at nothing to gain favors from the rich and powerful. His mother, however, believes that God will someday rescue His people and guide them to their own land.

When Jesse and Jennat work together in Memnet’s household, their worlds collide, and they are attracted to each other despite their differences. Soon both of them are embroiled in one of history’s greatest adventures: the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and their subsequent wanderings in the wilderness.

©1994 Sonia Levitin (P)2000 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“As usual, Levitin’s characterizations are superb; here she draws particularly complex, believable portraits…Levitin’s exploration of questions of conscience and faith is startling and searching. Nobody in her novel mouths pieties; religious convictions are the fruits of hard and dramatic struggle. Her rigorous approach…will spur her audience to fresh appraisals of sacred history.” ( Publishers Weekly)

“Conlin conveys the tension of the days in the desert and the adjustment to the new ways of freedom and belief through her ever-changing reading voice and the pacing of the story. Together, Levitin and Conlin bring this timeless tale to life.” ( AudioFile)

“Levitin is certainly courageous. At a time when authors are steered away from writing controversial books and when stories are presifted to make them palatable to the lowest common denominator, she has written a book that is troubling, moving, and sensual--and that forces its readers to think.” ( Booklist)