Company of Liars by Karen Maitland Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Company of Liars
Book Review: For Fans of the Middle Ages
Summary: 3 Stars
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While definitely not for everyone, Company of Liars is an intriguing tale set in a time long gone. The author succeeds in bringing to life the late Middle Ages, an era that legend would have us believe was dark and violent, and rife with superstition, magic and disease.
Author Karen Maitland supplements her story with historical notes and a glossary of Medieval terms, which itself makes for an interesting read. In addition, the book has several fascinating twists that will thrill readers.
Recommended for those interested in period pieces from this time.
Book Review: Good train book - but not great literature
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Admittedly, few writers of any century will be competition for the brilliance of Geoffrey Chaucer, but my own disappointment in this work undoubtedly stemmed, in part, from its being advertised as similar to the Canterbury Tales. It is interesting enough, has a medieval flavour, and undoubtedly would appeal to those who are interested in psychology and the dark side of human nature. Those looking for the variety of characterisations, beautiful language, and combinations of humour, wry commentary, and so forth which Chaucer's work so vividly contained will be quite unlikely to find much of that here.
In the essence, the plot is one of those in a life threatening, devastating situation, who reveal dark secrets of their own as they seek a means of survival. Though Chaucer's pilgrims, with very few exceptions, are hardly models of religious excellence, there always is a flavour of genuine devotion of some sort - where the pilgrims here are purely a company of liars (as the title aptly expresses.) The characters are interesting enough but bleak - there is no cheeky Wife of Bath, Miller to make one howl with bawdy laughter, Knight to keep one fascinated with a skilful tale.
The historical elements are enticing enough, though, as one with a passion for study of the Middle Ages, I found only a limited flavour. The author indeed captures the dark side of human nature, focussed on sheer survival, greed, and horrid past experiences. Yet these are not counterbalanced with gaiety or humour - or even with the wry "here's the perfect lady who thinks an anti Semitic slander is devotional" of Chaucer's romantic Prioress.
Book Review: Great Historical Fiction
Summary: 4 Stars
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As a history teacher I am a sucker for good historical fiction. This was good historical fiction. It was refreshing to read a realistic look at the Middle "dark" ages that was not epic fantasy. The book had good atmosphere and setting and really showed why the European middle ages were "dark." The end of the book was interesting too.Book Review: History is mystery
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Nine hapless, homeless people grudgingly band together in their quest to outrun the "pestilence" as well as their pasts. Mix in disfigurement, fear, hidden truths, famine, and a heavy dose of superstition, and you've got a novel that is part historical novel and part mystery. Author Maitland, writing of course for the modern reader, does a creditable job injecting accuracy in detail and ambiance, and her characters fairly jump off the page. Nine different motives, some soothsaying, and a series of ominous deaths keep the pages turning, and Xanthus the spunky horse provides some relief in this dark tale.
Recommended to those who enjoy an intelligently written story set in medieval times.
Book Review: I really wanted to like this book...
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I have more than a passing interest in medieval England, and frankly I judged, or at least selected, this book by its cover (kudos to the designer). Alas, it's a not terribly well written hash of "historical" fiction and gothic thriller, salted with the supernatural, but with a pervasive flavor of modern sensibilities.
The narrator is a fellow horrible to behold, with a livid scar and only one eye, but apart from that he's like an actor who just can't stay in character--for one thing, he's anachronistically tolerant of an amazing variety of religious and sexual variants from the norm. His fellow travellers are an equally unconvincing lot. They're all modern personalities dressed up in medieval clothes. There's a sprinkling of "authentic" phrases ("raising the hue and cry" gets a LOT of use), but I just can't imagine any of these characters actually living in medieval England. What's more, I wouldn't care about most of them even if the setting were brilliant. 2.5 stars, I'm afraid... but I will look up her first novel, which was shortlisted for "best first novel" in the UK.
For a few examples of historical fiction done right:
Medieval England: Doctor Mirabilis, by James Blish (alas, out of print), is a fabulous work of historical fiction about Roger Bacon, the first "scientist".
Elizabethan England: Nothing Like the Sun and A Dead Man in Deptford, by Anthony Burgess, imagines Shakespeare's love life and Christopher Marlowe's short life and brutish death.
Ancient Greece: Just about anything by Mary Renault. That woman surely spent many incarnations in Hellas, Crete, and Macedonia.
Roman Empire: I, Claudius, by Robert Graves, is deservedly a classic. The DVDs are good, but not as good as the book.
Egypt, around the same time: Soldier of Sidon, by Gene Wolfe, tells the story of Latro, a mercenary soldier travelling in Egypt. The hook? Latro is brain-damaged--intelligent and aware, but completely lacking long-term memory. Each day starts a new life for him. Wolfe, an acclaimed SF writer, handles the supernatural with a deft hand.
Well, that was a digression! Sorry, but I'd say--if you're looking for a well-written historical novel, try one of those, and give Company of Liars a pass.