Company of Liars by Karen Maitland Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Company of Liars
Book Review: Better than average
Summary: 3 Stars
First of all, anyone referring even remotely to Chaucer and this novel should be shot on sight, or at least mocked for their complete and utter ignorance. But that's their ignorance and I won't hold that against Maitland.
This book took a while to warm up--people just drifted around with no real purpose. I could extend benefit of the doubt and say that aimlessness was part of the gestalt Maitland was going for, but when you're in the early pages of a novel, you can gestalt a reader right into another book!
The lies everyone tells, the secrets they conceal, however, are neither particularly scandalous nor shocking. Meaning that most of what the characters have to hide really wouldn't have been that uncommon back then, much less to our Jerry Springer hardened selves. As well, any reader with a moderately functioning brain has already figured out the secrets well before revelation, so when the Big Moment comes, I found myself saying, `What? That's *all*?!!'
She does create a credible and nerve-stressing vision of what it might have felt like to be alive in the first days of the Black Death, and there are some quite lyrical passages.
On the other hand, she blows all of her historical credibility when she refers to an `Anglo-Saxon text' the Havamal. Havamal is in Old Norse. Even the title, 'Havamal' is Old Norse. Which is an entirely different fish. She makes a long apologia for any slips she might have made, arguing that historical fiction should be able to bridge a gap between period and reader, which explains many of her anachronisms, but her lack of awareness of this simple language fact really made me reconsider the trust I'd placed in her research--you can learn about Havamal by hitting up Wikipedia, for heaven's sake! (To be honest, I read this book searching for something to have my college students read in the spring, and this sloppiness has made me reconsider that impulse.)
The end was also a bit of a disappointment. Without giving too much away, I will say, think bad `70s horror flick. Very cheezy. As a reader, I want a better 'payoff' for having dragged myself through this misery.
It was a good read, once I got into it, and much better than a lot of stuff on the market. It's probably about 80% authentic to medieval scholarship's current views of that era, and does cover some deep themes like the nature of home, hope and truth, which elevates it beyond your usual offering. Still, if you're looking for a gripping thriller, or anything vaguely Chaucer, or if you're a historical fiction buff who *hates* bad research, you might hold off on this one.
Book Review: Certain Death
Summary: 4 Stars
Nine strangers join together for safety to travel across England in an attempt to outrun the "pestilence" of 1348. But the plague isn't the only thing that promises certain death for a number of this party. Something else is following them, causing each to reveal a lifelong secret right before his or her death. Interspersed with the travelers' tales, much as Chaucers' pilgrims would have told on such a journey, this book will keep you reading. Well written.Book Review: Company of Liars
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This book was not what I expected. The publisher states that it is a "reinterpretation of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales," but I don't think that's accurate. Company of Liars is part mystery, part historical fiction and large chunk Gothic thriller. It's the story of nine people traveling through England in an attempt to outrun the Plague. Each character, though, has more to fear than only the Plague. And the way Narigorm, a child with a gift for reading Runes, plays on these fears is very disturbing- but makes for a page-turning read.
I enjoyed reading this book at the start, but I think it got bogged down in the second half. Many of the characters were very difficult to like, and I personally don't enjoy reading 250 pages of almost pure bickering amongst people. But the plot is compelling and the stories within the story are entertaining, and overall, I enjoyed the book.
Book Review: Company of Liars could find company on your bookshelf.
Summary: 4 Stars
Let's get something out of the way first: despite how this book has been advertised, this is not a retelling of the Canterbury Tales. It is a good thing that I'm fond of Medieval stories and historical fiction in general, or I may have been disappointed. If I had selected the book solely on that basis, I may well have been very disappointed. The characters are not the same (well, there is a storyteller, but there are no nuns, reeves, knights, millers, etc., etc., and certainly no Wife of Bath), and although they are initially heading for a religious site, it has more to do with the site's location and prospects for employment than any sort of pilgrimage.
As for what the story is, it is a well-told traveling tale set in 1348 during the onset of the Plague. It follows a slowly-growing band of travelers and itinerants, who decide to head to the colder, protected north in an attempt to outrun the pestilence. The story is narrated by a camelot, or seller of religious relics, around whom gather a motley assortment of people such as a pair of musicians, a magician, a storyteller, a nurse, a newlywed couple, and a strange little girl. And all of these people have secrets, dark secrets in some cases, that bring violence down upon them.
The sense of fear and urgency that permeates the tale is perfect and makes the novel very hard to put down. To make the fear of the Plague fresh, to help along the understanding of just how desperate people were to try anything in their ignorance is very impressive. I loved the double sense of doom hanging over the company -- both from fear of the disease and their own lies.
There was, perhaps, a bit too much of the supernatural. I tend to prefer clearer divisions of fantasy and historical fiction, so the credence given here to rune reading, fortune telling, and even witchcraft makes me a bit uncomfortable. I've never like the idea of giving witch-burning any sense of legitimacy. Furthermore, as a rather skeptical person who desires accuracy from her historical fiction, it simply isn't to my tastes.
However, the other aspects of the story struck me as remarkably well-researched and interesting. Perhaps the narrator's attitude towards deviance is a little soft for a middle ages character, even a character with personal dark secrets, but, frankly, a novel built entirely on Medieval sensibilities would probably be difficult to read. Most of the other characters and situations were true enough to the times, though, which is good.
Overall, it's a great novel for anyone who loves historical fiction, medieval history, and mysteries, which is quite a good chunk of people!
Book Review: Company of Mediocre
Summary: 3 Stars
Conceptually innovative, Company of Liars adds a fresh twist onto a classic idea. Maitland seems to have done a bit of research for this one, as her descriptions of 14th century England are both accurate and slightly disturbing. The drama is centered around nine people, all of whom seem to be quite strange, who have become a loosely tied-together party attempting to flee the Plague. Making them quite believable, each of the characters is not completely upfront and forthright with the others, as they all have their own skeletons in the closet.
Though Company of Liars does present a provocative idea, the execution of it seems lackluster in comparison. Not to say that it is horrible, for it most certainly is not, but it does give off the sense that it most certainly could have been better. It gives off the sense that Maitland most definitely could have pulled off a superior job. Company of Liars is quite reminiscent of the smart underachiever that was in your classes in high school, the one that contained so much potential but never actually amounted to anything; that does not stop the slacker from making class a little more entertaining with the unpredictability that he or she brings to class, however.