Newly released, Ishtah - The Prostitute's Daughter builds suspense brick by brick while submerging readers in the beauty and dread of a forgotten empire.
Daughter of the most illustrious prostitute in all Arrapha, young Ishtah must find a way to endure her mother’s fame. With the ceremony of the god Ashur beginning in a few short hours, will she risk the unknown in pursuit of her own happiness, or succumb once more to acceptance of a fate of shadows and eternal shame?
Newly released, ISHTAH – THE PROSTITUTE’S DAUGHTER builds suspense brick by brick while submerging readers in the beauty and dread of a forgotten empire.
Excerpt
“The ceremony of the god Ashur is about to start. Outside the city begins to celebrate, but the doors of our house remain tightly shut. Our food has begun to grow scarce, yet my mother has made no motion to work. She hasn’t called me to braid her tangled hair, to trace her eyes in black or paint her lips red. Closing my eyes, I try and find what might save us, yet the silence yields my young mind nothing. There would be no point in praying to the gods. I couldn’t imagine them listening to either of us now - doubting if they ever had.”
Professional Reviews
Assyrian Heat
"Ishtah" is a short novel about the daughter of an Assyrian prostitute in the year 603 B.C. and her struggle coming to terms with her mother's profession and her subsequently low standing in society.
Support comes in form of Hethsba, who provides food, comfort and assistance when needed; her son Aeros is a potential love interest, although Ishtah has her doubts about the possibility of a romance for the two of them given her background.
Ella Hansing has a great command of language. From the first page she sets the scene perfectly, the description of life in the dry heat of Assyria are brilliantly done and give the read a very authentic feel. How the author researched the times with their primitive way of living and its culture (such as the harvest festival of Ashur) is beyond me; however, it felt very convincing and real.
The central issue is Ishtah's troubled relationship with her mother who becomes jealous of Hethsba, whom she sees as a rival for her daughter's affection.
The story ends abrupt after a show down between Ishtah and her mother. It has taken me a long time to get my head round why the author has chosen to stop writing here but after a while I came to the conclusion that this was rather clever and provocative. The story stayed with me for some time after I read it and I believe this at least in parts credit to that ending.
What a wonderfully written book. It was fascinating and disturbing all in one. The writer captured you imagination right from the beginning. I hoped and hoped that Ishtah’s mother would not find one of her scheming ways and try and persuade her daughter to follow in her footsteps. It was easy to visualise the settings of the book and follow Ishtah’s thoughts and anguish throughout this journey. All very intriguing indeed. It left you wondering at the end which of course is always a good thing. Highly recommended. Please take you time to digest this read.
Reccommended
Enjoyed this read. The author does a good job with character development and plot which is nice because so often writers are good with one or the other, but not both. Recommended!
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