Book Review: The Wanderer Scorned by Natasha Woodcraft

Dear Friend,

As Natasha explains in her ‘Author’s Note’, her book “is a work of fiction. It is based on a story from the Bible… this work is the result of my imagination and is not intended to replace or add to the Bible. Rather, I hope it will point back to it.” Natasha Woodcraft

In “The Wanderer Scorned”, Natasha tells the story of Kayin (Cain) and his family. The story is told from Kayin’s point of view as he tells it to a group of his descendants. I thought this was a great way of sharing his story because long before the Bible was written, the events within the Bible would have been shared with one another through the spoken word. It, therefore, made sense to me for Kayin to be sharing his story this way.

Just from my personal reading of the Bible I only ever considered Cain as an evil person who killed his brother. The way Natasha has portrayed him has opened my eyes to the truth that no one is totally good or totally evil. Each one of us has a mix of both good and bad characteristics. Natasha has created a character who I found myself drawn to and someone with whom I could relate.

As the eldest child of Adam and Eve, Kayin had their full love and attention until more siblings came along, and then he had to learn to share his parents with them.

As Kayin grew up, he never felt good enough, particularly with regard to his relationship with his father. He tried hard to earn his father’s love, and the book shows the struggle between the two of them. Interestingly, Natasha describes his relationship with God in a similar way. Kayin felt that God and the family loved his brother, Havel (Abel) more than they loved him. Kayin tried desperately to earn God’s love and to be good enough for him, never realising that God did love him and wanted the same relationship with him that he had with Havel, who was very close to God and would often hear God speak to him and direct him.

“I had made mistakes – I would admit to that – but was that sin? I wasn’t intentional in any wrongdoing; I hadn’t set myself against anyone, including Yahweh. I had tried to earn the favour of my family and always sought the approval of my father. But it seemed that nothing I did would be enough for Elohim.” (Kayin).

We are similar to Kayin in that how we relate to and see God, our heavenly father, is often shaped by the kind of relationship we have with our own fathers.  

Kayin, like us all, had the choice of who he was going to listen to – to God or to the voice of the serpent (for us, Satan). He chose to listen to the serpent which led him down a dangerous path and ended with him killing his own brother.

I thought Natasha did a good job of explaining what life would have been like in early biblical times, describing how the people would have lived and would have cared for both the animals and the land, and for me, she really did make that world come alive.

Once I have finished a book if I am left with wanting more then it is a sign to me that the author has written a good book. The book ends with Kayin having finished his story and the mention of a woman who, in light of what Kayin has shared, will be sharing her story next. I definitely want to know what happens next in this series.

“Elohim doesn’t want us to wander. Like a good shepherd, He desires to keep us safe. He wants to stop us from hurting ourselves in our bid for independence. He wants to keep us from walking dangerous paths. Sometimes, to do that, He will need to use His staff to bring us back in. Or even to discipline us.” (Havel talking to his brother Kayin.)

The following quotes are taken from a conversation between Havel and Kayin:

“We were created for the Creator. He has purposes for us that go beyond the skills He has given us, and He desires to know each one of us. We just need to trust Him.” (Havel)

“Well, I am beginning to think the Creator made a mistake,” I interjected angrily. “If He wants to know me so badly, if He wants me to trust Him, He should not have made me suffer!” (Kayin)

Whilst this book is biblical fiction, I think it could appeal to any reader regardless of their faith because the themes in the book, such as the fight between good and evil, sibling rivalry, other family relationships, love, hate, and forgiveness are relevant themes for today. Of course, for Christians, there is the opportunity to allow our reading of the book to encourage and challenge us in our own faith which is what I found as I read it.

If you want to know more about Natasha Woodcraft, her books, songs and poetry, then please click on the link below which will take you to her website:

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