I read four very different books over the past week. I can't seem to settle down to write, so I thought I'd try another round of quick reviews.
Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay
This is the fourth of his books that I've read, and it's really excellent - as good as the two Sarantium books that bowled me over earlier this year. Based on my admittedly-small sample so far, I think I'll prefer his later books to his earlier. This one was published in 2010, and that year it won the ALA award for Best Fantasy Novel. It is set in a world that mirrors the T'ang Dynasty in China. I know very little about the actual Dynasty, even its dates (according to Google, 618-906 CE). In this world, Shen Tai, the son of a famous general, has spent the two years of formal mourning for his father on a battlefield. He hasn't been fighting, but burying the thousands of bones that remain, which releases their spirits. To honor this work of mercy, a princess from his native Kitai, now exiled in marriage to a foreign ruler, bestows on him a gift: 250 Sardian horses, Heavenly Horses, the best in the world. In Kitai, where horses of any kind are all too rare, Tai is suddenly wealthy beyond compare. Even more importantly, his horses could shift the balance of power in the empire. After two years of solitude among the dead, he must leave his isolated valley for the intrigues of court. There are those who would kill him for his horses, and the first attack comes in the valley itself. Tai must find his way not just on the roads to Xinan, the capital, but also through the competing claims for his loyalty, and for those horses. This is a great story, and I am glad that Mr. Kay included some suggested reading in an afterword. I'm curious now about China in this period. I'm also looking forward to his newest book, River of Stars, which is set in the same world.
The Hell Screen, I.J. Parker
This is the fifth in a series of mysteries set in 11th-century Japan, featuring a court official named Sugawara Akitada. In the course of his duties, he is often drawn into investigating crimes, particularly murder. As this book opens, he is returning to the capital of Heian Kyo (modern-day Kyoto), after four years as the governor of a remote province in the north. He is hurrying home because his mother is dying. I have enjoyed all of the books in this series, but for a while after my mother died, I found that I didn't want to read about other people's mothers dying, so I set this book aside. (And I couldn't just skip over it because of my OCD need to read series in order.) The book actually begins with a gruesome murder of a young woman. Then we jump back to Akitada, traveling by horse, who is forced to seek shelter for the night at a Buddhist monastery. Later he learns that that the murder took place there, that same night, and he can't help asking questions, as much as it irritates Kobe, the superintendent of police. With no official assignment, waiting out his mother's illness, he is also recruited to help his brother-in-law, an official of the royal treasury, who has discovered some items are missing and fears he will be blamed. At the same time he must figure out how to help his youngest sister, their mother's care-giver for many years, who will now be free to marry and start her own family. In all of these difficulties, he is assisted as usual - when he will accept help - by his patient wife Tamako, his secretary Semei, and his retainers Genba and Toro. I like Akitada, a man of honor who always tries his best to do the right thing, though he can be awfully cranky at times. Actually, I think he and Shen Tai would find they have a lot in common. I also enjoy the setting in medieval Japan, which Ms. Parker skillfully evokes. In each book, she includes an afterword that explains something of the history and the culture of the time, and in this case suggests a couple of books for further reading. I already have the next book in this series waiting to be read.
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, Roz Chast
I know Roz Chast primarily from her cartoons in The New Yorker. Last year the magazine carried an excerpt from this book. The style of the drawings was immediately familiar, but the subject matter was far from her usual. It is a memoir of caring for her parents in their last years - or trying to care for them. This isn't a happy story of peaceful golden years. Her parents were in denial for many years about their increasing frailty, her father's mental confusion. Ms. Chast lived in Connecticut, her parents in Brooklyn, in the apartment where she had grown up, to which she returned reluctantly. She had a difficult relationship with her mother, a domineering woman given to angry outbursts she called "Blasts from Chast." I couldn't help noticing that in the family photos interspersed with Ms. Chast's drawings, she is never smiling in any taken with her mother - only with her father. In December of 2005, her mother had a bad fall and ended up hospitalized twice. Her father came to stay with her, which is when Ms. Chast realized how far his mental state had deteriorated. Though her mother came back to their apartment, it finally became clear that they could no longer live alone, even together. Ms. Chast found them a place at a retirement community near her home. She then began clearing out the apartment where they had lived for almost fifty years. At the same time, she had to deal with their declining physical health, and with the worry of how to pay for their care - with all the day-to-day anxieties and difficulties, which she discusses in vivid detail. Though I was not involved in the day-to-day care of my mother, much of this book felt familiar, including the guilty feeling that you are never doing enough. In the end, I think Ms. Chast finds a balance in remembering her life as their daughter, and the terrible ordeals of their last years. It is a hard book to read, but with moments of grace, especially at the end.
Rose Cottage, Mary Stewart
After three rather intense books, I was in the mood for something lighter, particularly while recovering from a migraine. I know that Anbolyn is planning a Mary Stewart reading week for September, but Jane's recent review of Stormy Petrel made me disinclined to wait. Rose Cottage is one of her last books, published in1997, and certainly one of her quietest. Set in 1947, it is narrated by Kate Herrick, returning to the Sunderland village of Todhall where she grew up, and where she was known as Kathy. Born to an unmarried mother, she was raised by her loving grandparents after her mother left home, to escape an aunt who hated the sinner as well as the sin. Both Kate's grandparents worked for the local squire's family at "the Hall," their Sunderland house, and in the summers on their Scottish estate. The family is now planning to covert the Hall to a hotel and to sell off Rose Cottage, where Kate's family lived. Her grandmother, comfortably settled on the Scottish estate, wants Kate to go down to the cottage to retrieve some things left behind. The most important of these are stored in a small locked box, concealed in one of the walls. Kate, widowed in the war and a bit at loose ends, is glad to do so. When she returns to Todhall, after seven years' absence, she meets old friends again and revisits familiar scenes. Not much really happens in this book, as Kate becomes Kathy again. There is a little mystery about the box and its contents, a lot of reminiscing, and a little bit of romance. It was perfect for a quiet day at home.
Now I am off to tour Hampshire by pony-carriage, with two enthusiastic Janeites in 1902. I'm also watching the 1970s drama "Emergency!" on Netflix. I used to have such a crush on Dr. Brackett!
Showing posts with label Guy Gavriel Kay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guy Gavriel Kay. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Returning to Sarantium
Lord of Emperors, Guy Gavriel Kay
This is the sequel to Sailing to Sarantium, one of the best books I've read so far this year, which will certainly be on my "favorite books of 2014" list. I had to wait until the end of the TBR Triple Dog Dare to read this one, and when I finally started it, it was with some mixed feelings. In my experience, sequels don't always live up to the promise of the first book. But my main concern was because, in the meantime, I read another of Guy Gavriel Kay's books, and I just loathed it, almost as much as I loved Sailing to Sarantium. I hated the way that the female characters existed only in relation to the male characters, while the men became friends, enemies, partner, rivals, mentors, to each other, as well as to the women, in a rich web of relationships. I counted only two conversations between female characters in the entire book, and one of those was about the heroes, thus failing the Bechdel test. I was equally irritated in that book by the frequency with which Mr. Kay used false foreshadowing and misleading clues, to make us think for example that Character X had been killed, only to reveal five or ten pages later that it was really Character Y. About the third time that happened, I began to find it annoying, and my annoyance increased with each new occurrence, until I just started leafing ahead to find out what had really happened. I finished the book with gritted teeth and immediately gave my copy away.
Though I began this book with some trepidation, I was so happy to find it just as engrossing and entertaining as the first book - a worthy sequel. It was wonderful to meet the characters again, six months later, to catch up with them and then see where the new story took them. I admit, as I started to suspect where events were heading, I began to fear for two of my favorite characters. I skipped ahead at that point, because if Mr. Kay had killed them off, I think I might have given up on his books altogether (despite the two that are still on the TBR stacks). Fortunately, they both were spared. I also admit to my own inconsistency, though, because I don't quite believe in the happy endings that he gave them either.
But that is really my only quibble with the book. I had noted in Sailing to Sarantium that the women characters lacked female friendship or support, but here they have found that, in relationships that sometimes cross social lines but feel authentic. I think Mr. Kay is very good at creating strong female characters, intelligent, forceful, active women. I know he is a major fan of Dorothy Dunnett's books, so I don't think he would mind the comparison if I say they remind me of Philippa Somerville, Gelis van Borselen, and Groa - not to mention Margaret Lennox and Queen Carlotta.
I don't want to say too much about the plot, which as in the first book concerns imperial politics, theology, liturgical art, and racing at the Hippodrome. This book actually opens outside the Sarantine Empire, in the lands ruled by the King of Bassania, to the east and south of Sarantium (standing in for our world's Persian empire). From there a doctor named Rustem travels north to the great city, ostensibly both to study and to teach, but also with a mission from his king. Like Crispin, the master mosaicist of the first book, he soon makes new friends and new enemies, and in the process he becomes enmeshed in events whose effects will reach far beyond the city walls.
The subtitle of this book is "Book Two of the Sarantine Mosaic." I think of these books as two halves of a story, and I'm sure that's how I will re-read them in the years to come. At the same time, I can't help hoping that there are more pieces of the Mosaic to come.
This is the sequel to Sailing to Sarantium, one of the best books I've read so far this year, which will certainly be on my "favorite books of 2014" list. I had to wait until the end of the TBR Triple Dog Dare to read this one, and when I finally started it, it was with some mixed feelings. In my experience, sequels don't always live up to the promise of the first book. But my main concern was because, in the meantime, I read another of Guy Gavriel Kay's books, and I just loathed it, almost as much as I loved Sailing to Sarantium. I hated the way that the female characters existed only in relation to the male characters, while the men became friends, enemies, partner, rivals, mentors, to each other, as well as to the women, in a rich web of relationships. I counted only two conversations between female characters in the entire book, and one of those was about the heroes, thus failing the Bechdel test. I was equally irritated in that book by the frequency with which Mr. Kay used false foreshadowing and misleading clues, to make us think for example that Character X had been killed, only to reveal five or ten pages later that it was really Character Y. About the third time that happened, I began to find it annoying, and my annoyance increased with each new occurrence, until I just started leafing ahead to find out what had really happened. I finished the book with gritted teeth and immediately gave my copy away.
Though I began this book with some trepidation, I was so happy to find it just as engrossing and entertaining as the first book - a worthy sequel. It was wonderful to meet the characters again, six months later, to catch up with them and then see where the new story took them. I admit, as I started to suspect where events were heading, I began to fear for two of my favorite characters. I skipped ahead at that point, because if Mr. Kay had killed them off, I think I might have given up on his books altogether (despite the two that are still on the TBR stacks). Fortunately, they both were spared. I also admit to my own inconsistency, though, because I don't quite believe in the happy endings that he gave them either.
But that is really my only quibble with the book. I had noted in Sailing to Sarantium that the women characters lacked female friendship or support, but here they have found that, in relationships that sometimes cross social lines but feel authentic. I think Mr. Kay is very good at creating strong female characters, intelligent, forceful, active women. I know he is a major fan of Dorothy Dunnett's books, so I don't think he would mind the comparison if I say they remind me of Philippa Somerville, Gelis van Borselen, and Groa - not to mention Margaret Lennox and Queen Carlotta.
I don't want to say too much about the plot, which as in the first book concerns imperial politics, theology, liturgical art, and racing at the Hippodrome. This book actually opens outside the Sarantine Empire, in the lands ruled by the King of Bassania, to the east and south of Sarantium (standing in for our world's Persian empire). From there a doctor named Rustem travels north to the great city, ostensibly both to study and to teach, but also with a mission from his king. Like Crispin, the master mosaicist of the first book, he soon makes new friends and new enemies, and in the process he becomes enmeshed in events whose effects will reach far beyond the city walls.
The subtitle of this book is "Book Two of the Sarantine Mosaic." I think of these books as two halves of a story, and I'm sure that's how I will re-read them in the years to come. At the same time, I can't help hoping that there are more pieces of the Mosaic to come.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
The glory that is Sarantium
Sailing to Sarantium, Guy Gavriel Kay
I first learned about Guy Gavriel Kay's books from the Dorothy Dunnett listservs I belong to. Mr. Kay is a fan and advocate of her books. In fact, one of his characters is considered an homage to Francis Crawford, the hero of her Lymond Chronicles. Many Dunnett readers know the blankness that comes with finishing the last of the Chronicles, and realizing that there is no more Lymond. Some go on, as I did, to look for Lymond-like characters in other authors' books, only to realize that there is no substitute for Lymond himself.
So I came to Mr. Kay's books with unrealistic expectations, and when I didn't find what I was looking for, I set them aside - for far too long. What finally convinced me to take a second look was (again) the Dunnett lists, where a subgroup has been discussing his novels for more than a year. I was also intrigued by the reviews that came up on some of my favorite blogs, such as Claire's and Helen's. All these together convinced me that it was past time to try Mr. Kay's books again. Unfortunately, they are not easy to find in bookstores, new or used. (At least with used-book stores, I tend to take that as a good sign, of people are holding on to their copies.) I found Sailing to Sarantium on the shelves at Barnes & Noble one day, and from the back cover and the first few pages, I decided this was one to try - and wow, was I right!
I saw this book described as "historical fantasy," a new term to me but one that fits perfectly. I am already a fan of the genre, from the books of Naomi Novik, Megan Whalen Turner, and Lois McMaster Bujold. The setting of this story particularly appealed to me, with Sarantium based on Byzantium, Constantinople. I know something of the history of the city, which added to the interest, and it is also a familiar setting from other books (including Dunnett's Pawn in Frankincense). In addition to the city itself, and the imperial politics playing out in it, another major element of the book is the mosaic work that brings one of the central characters, Caius Crispus, a master artisan, from the ruins of the Rhodian Empire in the west. He arrives in answer to a summons, to add his art to the great sanctuary of Holy Wisdom that the Emperor Valerius II is building. Mosaic art fascinates me, particularly the Roman and Byzantine work that has survived. A friend and I made a special pilgrimage in Italy to see the famous mosaics at Ravenna, on our history and art geeks tour of Europe after college.
I enjoyed the first few chapters of the book, which start with a "Prologue" in Sarantium, with the death of one emperor and the choosing of his successor. The city and the characters were so interesting and appealing that I didn't want to leave them behind, when the first chapter proper jumped ahead twelve years and traveled to Varena, a city in the ruins of the Rhodian Empire, where Caius Crispus is working with his partner Martinian. When the older man receives an imperial summons to Sarantium, he decides that Crispin should go in his place. After some persuasion, Crispin reluctantly agrees. Before he leaves, he visits a friend of Martinian's, an alchemist named Zoticus, who gives him advice about the journey and the city at its end, and two names that might prove helpful. He also gives Crispin a small mechanical bird, which speaks both aloud and in Crispin's mind. Zoticus tells him that the bird, which he claims is invested with a soul, will be of great help and comfort to him on his journey.
The bird, a small sparrow-like creature named Linon, is infuriated to be sent on this journey with such a companion. It is quick to complain and to insult, and for a few pages I thought that this might be too much for me. I kept picturing a Disney sidekick, like Zazu in The Lion King, and no matter how many times I told myself, "It's a magical element in a fantasy novel," it just felt wrong. As it turns out, I was wrong, so wrong. In the next couple of chapters, the part that Linon plays in the story, and what we learn of its creation, are so powerful and so moving that it left me stunned. In just a few pages I went from enjoying the book to loving it, in the way that brings out the book evangelist in me. This is my first "Oh, you have to read this" book of 2014.
I don't want to say much about the story itself, to avoid spoilers. There is a large cast of interesting and appealing characters, which Mr. Kay balances well throughout the story. It includes several strong women, and one who is stronger than she realizes; these women do not have a lot of options or power in their own right, like their historical counterparts. They also seem to lack female friends or support, which I hope they will find. Mr. Kay manages his complicated plot very effectively. At times he shows us events from two different characters' points of view, without it feeling repetitive. I found the imperial politics fascinating, as well as the religious controversy over whether the great god Jad had a son, Heladikos; whether that son was mortal or divine; and whether creating mosaics of Jad, let alone his Son, is sacrilege. The historical parallels add interest to the story, at least for me, but this isn't simply a re-telling of history in different clothes.
Before starting this book, I would advise that you have the sequel, Lord of Emperors, in hand. I didn't, and I am kicking myself that now I have to wait til April 1st and the end of the TBR challenge to find out what happens next. (Unless I can con - or convince - one of my book groups to read both - sadly unlikely.) I do have two of his other novels, eligible for the challenge, but of course what I really want is return to Sarantium. I see that Mr. Kay has written twelve novels, and I know I'll be looking for all of them.
I first learned about Guy Gavriel Kay's books from the Dorothy Dunnett listservs I belong to. Mr. Kay is a fan and advocate of her books. In fact, one of his characters is considered an homage to Francis Crawford, the hero of her Lymond Chronicles. Many Dunnett readers know the blankness that comes with finishing the last of the Chronicles, and realizing that there is no more Lymond. Some go on, as I did, to look for Lymond-like characters in other authors' books, only to realize that there is no substitute for Lymond himself.
So I came to Mr. Kay's books with unrealistic expectations, and when I didn't find what I was looking for, I set them aside - for far too long. What finally convinced me to take a second look was (again) the Dunnett lists, where a subgroup has been discussing his novels for more than a year. I was also intrigued by the reviews that came up on some of my favorite blogs, such as Claire's and Helen's. All these together convinced me that it was past time to try Mr. Kay's books again. Unfortunately, they are not easy to find in bookstores, new or used. (At least with used-book stores, I tend to take that as a good sign, of people are holding on to their copies.) I found Sailing to Sarantium on the shelves at Barnes & Noble one day, and from the back cover and the first few pages, I decided this was one to try - and wow, was I right!
I saw this book described as "historical fantasy," a new term to me but one that fits perfectly. I am already a fan of the genre, from the books of Naomi Novik, Megan Whalen Turner, and Lois McMaster Bujold. The setting of this story particularly appealed to me, with Sarantium based on Byzantium, Constantinople. I know something of the history of the city, which added to the interest, and it is also a familiar setting from other books (including Dunnett's Pawn in Frankincense). In addition to the city itself, and the imperial politics playing out in it, another major element of the book is the mosaic work that brings one of the central characters, Caius Crispus, a master artisan, from the ruins of the Rhodian Empire in the west. He arrives in answer to a summons, to add his art to the great sanctuary of Holy Wisdom that the Emperor Valerius II is building. Mosaic art fascinates me, particularly the Roman and Byzantine work that has survived. A friend and I made a special pilgrimage in Italy to see the famous mosaics at Ravenna, on our history and art geeks tour of Europe after college.
I enjoyed the first few chapters of the book, which start with a "Prologue" in Sarantium, with the death of one emperor and the choosing of his successor. The city and the characters were so interesting and appealing that I didn't want to leave them behind, when the first chapter proper jumped ahead twelve years and traveled to Varena, a city in the ruins of the Rhodian Empire, where Caius Crispus is working with his partner Martinian. When the older man receives an imperial summons to Sarantium, he decides that Crispin should go in his place. After some persuasion, Crispin reluctantly agrees. Before he leaves, he visits a friend of Martinian's, an alchemist named Zoticus, who gives him advice about the journey and the city at its end, and two names that might prove helpful. He also gives Crispin a small mechanical bird, which speaks both aloud and in Crispin's mind. Zoticus tells him that the bird, which he claims is invested with a soul, will be of great help and comfort to him on his journey.
The bird, a small sparrow-like creature named Linon, is infuriated to be sent on this journey with such a companion. It is quick to complain and to insult, and for a few pages I thought that this might be too much for me. I kept picturing a Disney sidekick, like Zazu in The Lion King, and no matter how many times I told myself, "It's a magical element in a fantasy novel," it just felt wrong. As it turns out, I was wrong, so wrong. In the next couple of chapters, the part that Linon plays in the story, and what we learn of its creation, are so powerful and so moving that it left me stunned. In just a few pages I went from enjoying the book to loving it, in the way that brings out the book evangelist in me. This is my first "Oh, you have to read this" book of 2014.
I don't want to say much about the story itself, to avoid spoilers. There is a large cast of interesting and appealing characters, which Mr. Kay balances well throughout the story. It includes several strong women, and one who is stronger than she realizes; these women do not have a lot of options or power in their own right, like their historical counterparts. They also seem to lack female friends or support, which I hope they will find. Mr. Kay manages his complicated plot very effectively. At times he shows us events from two different characters' points of view, without it feeling repetitive. I found the imperial politics fascinating, as well as the religious controversy over whether the great god Jad had a son, Heladikos; whether that son was mortal or divine; and whether creating mosaics of Jad, let alone his Son, is sacrilege. The historical parallels add interest to the story, at least for me, but this isn't simply a re-telling of history in different clothes.
Before starting this book, I would advise that you have the sequel, Lord of Emperors, in hand. I didn't, and I am kicking myself that now I have to wait til April 1st and the end of the TBR challenge to find out what happens next. (Unless I can con - or convince - one of my book groups to read both - sadly unlikely.) I do have two of his other novels, eligible for the challenge, but of course what I really want is return to Sarantium. I see that Mr. Kay has written twelve novels, and I know I'll be looking for all of them.
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