Lilith by Nikki Marmery

Have you ever picked up a book and thought, “This seems bad, but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt,” because why not? Well, that was me when I picked by Lilith by Nikki Marmery. It’s a book that stars Lilith (shocking, right?) who was Adam’s first wife before Eve. If there’s one thing you need to know about me, it’s that I actually enjoy fiction based on Biblical mythos, especially when it’s mixed in with other myths from the time.

Unfortunately for me, this book couldn’t even meet my (low) expectations.

Title: Lilith by Nikki Marmery
Publisher: Alcove Press
Publication Date: October 10, 2023
TW/CW: rape, misogyny, sexism, child death, sexual assault, miscarriage, incest, domestic abuse
Synopsis: 

A triumphantly feminist retelling of ancient creation myths in the tradition of Madeline Miller and Claire North. 

Lyrically rendered, this epic U.S. debut tells the story of the woman known as Adam’s first wife and her fall from Paradise and quest for revenge. 

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. 

Inspired by ancient myths and suppressed scriptures, Lilith is a thought-provoking and ambitious novel with an evocative literary voice and a triumphantly engaging heroine.

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There’s no nuance.

God — or Yahweh — is a spoiled, petty bully. Marmery depicts God as a pathetic being, especially in comparison to the majesty that is Asherah. Now, I’m not the most religious person, but I felt uncomfortable with the book’s description of Him. Perhaps it was because there was no nuance? In Marmery’s Lilith? She turned Yahweh/God into this mustasche-twirling villain who hated women and wanted to be worshipped by all.

In Marmery’s Lilith, everything wrong with the world is attributed to God and his worshippers while everything good (progress, wisdom, equality) is thanks to Asherah and her worshippers. Maybe it’s just the Catholic in me, but it’s all just lazy writing and straight up yikes. It’s like Marmery has a grudge on God and two of the three Abrahamic religions. The book’s only saving grace was that she didn’t try to include Islam into the fray.

Poor characterization all around.

No character was safe from poor writing with no nuance. Every single character from the trees to the angels to our main gal herself, Lilth — each one suffered from Marmery’s inability to write multi-dimensional characters. For me, it seemd like she couldn’t see beyond her own prejudices.

Lilith became a vehicle for Marmery to share her story and beliefs, rather than Lilith telling her own story. She isn’t the driver in her own story. Lilith gets handed the plot to her by other characters. For example, when she failed in her first attempt to find Asherah, she basically waited a thousand years for a male character to hand feed her the details she would need for the next part of her story. Shouldn’t “wise” characters be able to figure things out on their own?

Now, I’m not asking for perfect characters. I want flaws. I want hypocritical characters. Give me interesting characters. Marmery tells us Lilith is wise, but shows no proof of it in the text. Sorry, but hard for me to believe this character is anything but an idiot. Lilith waited a thousnad years on her ass, staring at grass. She believed her own enemy about her lover despite the fact that she had no reason to believe the lies. Oh! And let’s not forget this: she literally bathed the woman she believed to be her prophet and forgot the tiny detail that the woman had no birthmark until years later.

Oh, but hey, she’s pretty. So much prettier than Eve and so much smarter because when she got Wisdom? She ran. Eve stayed.

For a book that tried to be inclusive, it did the complete opposite.

Marmery attempted to include multiple other mythos, yet seemed to forget about them when it came time for Jesus and the gang. She bit off more than she can chew. But then again, she seemed to be more focused on blasting two major religions than anything else.

Another issue I found was how Marmery’s Lilith seemed to insist on associating womanhood with motherhood and having a menstrual cycle. For a book that seems to frame itself as an empowering novel, why does it feel anything but empowering?

If anything, there is just this never-ending reminder of the violence and exploitation women face. Everything is happening to these women, but Marmery makes no effort to show how these women fight back. And no, having them worship a female goddess is not one of them. Aside from one side character, there are no strong female characters attempting to take destiny by the balls. They just exist to remind us all: men are bad and God is a misogynistic pig.

Look, let me emphasize this:

I’m not saying don’t write men as innocent. Men are fully capable of violence and hatred towards women. They have created arbitrary rules to force the subjugation of women for a millenium. We shouldn’t hide away from this undeniable fact. But my issue was that Marmery went about this in a way that made 99% of the male characters like mustache-twirling villains.

Again, there’s no nuance.

Final Word

Liltih by Nikki Marmery could have been a spectacular novel. It might not have hit the same spots as other novels based on myths, but she had a chance to explore someone who is often depicted as a demon herself. Instead we get a shallow, frustrating novel with no substance or nuance to be found.

Instead of Lilith telling us her story, it was Marmery showcasing her prejudices through Lilth.

I give Lilith by Nikki Marmery a F or 1.0 star. I can’t recommend this book. There are better books out there. Spend your well-deserved reading time with those books.