Joint Musings: Doomsday Book

Marg and I read Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog together and loved it.  We agreed to do a buddy read of Willis' more famous novel, Doomsday Book, as quickly as possible.

Two years passed.

And now here we are with the discussion, just a little bit later than we had planned.

Doomsday Book is a time travel novel that takes place in the mid-21st century and the mid-14th century.  Kivrin, the main character, is a scholar of the Middle Ages and wants desperately to go back in time and experience it for herself.  So she does, against everyone's better judgment, and ends up in a small English town outside Oxford and tries to assimilate herself into life in the early 1300s after getting violently ill.

Meanwhile, in the 21st century, there has been a horrible outbreak of an unknown disease and everyone is under quarantine.  Willis uses these parallel story lines to show just how much has changed and how much has stayed the same over seven centuries of history, and just how devastating a pandemic can be, if you don't know how to treat it.

Below is the second half of our discussion.  The first half is over at The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader.  Go check it out and then come back here - I promise the post won't have disappeared in the meantime :-)

And thanks to Marg for reading this with me!

Musings: Lady of the English

Lady of the English is Elizabeth Chadwick's most recent novel.  Set in the first half of the 12th century, it revolves around two royal women:  Empress Matilda and Queen Adeliza.  Matilda is called back to England after her husband, the German emperor, passes away without heirs.  She returns to meet her father, Henry I, for the first time in many years and is introduced to her step-mother, Adeliza, who is just about the same age as Matlida herself.  The two become fast friends, even though they are so different.  Matilda is rigid and firm and does not suffer fools, whereas Adeliza is kind and ethereal and devoted to her charity works.

Henry makes Matilda his heir, set to be Queen of England, but then sends her off to marriage in Anjou with a man half her age whom she strongly dislikes.  And he continues to make no promises or stand true to his word, playing factions against one another to consolidate his power.  It works well for him, but when he passes away, he leaves England with no strong contender for the crown and it is taken by Stephen, his nephew who had previously promised fealty to Matilda.  This sets off a long, bitter war between Stephen and Matilda, with all of England to suffer between them.

Musings: Outlaw

Angus Donald's Outlaw is his first novel in a new series about Robin Hood.  I realized when reading this book that I don't actually know much about Robin Hood at all.  I remember some characters' names from the BBC series, but that's pretty much it.  I also had this vague and completely baseless notion that Robin Hood and his Merry Men were similar to King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, but that is (unsurprisingly) quite false.  But both Robin Hood and King Arthur are men steeped in legend- all sorts of stories abound about them and their deeds even as people have trouble proving that either of them actually existed.

In Angus Donald's mind, Robin Hood is the head of what seems to be a medieval Mafia.  He offers villagers protection from the sheriff and dangerous criminals. In return for a fee.  That's how Alan Dale ended up with Robin's men.  He stole from a pie vendor and his mother asked Robin Hood to protect her son.  Robin agreed and Alan never looked back.  The story is told in a pretty typical flashback- the now old and lonely Alan Dale is relating his younger exploits on paper for the world to see.

Joint Musings: In a Dark Wood Wandering

I have had Hella Haasse's In a Dark Wood Wandering sitting on my shelf for over five years, but never brought myself to pick it up.  Somehow, a few months ago, Heather from Capricious Reader and I started talking about the book and how neither of us had ever seen any reviews of it on any of the blogs we followed, which we thought strange.  So in the interest of helping blogosphere discover the work, we decided to do a buddy read of it.  And then everyone would learn the glory of Haasse's fabulous work!

Unfortunately, though, neither of us thought the work fabulous or got much past the halfway point of the book.  So gone are our grandiose plans of sharing this wonder with you, but in case the below description intrigues you enough to give this book a try, the second half of our discussion on the book is here.  The first half is on Heather's blog.

In a Dark Wood Wandering is set in 14th and 15th century France and England, centering on Charles d'Orleans, the nephew of the mad French king.  Charles enters the frightening world of French political intrigue at a young age, after both his parents die and leave him to defend his claims to his rightful inheritance.  But France is at war with itself and Charles must navigate his life through alliances and debts that he can barely understand.  Charles d'Orleans was a real person, and is considered one of France's greatest poets.  However, I didn't get far enough in the book to actually read the poetry!

Joint Musings: The Lions of Al-Rassan

The Lions of Al-Rassan, by Guy Gavriel Kay, is one of my favorite books of all time.  I read it several years ago, I think in high school.  And then Heather over at Raging Bibliomania said she wanted to read it, and I jumped at the chance to read the book again.  It did not disappoint, and I'm excited for the opportunity to share the book with you all!

The Lions of Al-Rassan takes place in an alternate (BARELY alternate, I might add) version of Spain in the Middle Ages, when the country was ruled by the Moors.  Kay gives us three main characters, all from different religions.  There is Jehane, the Kindath physician (who also already holds a place on my Women Who Don't Annoy Me list), Ammar the Asharite warrior-poet, based loosely on the historical figure El Cid, and Rodrigo, the Jaddite counselor whose king dismisses him.  All three of these characters meet at King Badir's court as political intrigue, racial tension and military maneuvering begin to overwhelm the region.  Life will never be the same for anyone, but for Jehane, Ammar and Rodrigo, their time at Badir's court will mark them forever.

What follows is a Q&A Heather and I had about the book.  Tomorrow, Heather will post a more a casual conversation we had about more general themes.  Check it out!

Review: For the King's Favor

I was very excited about Elizabeth Chadwick's For the King's Favor because I had been briefly introduced to the two main characters in previous books (most recently The Scarlet Lion) and was excited to learn more about them. 
For the King's Favor is about Ida de Tosney and Roger Bigod.  Ida was mistress to King Henry II while a teenager and bore him a son, William, before marrying Roger.  Roger spends much of the book trying to win back and then protect his land holdings, all of which had been in jeopardy since his father rebelled against Henry.  The two meet at court, marry, and then embark on a life together during a tumultuous period of English history.

Review: 1066 - The Year of the Conquest

1066:  The Year of the Conquest is a very slim history by David Howarth about... well, 1066 and the Norman invasion of England.  It begins in a small English village in January of that year, detailing the class system in place and how the average person in England lived at the time.  From there, Howarth takes us to King Edward the Confessor's deathbed, details English succession law in place at the time (very different than after the Normans came in) and recounts Harold's rise to the throne.  We then cross the Channel to where Duke William hears news of Edward's death and Harold's succession and begins planning his invasion.  And then we are there for the Battle of Hastings, after which England's trajectory changed so drastically.

Review: A Corpse at St. Andrew's Chapel

A Corpse at St. Andrew's Chapel is the second book in Mel Starr's mystery series around Hugh de Singleton, a surgeon and bailiff in 14th century England.  A body is found outside an old church in his jurisdiction, seemingly savaged by wolves.  But there have been no wolf sightings in the area and there is very little blood, which leads Hugh to believe no animal was involved.  The dead man's shoes were stolen, too- no wolf would do that.  Hugh realizes things go even further than he originally suspects when, the more he digs, the more he seems to be a target for violence.  Soon, one of his suspects is found dead of an arrow to the back, and Hugh must hurry to solve the case before he is yet another victim of the plot.

I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.  I have not read the first book in the series, but that did not seem to factor into my understanding of the second at all.  The first book is alluded to, but I had no trouble following this story without having read that one.

Review: The Scarlet Lion

The Scarlet Lion is Elizabeth Chadwick's second novel about William Marshall, picking up shortly after The Greatest Knight leaves off.  While you can read one without the other, I recommend reading both.

There is a lot of ground covered in this book.  Over twenty years, William Marshall serves Kings Richard, John and Henry III.  He fights in many wars with the French, the Irish, the Welsh and even the English rebels.  His popularity at court waxed and waned, and there were times that he did not act quite as honorably as one might believe.  Two of his sons were taken hostage by King John.  His daughter married a rebel.  And through it all, John and his wife Isabelle stand tall.  They also get busy, as it seems like readers have a glimpse of every child's conception in this book- and there were many children!  (William only got married in his forties- so he was pretty old by the time his last child was born, too.)

Review: The Greatest Knight

Title:  The Greatest Knight

Author:  Elizabeth Chadwick

Publisher:  Sourcebooks

# of Pages:  529

I received this book for free to review.

Plot Summary:
William Marshall lived through a very volatile time in English history.  When he was a child, he was used as a hostage against his father's continued loyalty to King Stephen.  As a youth, he fought for a nobleman in France.  Then he caught the attention of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life changed profoundly.  He became a knight in the Young King Henry's household and quickly had to learn courtly manners and strategies to deal with the wily Plantagenet family.  He protected the king from his enemies, from bad influences, and from himself.  Unexpectedly, however, Young Henry passes away and William must find his own way once more.  Over the next several years, he sets about becoming the greatest knight in English history, making a mark on the world and trying to find peace and happiness for himself.

Elizabeth Chadwick has admitted that she herself is a little in love with William Marshall, and it shows.  The man is wonderful- it would be hard not to be in love with him.  I don't know if he was as handsome as he is portrayed in the book, particularly if he ran the jousting circuit and probably got beat up quite a bit around the head.  But even if he was ugly, Chadwick has solid proof that he was a chivalrous, well-liked gentleman, and I believe it.  He really is a knight in shining armor. 
There is romance in this book, but it is not a romance novel.  William has a mistress and then, much later, he has a wife, but neither of those stories is the main one (though they're interesting as well).  No, William stands firmly in the center of this novel, as does the Plantagenet family.  Everyone else, in my opinion, is just a satellite to the action.  And it is completely understandable.  Particularly towards the end of the novel, there was so much going on, politically and strategically, that I was grateful to only have a few characters to concentrate on.  Any more would have confused me past knowing.  Particularly as, in Medieval Britain, it seems like there were only about three names for parents to choose from to name their children.  There were multiple Johns & Richards to keep track of.

After the Hanovers, the Plantagenets are my favorite English royals.  They are crafty.  No loyalty to parents or siblings amongst the offspring of Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine, certainly.  Some people think the Tudors are dicey, but they are tame compared to the Plantagenets, in my opinion.  And they didn't last nearly as long.  After reading this book, I really want to pick up Thomas Costain's Plantagenet history volumes!  Those people are the definition of Machiavellian.

So, it's really, really impressive that William Marshall managed to not only survive, but thrive, in the late 12th century.  He walked a very fine line between the multiple camps but somehow emerged a victor.  Anyone who can do that should be commended.  Chadwick does very well in making William Marshall realistic and sympathetic, and I really enjoyed learning about him through this book.  I look forward to the sequel, The Scarlet Lion.

Historical fiction that centers around actual historical figures always makes me pause a bit because I wonder where the author draws the line.  How do you know that William Marshall had a sense of humor?  Are you sure his wife was beautiful and had blond hair?  Did he really have a blue cloak?  How much of this story is comprised of you projecting your interpretation of events?  It's hard to tell.  I don't know anything about William Marshall, and very little about the turbulent 12th century, but I have a feeling that if I asked her about major events that shaped Marshall in her story, she could give me primary evidence to back up her claims.  That's always nice to know.  Also, she knows Medieval England well enough to have hated The Pillars of the Earth, so that is always a good sign.

Considering that William Marshall's life was the subject of a long Medieval poem, that he was so involved in politics, and that he did so much to shape England, it's amazing that he is practically unknown to people today.  What a comment on how the collective memory works!  Luckily for all of us, we have an author like Elizabeth Chadwick to raise him back up out of obscurity and give him a dignified place of honor in history!

Review: The Daughter of Time

Title:  The Daughter of Time

Author:   Josephine Tey

Favorite Line:  ...perhaps a series of small satisfactions scattered like sequins over the texture of everyday life was of greater worth than the academic satisfaction of owning a collection of fine objects at the back of a drawer.

Note:  In doing these reviews, I've realized how many different publishers and page lengths some books can have, so I'm getting rid of publisher information for older books, and only using it for the newer releases where it may actually matter.

Plot Summary:

Inspector Grant of the Scotland Yard is hospitalized for a leg injury, and the bed rest is driving him crazy.  His friend Marta suggests that he start looking into historical mysteries- unsolved cases from hundreds of years before that he can prove one way or another.  She gives him several portraits of historic personages, but the one that draws his attention is a portrait of a thoughtful, somewhat sickly man whom he thinks must be a judge or minister of some sort.  Instead, he realizes, it is a portrait of the reviled King Richard III.  He wonders how someone with such a kind and worried face can have such a horrible reputation of killing his two nephews so that he can take the throne of England for himself.  With the help of an eager young American, Brent Carradine, who works at the British Museum, he goes back through archives, contemporary writings, motives and political maneuvers.  He finds that it's unlikely Richard III killed his nephews- and that history is full of completely untrue "rallying cries."  Events that never occurred or were reported erroneously but that took on a life of their own.

Josephine Tey's work about a detective setting about to prove Richard III's innocence is pretty well-known.  It is also a very different sort of approach to the mystery of the Princes in the Tower.  Instead of writing a long treatise setting out each minute point about Richard's motives, Tey's detective focuses first on Richard's personality.  First- pretty much everyone liked him.  He was a really great leader, well-respected.  He also was extremely loyal to his older brother Edward, the king (and the father of the princes who were lost).  Thus, to Inspector Grant, it was unlikely just based on his background that Richard would have murdered his own nephews.  He strengthens his point by determing where Richard was and what he was doing in the dramatic period after his older brother's death.

The book was a bit confusing to me at times.  It was written in the 1950s in England and so some of the slang and the references were hard for me to understand.  Also, there are just so many Plantaganets (or there were, at least, before Henry Tudor came to the throne and they became an endangered species).  And then there are the hangers-on, the in-laws, the other aristocrats, the Church.  It was hard to keep them all straight.  The story is also written as a pretty rapid-fire conversation between Grant and Carradine- so they'd be discussing one aspect of the mystery, and then would jump to a different aspect and I'd sometimes get confused.

The book reiterated to me why I love history and historical fiction.  People act as though history is static and unchanging- but it's always written by the victors and always with some agenda.  While reading this book, I was reminded so much of Lies My Teacher Told Me, a book written about all the things Americans learn in school about American history that are just blatantly incorrect or misleading.  It's scary how national pride and patriotism can blind people and make them unwilling to hear anything negative- or not even negative, but just different- about the things they hold true.  And those just snowball and snowball so that, a hundred years later, people accept as fact something that started as a vicious and baseless rumor.

I love that Tey sets out in her book to disprove one "historical fact" and invigorates people to do their own research and not accept things as gospel just because they are repeated often and loudly.  And it's great that Richard III has so many supporters now.  After reading Sharon Kay Penman's The Sunne in Splendour, I became a huge fan of his and now I'm even more of one!

Review: Wolf Hall

Title: Wolf Hall

Author: Hilary Mantel

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.

# of Pages: 532

I received this book for free to review.

Favorite Line:
Why does everything you know, and everything you've learned, confirm you in what you believed before? Whereas in my case, what I grew up with, and what I thought I believed, is chipped away a little and a little, a fragment then a piece and then a piece more. With every month that passes, the corners are knocked off the certainties of this world.

Plot Summary:
Hilary Mantel's sweeping novel begins with Thomas Cromwell as a pre-teen on the ground, being beaten by his drunkard father. He thinks he will die, but instead, he gets up, dusts himself off, and lives to see another day. This describes Cromwell throughout the novel- tenacious and tough. Wolf Hall is yet another book in a long line about the Tudors, but Mantel's focus on Thomas Cromwell- first through his relationship with his father, and then with Cardinal Wolsey, and then with King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn- gives us a very different view of the proceedings. Here is an author who does not focus on Henry's lust for Anne, and that as the starting point for setting off a continent-wide debate on religion. She focuses instead on Cromwell, and his true hope that Anne's marriage to Henry will set England on a new course of freedom and equality.

I don't think my summary above does any justice to this novel. Its scope and breadth is immense. Hilary Mantel sets out to describe a tumultuous period in English history, not by focusing on the main event- Henry and Anne- but by showing the struggle faced by those more behind the scenes. Thomas Cromwell says, late in the book, that worlds are not changed by kings and popes, but by two men sitting at a table, coming to an agreement, or by the exchange of thoughts and ideas across countries. And that is what Mantel seems to believe, too; thus, she does not focus her story on the huge proclamations or big meetings. She shows us Cromwell, alone at his desk, thinking and reminiscing. She details short, almost off-hand conversations between Cromwell and his wonderful family. And then, sometimes, she will give us fascinating debates between Cromwell and Sir Thomas More, the "man for all seasons" who was ruthless in his practices to rid England of heretics.

Even the title of the book is more suggestive than straight-forward. Wolf Hall is the seat of the Seymour clan, but no scene in the book takes place there. The Seymours make cameos, and Cromwell takes note of them, but Wolf Hall is a distant building for most of the book. Instead, it represents Cromwell's forward thinking. He is grateful to the Boleyns for his rise in court and favor, but he does not allow himself to depend on them. He tells his son, "...it's all very well planning what you will do in six months, what you will do in a year, but it's no good at all if you don't have a plan for tomorrow." And Cromwell always, always has a plan for tomorrow.

I am not sure if I fully believe in Mantel's reconstruction of Cromwell as a man who wanted only to reform England, and was so forward-thinking in his ideals. However, it's understandable; Cromwell was a blacksmith's son who rose to prominence at a time when everyone important was noble or royal. Of course he would want the same opportunities for his family and friends. Perhaps in the promised sequel, we'll get the hardened and more ruthless Cromwell that people remember.

Mantel's writing style drew me in completely. This book reminded me a great deal of A Place of Greater Safety, in terms of writing style. I don't think I enjoyed it as much as that book, but that's probably because the French Revolution absorbs me far more than Tudor England does. Mantel writes so lyrically, so adeptly. She immerses herself in the period- the food, the clothes, the heat, the stench. She researched this book for years, and it's obvious in the product. But she does not get bogged down by her facts, or by history. Her flair for witty conversation brings her characters to life, giving them flesh and blood where history only gives them stark facts and wooden portraits. Yes, Cardinal Wolsey was able to tell a joke. Yes, Cromwell loved his wife. We don't see those things, 500 years later.

The only parts of the writing that annoyed me, stylistically, were as follows: Mantel usually uses quotation marks to denote conversation, but sometimes she does not; Mantel uses the pronoun "he" too much. The first is just frustrating in reading such a thick novel because it can interrupt a rhythm. The second is confusing because there are often multiples "he" in conversation, and you can't be sure who she is referring to, all the time.

Other than that, though- this book is great! Very worthy of the Booker Prize, in my view, and I look forward to the sequel. Lovers of epic, varied novels will be thrilled. Not only are extensive family trees provided, but there is also a five-page long list of characters. This isn't the sort of book you read for ten minutes on the morning commute. It's one to savor with a cup of wine.

And here's an excellent review from the New Yorker.

Review: Royal Blood

Title: Royal Blood

Author: Rona Sharon

Publisher: Kensington

# of Pages: 352

I received this book for free to review. I did not finish reading this book.

Product Description
In the Tudor Court of 1518, your friends and enemies can be one and the same...During the annual celebration of the Order of the Garter, Sir Michael Devereaux arrives in King Henry VIII's court on a mission for his benefactor. The celebration's endless feats and sumptuous women delight the charismatic newcomer, who becomes captivated by the enigmatic Princess Renee of France. But evil, it seems, has followed Michael to the court. Shortly after his arrival, an unknown killer claims several victims, including the Queen's lady-in-waiting, and the powerful Cardinal Wolsey asks Michael to help with the investigation. As he searches for the killer, Michael is haunted by disturbing images of the victims - flashes of violence that lead him to doubt his own sanity. Michael soon realizes that the key to solving the crime is connected to both the Pope's Imperial vault in Rome and a mystery from Michael's own past - revealing a secret that is so damning, it could forever alter the future of mankind.

I really thought I'd like this book! But I didn't at all. It is set in the Tudor court, which is such a fascinating period of British history (though in my opinion, the Tudors don't hold a candle to the Plantaganets). I realized belatedly that it is actually a paranormal romance, not straight historical fiction. This didn't sit as well with me, but I decided to read it, anyway, and make an attempt to put aside my preconceived notions about romances involving vampires. (Seriously- I don't think I need to make any more clear my violent dislike of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight.)

Review: The Enchantress of Florence

Title: The Enchantress of Florence

Author: Salman Rushdie

Publisher: Random House

# of Pages: 368

Rating: 9/10

Favorite Line: The emperor was not content with being. He was striving to become.

This review is based on an advanced reader's edition.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Renaissance Florence's artistic zenith and Mughal India's cultural summit—reached the following century, at Emperor Akbar's court in Sikri—are the twin beacons of Rushdie's ingenious latest, a dense but sparkling return to form. The connecting link between the two cities and epochs is the magically beautiful hidden princess, Qara Köz, so gorgeous that her uncovered face makes battle-hardened warriors drop to their knees. Her story underlies the book's circuitous journey.A mysterious yellow-haired man in a multicolored coat steps off a rented bullock cart and walks into 16th-century Sikri: he speaks excellent Persian, has a stock of conjurer's tricks and claims to be Akbar's uncle. He carries with him a letter from Queen Elizabeth I, which he translates for Akbar with vast incorrectness. But it is the story of Akbar's great-aunt, Qara Köz, that the man (her putative son) has come to the court to tell. The tale dates to the time of Akbar's grandfather, Babar (Qara Köz's brother), and it involves her relationship with the Persian Shah. In the Shah's employ is Janissary general Nino Argalia, an Italian convert to Islam, whose own story takes the narrative to Renaissance Florence. Rushdie eventually presents an extended portrait of Florence through the eyes of Niccolò Machiavelli and Ago Vespucci, cousin of the more famous Amerigo. Rushdie's portrayal of Florence pales in comparison with his depiction of Mughal court society, but it brings Rushdie to his real fascination here: the multitudinous, capillary connections between East and West, a secret history of interchanges that's disguised by standard histories in which West discovers East.Along the novel's roundabout way, Qara Köz does seem more alive as a sexual obsession in the tales swapped by various men than as her own person. Genial Akbar, however, emerges as the most fascinating character in the book. Chuang Tzu tells of a man who dreams of being a butterfly and, on waking up, wonders whether he is now a butterfly dreaming he is a man. In Rushdie's version of the West and East, the two cultures take on a similar blended polarity in Akbar as he listens to the tales. Each culture becomes the dream of the other.

I really like the idea of stories told within stories, layered like so many flower petals to create a total that is more than the sum of its parts. The Enchantress of Florence is one of those- the narrator telling the story of a traveler to Sikri. The traveler telling the story he heard from his mother, part of which is recited by a human "memory palace," which was told to her by one of the main characters in the story. And so on and so forth.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not really sure what the theme of the novel really is. The power of words to transform? The ties that bind? The bewitching and sometimes very dangerous powers of a breathtakingly beautiful woman? The thin line between dreams and reality? The even thinner line between legend and history? It could be any and all or none of those (which is really quite a bit for a book that isn't really all that long).

What really captured me in this novel was the writing. Some books are read for the plot, some for the characters, and some very few for the writing. For me, The Enchantress of Florence was a delight to be savored- the way the words fit together was magnificent. It didn't matter to me, on finishing it, that several of the stories ends had been left loose. I was not ready for it to end where it did, but wow- what an ending.

Rushdie is an undisputed genius. He has won The Booker Prize and his novels enraged some Muslim higher-ups so much that they issued a fatwa on him, which has since been removed. His books obviously have far-reaching impact and they are not written just to tell a good story. But The Enchantress of Florence is a good story. I don't think I followed all its themes and messages in my first reading- I will have to read it again. For example, the book abounds with female characters, from prostitutes to queens to mistresses to wives to the most intriguing "memory palace." But none of the women relates her story- all the stories are related through men, either in words or in pictures. In fact, the only woman in the book who actually tells a story is the memory palace, and she only recites the history, word for word, told to her by a man. (How's that for symbolism?) Much as the story revolves around women, from the character(s) alluded to in the title on down, it is a book about men.

I could probably write an essay on the role of women in the novel, but the stand-out character is the Emperor Akbar, a wonderfully conflicted ruler of the world who balances the idealism of "I wish everyone would just get along" with the pragmatism of "Don't mess with me; I'm the king." He is portrayed as a dreamer with very 21st century ideas. Perhaps these were unfairly placed on his shoulders by Rushdie, writing a novel for a 21st century audience. It's quite possible, but for me, it worked most of the time. Akbar is a man lonely at the top, desperately looking for a friend. So desperate for someone to share his deepest thoughts with, in fact, that he creates a wife for himself who exists through the sheer force of his belief.

I found this book a delight to read- on the more "superficial" level of enjoying the story, and on the deeper levels of wrestling with the themes and ideas presented in it. If anyone else has read it and would like to discuss it, please let me know! I'd love to take part.

Review: Company of Liars

Title: Company of Liars

Author: Karen Maitland

Publisher: Delacorte Press

# of Pages: 480

Rating: 6/10

Favorite Line:
"I pity any man who doesn't realize that what he desperately seeks he already possesses."

This review is based on an advance reader's edition.

Product Description
In this extraordinary novel, Karen Maitland delivers a dazzling reinterpretation of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales—an ingenious alchemy of history, mystery, and powerful human drama.

The year is 1348. The Black Plague grips the country. In a world ruled by faith and fear, nine desperate strangers, brought together by chance, attempt to outrun the certain death that is running inexorably toward them.

Each member of this motley company has a story to tell. From Camelot, the relic-seller who will become the group’s leader, to Cygnus, the one-armed storyteller . . . from the strange, silent child called Narigorm to a painter and his pregnant wife, each has a secret. None is what they seem. And one among them conceals the darkest secret of all—propelling these liars to a destiny they never saw coming.

Well, I don't know if I'd call this a "dazzling reinterpretation" of the Canterbury Tales. I don't even know if I'd call it a reinterpretation. It might have been inspired by Chaucer, but that is probably it. It takes place in Medieval England during the Plague, and it revolves around a group of people traveling together, ostensibly on a pilgrimage. And sometimes they tell stories. That is where the resemblance ends.

I don't know if I really liked this book. The prologue does a very good job of drawing you in, though you have no idea how it fits into the story (well, at least I had no idea- I could be dense) until almost the very end, and then it clicks, which makes the ending pack a pretty powerful (and quite alarming) punch. So the beginning and the end are compelling- what about the middle?

Well, a lot of the characters in this book are hard to like. And they don't get along with each other well, either. So much of the book seems to be bickering and fighting amongst the characters. Each of nine characters has a secret (a Dark Secret, of course) and the book is written so that each of these secrets is revealed and accounted for. Always in a very disquieting manner.

This book wasn't quite what I expected when I picked it up. I expected a book of short stories within a larger, general story. There were some short stories, but not many, and the larger story certainly took precedence over these. It took place in 1348, and there were certainly references to England during the Plague, but it didn't seem very authentic to me. I can't really pinpoint the reason why. It was more of a historical thriller than historical fiction. I could see it being made into a highly successful movie, but I don't know that it will be a successful book.

The characters in this book are both its high point and its low point. As I said above, most of them are hard to like. But one above all, the child Narigorm, is so disquieting and disturbing that Karen Maitland must have a whole depth of talent that wasn't fully showcased in this novel. This girl is haunting and frightening and I hope that Maitland's ability to create a character like that will shine through in her future writing. Though I hope never to run into that sort of person in my life. I also liked the narrator, Camelot, and the swan boy, Cygnus. They were easy to like, particularly Cygnus. The others, I didn't find nearly so memorable.

I enjoyed reading this book, but I think it got bogged down in its characters and how they did not get along with each other. It reminded me a bit of Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None. Except longer and set 700 years in the past. I would recommend it to those who like historical mysteries and historical thrillers, but I don't know if fans of straight historical fiction would enjoy it- I don't think the setting was as important for the story as it usually is in good historical fiction.

Review: Legacy

Title: Legacy

Author: Susan Kay

Publisher: Crown Books

# of Pages: 570

Rating: 8/10

Favorite Line: Perhaps in every thousand years the world produced one man or woman to live in incandescence, enshrined within their span of time.

From Publishers Weekly
Kay's prodigious research buttresses this robust historical romance, winner of Britain's Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize and the Betty Trask Prize for a first novel. England's greatest Queen is presented from an intriguing psychological viewpoint- Elizabeth I's need for men and the bondage endured by those she chose. Freely mixing the verifiable with the imagined, Kay traces Elizabeth's rise from lonely childhood to lonely eminence. In the person of Robert Dudley, later Leicester, she creates a romantic fulcrum for Elizabeth's womanliness, delineating the childhood affection for Dudley that flowered in clandestine liaison and may be the closest Elizabeth came to a loving relationship. All of the Court's intriguing personnel, from the ubiquitous, conniving Cecils to the presumptive upstart, Essex, are drawn with care; the turbulence of the period, filled with violent deaths, challenges from abroad, pragmatic liaisons, is conveyed with verisimilitude; the rich tapestry of the Tudor ascendancy is woven with colorful threads. It is, however, the depiction of a woman of whom "half the wives of England were jealous" that lingers.

Well, it's been a while! I contemplated keeping up with the Tuesday Thingers blog posts while on my reading hiatus, but I decided it would be a bit depressing to see six straight entries about books but none that were actually book reviews, so I decided against it. However, maybe I'll start up again with those weekly posts since I have finally finished a book again- and what a dramatic book it was.

It's no secret that I find English history fascinating, and while I prefer the Hanoverians to the Tudors, it's pretty hard not to be intrigued by one of Britain's most historically dysfunctional families. Susan Kay clearly has a fascination for them, as evidenced by her novel that spans about 70 years, chronicling all of Queen Elizabeth I's life.

The book is entertaining- whether it's entirely accurate, I don't know. There are love affairs galore, innuendos everywhere, secrets alluded to but not brought fully into the open, and many conclusions drawn that may or may not be true. It's as much as soap opera as a historical novel (though I would strongly disagree with Publishers Weekly above in calling it a "romance"), and I don't think I can really believe everything Kay wrote and seemed to pass off as fact. But it sure was fun to read :-)

The book has many central characters in it, all satellites around the gravitational force that is Elizabeth. These characters are all well-drawn and could be subjects of complex, critical analysis on their own. But no one really notices them (and by no one, I mean me) because of the Queen.

I think Kay's novel is a success because of how completely mesmerizing Elizabeth I is. She shines from the start and doesn't let up until the very end. She's generous and cruel, happy and depressed, and completely captivating. It is easy to see why she is still seen as a legend today, and her masterful manipulation of not only her own courtiers but those from all over Europe is portrayed perfectly.

The most interesting part to me, though, was the psychology of Elizabeth's character. In Kay's book, she is supremely flawed. She is haunted by the death of her mother, by the actions of her father, and by the effects of both these people on her country and her life. Every one of her relationships has a shadow on it because of her parents. She goes through life believing that perhaps she is a witch. She has trouble getting close to people. She feels the need to be cruel and stand-offish and proud. She feels that she must be married to England, and not to any man.

Why is it that strong women are so often portrayed as ones with no heart, or ones who turn their hearts off for the good of others? I understand that Elizabeth's entire reign was built around the premise of her being the Virgin Queen who toiled for England and not for a husband and family- but why is that the only way it ever seems to work for females? Most male heroes, throughout history, have a female counterpart that they seem to trust and love and confide in, and it never makes them seem weak. But for women, automatically, it is assumed that the man would take over the central role in her life and that everything else would take a backseat to him. And, what's more, if her husband were not to be less important than her work, then something is always, always considered to be wrong with the woman. Well, how often is she considered to be unwomanly in those circumstances?

Elizabeth was ruling a country that was bankrupt and basically in shambles- I think she was quite justified in putting England before any man in her life. But part of the reason she lives on so strongly is because she didn't marry anyone, and that was considered the ultimate sacrifice (and a huge aberration by a royal person, of course). She is remembered in this almost goddess-like mentality of being a strong and able woman who gave up her personal happiness for the sake of her country. But who's to really say now that she gave up her chance at happiness? What if she just really wanted to rule her country and not be bothered by a husband and children who would probably spend a good amount of their time trying to take her power away from her? Is that so wrong? Is it accurate for authors to portray her as a lonely and depressed ruler, just because she was female? If she had been a man, would she be so fascinating to us still? Would people romanticize him the way they romanticize her? There have been many manipulative and cunning men in English history- check out those Plantaganets- so why is it that it's always the women who act in these ways that create such a stir?

Of course, there are issues of sexism throughout history to contend with in all of the above questions I raise, and I understand that there aren't easy answers- but I think that's why Queen Elizabeth is such an interesting figure to so many people. What was it that made her the way she was? When she died, was she content with the way her life went, or would she have preferred it to go differently? Did she want the greatness and immortality, or would she have preferred to be Robert Dudley's wife?

I think Kay confronts a lot of these issues in her novel, and she does not cut Elizabeth short at all. The Queen is even more complex and difficult to understand at the end of the novel than she was at the beginning. And I think that's where the book really shines- Kay doesn't pigeonhole Elizabeth at all, but makes her huge and inspiring, so that we have some idea of what the Elizabethan age must have been like.

Review: The Book of Saladin

Title: The Book of Saladin
Author: Tariq Ali
Publisher: Verso
# of Pages: 368

Second book in the Islam Quintet (a series of unrelated fictional books on the history of Islam)

Favorite Quote: There were many, but this one was very pretty, in my opinion. "O Commander of the Victorious, listening to the sermon the heavens wept tears of joy and the stars abandoned their positions in the firmament not to shoot on the wicked, but to celebrate together."

Rating: 10/10

From Publishers Weekly
A very different novel from Fear of Mirrors reviewed above, Ali's earthy, lusty saga about the fall of Jerusalem to Muslim forces in 1187 rewrites Eurocentric history by focusing on the historical figure Salah al-Din (better known as Saladin), the Kurdish upstart who used his position as sultan of Egypt and Syria to retake the Holy City from Crusaders. Through Saladin's confidences told to a fictive character- Isaac ibn Yahub, his Jewish scribe, who narrates the story- we not only learn of the sultan's marital woes (his favorite wife is having a lesbian affair with another concubine), we also view the Crusades from a non-Christian point of view. In this fiercely lyrical second installment of a projected tetralogy (following Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree), Ali exposes deep wounds between Christian, Muslim and Jewish civilizations that have yet to heal. A digressive arabesque weaving tales of political intrigue, gay and straight love, betrayal, cross-dressing, rape, assassination and crimes of passion, his tale ripples with implicit parallels to our age: Saladin prepares for "the mother of all battles"; his army wages a holy war to liberate Palestine; the Muslim nations are bitterly divided into mutually hostile factions. Some may feel Ali takes liberties too freely, as when Ibn Yahub walks in on his adulterous wife having sex with Maimonides, the celebrated Jewish philosopher; yet, throughout, the main characters sustain a fruitful dialogue on life after death, history, the oppression of women and the nature of spiritual and romantic love.

I really, really liked this book! I came upon it in my search for books on Egypt before my trip there, and found it on Amazon. It sounded good, so I got a copy of it for myself (sadly, my copy is filled with highlights and profound comments in pink glitter pen like, "Lalalalalalalala." I shall have to purchase another one). I'm leading discussion for it at Historical Favorites, and I think discussion will go very well! This book is truly excellent. It's not so long that it exhausts you, and Ali swiftly goes over the war parts, which is wonderful for me :-)

The narrator is a Jewish scribe living in Cairo, hired by the sultan Salah-al-din to tell his story. He tells the story in a straightforward way, without waxing lyrical or poetic. I thoroughly enjoyed the way Ali set up the story, very much in an Arabian Nights-like manner. There are stories within stories, narrators narrating other people's lives, and lively, funny anecdotes that really draw you into the story. We meet a wonderfully diverse array of characters, all of whom have a great deal to add to the story. There is a theme of love throughout the story- the love of friendship, of romance, of intellect, of lust. There are strong female characters who are difficult, at best, to truly understand; there are strong male characters who push the story along. And, at the center, there is Salah-al-din, the charismatic, the brilliant leader who brings Islam together under his tight rein and then, ultimately, loses the war to fractures within his own religion.

The book has so much to offer- not only as an Eastern viewpoint on the seemingly never-ending war of religions in the Middle East, but as a thoroughly entertaining and beautifully-written story. Highly, highly recommended.

Review: Arabian Nights

Title: Arabian Nights
Editor: Husain Haddawy
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.
# of Pages: 428

Rating: 7/10

Book Description
These stories (and stories within stories, and stories within stories within stories), told by the Princess Shahrazad under the threat of death if she ceases to amuse, first reached the West around 1700. They fired in the European imagination an appetite for the mysterious and exotic which has never left it. Collected over centuries from India, Persia, and Arabia, and ranging from vivacious erotica, animal fables, and adventure fantasies to pointed Sufi tales, the stories of The Arabian Nights provided the daily entertainment of the medieval Islamic world at the height of its glory.

The present new translation by Husain Haddawy is of the Mahdi edition, the definitive Arabic edition of a fourteenth-century Syrian manuscript in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, which is the oldest surviving version
of the tales and is considered to be the most authentic. This early version is without the embellishments and additions that appear in later Indian and Egyptian manuscripts, on which all previous English translations were based.

As I took a trip to Egypt over the new year, I thought it fitting that I should read books pertaining to the culture there. So I picked up this authoritative copy (anything by Norton *must* be authoritative, right? I can't be the only one who drools over Norton Critical Editions of classics!) from the library and took it with me for some reading.

This edition is followed by a second edition that includes the better-known stories (including Aladdin). I didn't recognize any of the stories in this edition. Granted, I didn't read every story.

I think the trouble with getting together an "authoritative text" on the Arabian Nights is that the stories were never meant to be compiled into a book and read straight through. The stories are part of a rich oral culture that involved sitting around a fire with fine musical instruments, good food, great company and a storyteller who could draw in extra details and add in any embellishments that he thought the crowd would appreciate. Meaning- you never really heard the same story twice.

All of this is very lost in a print copy. The stories begin to seem repetitive (which they wouldn't, if they were told over the course of a few years by a traveling storyteller) and the language becomes onerous to continue reading again and again.

However, the stories are a lot of fun :-) If you're interested in the Arabian Nights, I would certainly recommend this edition- Haddawy does well in his translation. But I'd also only read a story or two here and there, so that you don't become tired of it. And that way, the magic will still hit you. Or maybe, you can become the storyteller and read it aloud to someone else- it would probably be excellent in that form!