The Secret Chord / Geraldine Brooks, 302 pp.

A very fine rendering of the life of David, as told by his prophet and adviser Nathan. Brooks writes excellent historical fiction, and this novel is certainly worthy of the 'big David-ness' of its subject, capturing the king and psalmist's beauty, skill, bravery, folly, and cruelty. It has a just-right length, too; certainly the many stories embedded here could have spun out much longer to less effect. Brooks has also smartly constructed the story by putting it in the voice of Nathan, so that we only see David from a side view.

My only complaint, and it's minor, is that Brooks' use of period language can occasionally have an overwrought, ornamental feel. I remember feeling this about Year of Wonders as well. Overall a solid read.

David: the Divided Heart / David Wolpe 153 pp.

Part of Yale University Press' Jewish Lives Series, this is a slim biography of David, Israel's great king. It's dry reading, considering the material the author had to work with.  David's story (or stories, as there are many) are some of the most dramatic in scripture: he slays Goliath, commits adultery and murder to have Bathsheba, and endures the death of his son Absalom when that son's rebellion is crushed.  Still, Wolpe sticks to a frustratingly straightforward unspooling of the texts, saving the more reflective material for a too-brief concluding chapter.  A worthwhile starting point for further reading, but not much more.