Lilith

Written by Nikki Marmery

Narrated by Lara Sawalha

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highbridge Company
• Release date: Oct 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9781696613170

Reviews for Lilith

[d.garcia.r98 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great story about the resiliency of women and had plenty of twists and turns!

[Leann McArthur · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is easily one of the top 5 books I’ve listened to in the last 5 years. The narration is superb, and the writing is engaging, funny and poignant.

The story arc at times is heartbreaking but also revelatory and ultimately I found this an incredibly hope inspiring story. Cannot recommend highly enough!

[melissarochelle_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

We visited the library exclusively to pick up Divine Rivals (for which I had waited patiently). I wasn't going to allow myself to get distracted by anything else, I knew I would be reading DR immediately upon sitting down in the passenger seat. As I triumphantly turned around to announce my achievement, Jesse says, "Did you see this?" and shows me the beautiful cover of Lilith. My husband knows me well, he was surprised that I already had my four-foot-long receipt signifying I had already checked-out the single book in my hand. I explained and he said, "oh, maybe next time."

Reader, I did not wait until next time.

I checked it out immediately and knew what I would be reading after finishing the four books I was in the middle of and completing the aforementioned Letters of Enchantment series.

It was worth the wait, I savored it (or was distracted because I do most of my reading outside and it's spring, so...nature).

Probably not a book for someone unwilling to explore Hebrew myths outside of the Christian Bible, but absolutely for anyone interested in exploring stories about the Queen of Heaven, aka Asherah, and her daughter, Lilith. Imaginative and clever, perfect for fans of Circe or Ariadne.

[violetbramble · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In the afterword to her book Nikki Marmary writes that "women deserve a better origin story than a fable that vilifies and slanders us, which ordains our inferiority. A myth that was wielded as a misogynist's charter to justify women's oppression, erasure, and abuse for two and a half thousand years- and which still has power over our lives" In Lilith she has given us a better origin story.

It starts in the Garden of Eden, with Asherah, the Mother Goddess, Yahweh, the Father God, Adam, and his first wife, Lilith. In this story Lilith eats from the Tree of Knowledge and becomes immortal. Lilith is present to see the power struggle between Asherah and Yahweh. Asherah mysteriously disappears and Yahweh proclaims that males are dominant over females. The reader is shown the start of patriarchal religion and societies. When Lilith is banished from the garden she travels the world, seeking out matriarchal societies, a number of whom still worship Asherah. She seeks to bring balance back to the world,, to give women equality, and bring back respect for women's wisdom.

I received a free e-book from the publisher through the Early Reviewers program. I loved this book so much - and the cover art - that I bought a physical copy of the book when it was released. Highly recommended.

[cherylgw · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book it a gift for women empowerment. It brings Lilith from Hebrew back into current times as well as past centuries and promotes women as equals to all, givers of life. The author weaves in truths from various other literary works to back up her claims as well. Lilith has many depictions throughout time but this book by far is the most extraordinary account of her life and times throughout history. Definitely worth the time.

[janarose1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Brought to life in the Garden of Eden, Lilith is the daughter of Asherah, and Yahweh. When Adam begins to dominate her, Lilith refuses, and is cast out. Searching for Asherah, she realizes that she is missing and Yahweh is behind her disappearance. When Lilith realizes that Eve has been created as Adam's helpmeet, she tries to speak to her, and shows her the Tree of Knowledge. Granted immortality, Lilith move through history, seeking Asherah and finding ways to restore balance and regain Paradise.

I could not put this book down. It was well written, and the character development was master level. I enjoyed the author's interpretations of biblical history and loved how she weaved Lilith throughout. I can't recommend this book enough. I look forward to reading more from this author.

[christiana5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received this book for free from the Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review.

Lilith is a feminist retelling, beginning with the creation myth, of Lilith, the first woman, and original wife of Adam. The story continues through various key points in (largely Biblical) history to the modern age.

This is subject matter that should interest me, and I did enjoy the story, but it was slow going for me until the last third or so. I did particularly like the sections on Jezebel and Mary Magdalene.

I'd recommend this for people with with a strong interest in feminist history, gender relations, and religious history.

Three and a half stars

[bettytaylor56 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

"Lilith" by Nikki Marmery offers a feminist reimagining of ancient creation myths, focusing on the character of Lilith, who is traditionally portrayed as Adam's first wife. The book takes readers on a journey from her expulsion from Eden through millennia of history as she seeks to restore balance and equality in the world.

Lilith is portrayed here as a strong and independent character who defies traditional gender roles. I appreciated the plot's originality and the way it challenges the conventional narrative of Lilith as a demon or antagonist.

While Lilith is a well-developed character, some secondary characters needed more work. The pace tended to lag in the middle of the story. I struggled to maintain interest at times.

I think this book would appeal to readers who enjoy feminist retellings of mythological stories.

I did have mixed feelings about the book and realize that it may not be for everyone.

[melaniehope · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book tells the story of Lilith, the first wife of Adam who is exiled from the Garden of Eden. What follows is a reimagining of the story of Adam and Eve. This feminine narrative follows Lilith on her journey from the beginning of man's time on earth to present day. I enjoyed reading this and found this version an interesting interpretation. Lilith tries desperately to spread the word of Asherah to people who have stopped believing in the goddess.

[bumblybee-190414 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As someone raised in Christianity but is not a believer, I was looking forward to this book - I love seeing interesting interpretations and plays on biblical myth that turn everything on its head. And this book certainly does that - many of the most-famous legends are here, but not as you might remember them.

The book does what it sets out to do well. The story is heavily reliant on biblical myth and weaves together Lilith's legend with that of the traditional narrative; the prose reads like that of ancient epics without feeling dry. Without revealing any spoilers, the plot comes full-circle by the end, and it feels pretty polished and well-thought out - arguably unlike the actual myth the story relies upon.

My biggest complaint is the equivalence of womanhood to the act of giving birth and having children. I don't think I need to explain that not all women can give birth (trans women, infertile women, women who have had hysterectomies, women who choose to be child-free, etc.). Because of this, as a child-free woman I felt alienated from the story and like I was not "woman" enough for this story to be part of me. There is a throw-away line addressing sapphic women, but queerness is so much more important to a story that claims to be about womanhood than just passing mention. It made me wonder if this may have been left out of an original draft with how nominal they felt to what was going on.

The other major critique I have is that everything seems to fit almost too well. While it would be impossible to cover every biblical event in one book, the selected stories that are pieced together here are very purposefully chosen to fit together perfectly - with no space for anything that doesn't further the plot. I really wanted to see more scenes that perhaps weren't necessarily biblical, but allowed for the reader to see more of Lilith as a character - toward the beginning of the book, a millennium passes in the blink of an eye, apparently just to get to "the good stuff," and I can't help but wonder how that time could have been used for some non-biblical world-building and character development.

Overall, this was an interesting retelling. However, if you're looking for something that delves deep into character or recognizes women beyond one particular part of womanhood, there may be better choices out there.

Thank you to the publisher and LibraryThing's Early Reviewers for providing a copy for honest review.

[tadad_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I looked forward to this book as I enjoy retellings of well-known stories from different perspectives. Since most tales dragged down through millennia were written by men about men, inventing them anew often starts by telling the story from a woman’s perspective, like Atwood’s The Penelopiad. And there is certainly fertile ground for “You don’t know the whole story” with Lilith since she’s been portrayed in traditional canon as the original demon, banished for disobedience to Adam … it’s not hard to see where that could go.

And where it went was as expected: a different version of the Eden story, a jealous male god, a reverence for a Divine Feminine, a denunciation of patriarchy, a Magdalene movement, polytheism over monotheism.

At first, I found it enjoyable. Marmery deftly slid a different interpretation of events in front of me. Her protagonist wasn’t too perfect—she blithely steals a poor man’s livelihood without even stopping to consider the impact, she falls in love with another immortal who comes across as a spoiled rich kid. But if you start from the premise of, “What if Adam was really an utter asshole?” she wove a alluring alternative take on the early days of Man.

Given the intent of the story, I didn’t particularly mind that 99.9% of all males in the story were, also, utter assholes. A little man-bashing isn't amiss. And I’m not religious, so the denunciation of Christianity and the rejection of most of its basic tenets didn’t bother me. If you want to recast it as a nothing more than a power play built upon explicit lies, I can go along with that for the sake of the story.

But as the pages wore on, the message began to overwhelm the medium. The hammer strikes became constant. The characters became flat. Plot slowly evaporated until the storyline petered out into not much more than: “We went to this place and this place. The men were bad, the women were downtrodden. Next.” It verged on a checklist through history. Babylon? Check. Samaria? Check. Ancient Greece? Check.

In other words, it became tedious. By 75% of the way through the book, I was almost skimming, looking to catch anything of significance. My interest was caught again when Lilith encountered Mary Magdalene, but they, too, embarked upon their own checklist of New Testament events with no depth, culminating in a parallel to the Gospels.

I give Marmery a little extra for the obvious research she put into writing this. However, I can’t help but imagine what a great story this could have been had the author spent more time on character development and plot, and a little less on constant repetition of something she convinced us of in the first few chapters. You had me at Paradise.

[jillrhudy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thanks to Alcove Press/Penguin Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Marmery really did her homework for this retelling. There's nothing like having your own foundational myth flipped. I didn't love "Lilith" quite as much as Marmery's prior novel "On Wilder Seas" because it was not as plot-driven and much more philosophical (and sometimes repetitively so as Lilith encounters different women) but it really, truly, made me ponder how much differently the Jewish and Christian religions could have unfolded if not so repressively and cruelly patriarchal, conveniently embracing some ancient texts and suppressing others.

If Lilith was kicked out of the Garden of Eden before the curse, she could indeed be both wise and immortal! I never thought about the implications of this before. In this feminist spin, she carries the truth of the Divine Feminine through the centuries, encountering familiar figures from the Torah and the Bible, hoping to find women who will listen to her Truth and carry it forward. The women she finds who are bold enough to call for the worship of the Queen of Heaven are invariably stamped out and demonized as wicked whores, along with the message, in favor of a single-male-god religion, and their places of worship burned and razed to the ground. Right up to the present day, Lilith is still present in the world and still hopes women will listen.