Fictional Saga/ Romance
15th century
Al-Andalus,
Spain
This is the
third book in the Anthems of Al-Andalus series. The narrative is detailed, nuanced
and sensual and some of the descriptive passages are beautiful. The author has
done a marvellous job of researching such difficult subjects as medicine and
surgery, cannon and warfare in the period. It’s both a love story and a war
story set in the era of Isabella and Fernando’s (Ferdinand) war to win the
Moorish sultanate for Spain and the rise of the Inquisition. There is plenty of
palace intrigue, bedroom antics and battlefield drama in this well told tale.
The
protagonists are Danah, and the ‘Falcon Brothers’, Yusef and Umar. Danah is a
budding yet talented physician. Not altogether approving of her vocation, her
parents want her to marry if she is to continue her studies. Their choice is
perfect: a young and handsome surgeon whom she likes well enough. The
problem is she has already briefly met Yusef and each has fallen in love with
the other, though neither knows it.
Meanwhile at
the palace, the Sultan has fallen madly in love with a concubine who has him in
the palm of her hand, wrapped around her little finger and dancing to her tune.
Upon becoming pregnant, she persuades him to banish his first wife and heir and
marry her, setting the scene for a factional war in Granada itself.
I personally found some of the
love story a little slow in places. To begin with it is portrayed as love at first
sight, and – call me unromantic – I just don’t find that credible. When Yusef
is wounded he comes under Danah’s care and that’s when the tedium sets in – the
looks, the stolen touches, the agonising because she is now betrothed to
another man went on too long before the consummation. It is a long book and
could have been better with some of this repetitive element cut. Danah has a temper and
Yusef spends a period feeling sorry for himself and the other characters who populate this part of the story line gush over them
a little too much. They all would have benefited from a few flaws.
We also meet
the man we know as Christopher Columbus, although it’s hard to know why since
he had no part to play in any plot.
The other story
lines, which have a grand sweep, were far more compelling and moved along at a much better pace. The characters were more interesting than Danah and Yusef because
they were flawed – actually some were
downright wicked.
On the whole I
enjoyed the book, and to be fair many readers will thoroughly enjoy the ‘romance’ element.
© Susan
Appleyard
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