Company of Liars by Karen Maitland Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Company of Liars
Book Review: Engaging Characters, Rivetting Story
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I was intrigued by the premise of this novel so decided to give it a try.
The original Canterbury Tales was a book I slogged through in school. Not to diminish the original, but if I had been given this version to read instead I would have enjoyed it much more.
A modern 're-imagining' of the classic tale, it still contains the great characters, back-stories and interplay that made the original famous, but updates the prose and setting to one that is more engaging and easier to read in modern times. Historical fiction fans should find a lot to enjoy here and even fans of fantasy and mild horror. I found the tale to be quite surreal and the imagery fantastic (though I had my fill of mud by the end of it). All of the nine main characters had interesting stories to tell, and the narration by the peddler Camelot was lively.
The book relies heavily on suspense to keep the pages turning and for the most part I was not disappointed. I did see the ending coming but it didn't ruin the conclusion for me. I enjoyed (if that is the correct word for the setting of Black Plague medieval England) the gritty, eerie journey with these misfit characters as they sought to outrun that which could not be left behind, and I was sorry when the last page was turned. they are not necessarily people I'd want as friends but they made for good companions along the way. Karen Maitland did an outstanding job here and I look forward to her novel The Owl Killers coming in September '09.
Book Review: Engrossing Read
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Firstly: whichever marketing "genius" decided to promote this book as a retelling of Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" should be publicly humiliated. After reading the first chapter of the book, the reader, especially if he or she has even the slightest knowledge of Chaucer's classic, will clearly see that, aside from the fact that this book takes place in the Middle Ages in England, and a group of strangers wind up traveling together (towards completely different locations) telling each other the occasional tale, "Company of Liars" has nothing to do with Chaucer and his stories. Trying to push this circle into an ancient square only does "Company of Liars" a disservice. It deserves to stand on its own two feet.
Having gotten that out of the way, I loved reading "Company of Liars." Karen Maitland does an excellent job of bringing us into the world of the Black Death and our heroes, nine strangers who band together in an attempt to outrun the plague. Each character, a Camelot (our narrator), a master musician and his pupil, a magician, a journeyman painter and his pregnant wife, a crippled storyteller, and an extremely odd runecasting child, are all wonderfully fleshed out and unique. Each has an extreme secret they hold close to their breast, and as the story progresses they are somehow inspired by circumstance (don't want to spoil too much) to reveal their secret, sometimes clandestinely, right before their mysterious deaths. And along they way they are hounded by a never-seen wolf who is tracking them, haunting them with cries in the night.
At first I wasn't sure if I would like the book. I had once taken a nightmare of a class in university where we read Chaucer in the original (hence my admonition at the start of this review against the unnamed marketer), nor do I have much interest in the period of time in which the story takes place. But I could not help but be enchanted by the wonderful writing and how Maitland subtly encourages reading with her glimpses of mystery that inspires the reader to wonder what secret a character is keeping.
Book Review: Exceptional. A tragedy in the marketing...
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Why a tragedy in marketing? Because this is being offered as a "retelling" of the Canterbury Tales; oh how far from the truth; not even the "Company of Liars", the nine pilgrims, could present a tale so bold and shocking as this. There are commonalities of travelers and tales and time period shared with Chaucer's work, but the rest is the making, nay, the genius of writer Karen Maitland. She has written a taut and suspensful read full of fear, lies, half-truths told and untold, mystery, mayhem, murder and witchcraft; a tale of suspense and unexpected twists that can only be lauded as genius.
The tale is told, with the exception of the Prologue, in first person past tense by a camelot, a seller of charms, "holy relics", and, as the camelot states it, "hope"; for hope is all that is left in the midst of the lawless times of the pestilence, the plague that ravaged Europe in the 14th century. We don't learn the camelot's name until the end of the book, one of the 'shockers' that make this book so exceptional. Our story teller is simply known as Camelot.
The tale told is that of a group of nine people who are running from the plague, attempting to move north and away from the sweeping curse of disease. Other forces push the pilgrims, fear of attack from a beast that haunts their path (I don't feel this is a spoiler as the wolf is clearly displayed on the cover of the book, to what extent the wolf affects the pilgrimage, and this tale, I shall leave to the reader), fear of revenge, fear of each of the nine pilgrims and the reasons for their life on the road. It is not just the plague that drives our 'company' and the lies they harbor are the meat of this brilliant tale of betrayal, lust, greed, heresy, witches, werewolves, hatred and love.
Join the pilgrimage and be prepared to be shocked as each story is told, each lie revealed. There are hidden truths, those that I would not consider lies, that are even more shocking. But the book is a glimpse in to the worst part of the dark ages and the sad truth of what people will do when faced with the frighfully bold lies that all tell; when faced with death, men will do almost anything to stay alive, and when faced with the fear of death, men will say almost anything to save their life for fear of death. All of this is so clearly intimated in Maitland's exceptional telling of life in the bitterest of times.
Our pilgrims are Camelot, the storyteller, Narigorm, a child, an albino diviner who reads runes, sees future, yet carries an even more menacing secret, Rodrigo and Jofre, musicians, master and pupil, who follow Camelot (the eventual unelected leader of the ragtag bunch) as they know not how to live life as travelers, Zophriel, a magician whose name means 'God's spy' (imagine the mystery that lies there), Osmond and Adela, young marrieds, pregnant and running, Cygnus, a man who has one arm and the wing of a swan where his other arm should be, and Pleasence, a nurse-maid who cares for young Narigorm upon their arrival in the group.
Each in the group, as the cover tells us, carries a secret (and we're not talking secrets like "I stole a dollar from my mother when I was young) that may very well cost them their life, their sanity or both. But, again, as the cover asks, "Who is the liar?"; this is the driving force behind this tale and what truly seperates this story from that of any "reinterpretation" of Chaucer's Tales. No, my friends, this is much more than a simple retelling of an old, stale, tale. This is an amazing story that shares a few common facts with Chaucer's. But, unlike Chaucer's (granted groundbreaking, but not spellbinding) work, this is a story that shook me to the core; from the first page to the final sentence, I was caught in one of the most gripping tales I have read in a long, long time. This is a book for the ages, may it remain a mainstay of readers for months and years to come; it is nothing short of astonishing.
Maitland also provides historical notes that are enlightening to any that know little about the horrific middle ages and the plague itself. These notes are concise and cover any topic that may be misunderstood by a passing reader that does not know their dark ages history (I study the middle ages for a novel that I am writing, and these notes are spot on). A brief, perhaps a bit lacking in volume, glossary of terms is provided also, but between the historical notes and the glossary, you will get the point. ***A suggestion: it may be a good idea for any reader that is not well-versed in the middle ages to read the notes and the glossary before reading the book as it provides ample detail and enlightening facts about the times in which this tale takes place.
Enjoy!!!
Book Review: Fabulous storytelling!
Summary: 5 Stars
There's not a better way to end the year of great reads in 2008 than to end it with Karen Maitland's first book, Company of Liars. This book has everything: love, death, friendship, witchcraft, deception...it's a little historical fiction mixed with a little fantasy rolled in to one yummy nugget of a novel.
The plot was excellent, the storytelling was just amazing and the characters are ones you are not soon to forget. This is one of those that stay with you a while. I find myself missing Camelot the most.
My favorite quote: "Home is the place you return to when you have finally lost your soul. Home is the place where life is born, not the place of your birth, but the place where you seek rebirth". - Camelot
I recommend Company of Liars to anyone who appreciates good storytelling.
Amy Says: 5 / 5
Book Review: Fascinating look at dark and nasty times
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Don't expect the Canterbury Tales. The publisher's attempt to market this book as some sort of retelling of the Tales is off-target. But do expect plenty of: Top-notch storytelling; well-developed characterization; suspense and supernatural elements; vivid description of the ugliness and intensely dehumanizing challenges of life in the Dark Ages; a stunning realization of how truly helpless Western civilization was in the face of a plague because of a complete lack of medical knowledge. It's a fast and fascinating read.