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Ildefonso Falcones
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Book
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Publisher | Black Swan | ||
ISBN | 9780552776462 | ||
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Reviewer
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Ann
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Synopsis
Snared between two cultures and two loves, one man is forced to choose...
1564, the Kingdom of Granada. After years of Christian oppression, the Moors take arms and daub the white houses of Sierra Nevada with the blood of their victims.
Amidst the conflict is young Hernando, the son of an Arab woman and the Christian priest who raped her. He is despised and regularly beaten by his own step-father for his 'tainted' heritage.
Fuelled with the love of the beautiful Fatima, Hernando hatches a plan to unite the two warring faiths - and the two halves of his identity...
Review
Another huge book ! I found it only possible to read comfortably sitting at a table - are publishers deliberately trying to force readers buy Kindles ?
This aside, although this era is one of personal interest, I found the book hard to read. The first few chapters were good, but the overly gory descriptions, similarity of names leading to difficulty in remembering which side however was on, and the Barbara Cartland plot overcame the fascinating period detail. Such a shame. Eventually I found it better to go to the final chapter and work backwards but this was not, obviously, totally satisfactory.
Incidentally I bought a Hand of Fatima as a mememto of a wonderful holiday in Tunisia, I wonder how many buyers, and sellers, are aware of its historical significance ?
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