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A review by nooralshanti
The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay
2.0
This book was extremely difficult for me to get through the second time. I read it once - many years ago - and I remember that I had some issues with it, but the ending, the emotions the ending evoked, were somehow worth it. I'm not necessarily sure that's the case any more on this second reading.
Lions of Al-Rassan was written to act as a sort of lament for the world of Al-Rassan (Al-Andalus) and to show its ending and how some characters from all three faiths dealt with that ending. The problem is that this lament contained no hint of understanding of what made Al-Andalus so great. It, instead, projected a kind of orientalist view of Al-Andalus lamenting the beauty of its castles and marble, without understanding its people, the people that built and inhabited it. And at the same time, a modern day "decadent and secular" lifestyle was projected onto all the main characters to the point where they all sounded like one person who comes from some modern day artsy lifestyle rather than actual characters from the time period being represented. More time was spent describing what people did in bed than describing the actual cities and world that was supposed to be lamented.
It's a shame. I was hoping to be able to enjoy it and appreciate its ending this second time, but I just couldn't. Especially when the characters had been so botched as to appear the same and agree with each other completely, but, because history they somehow felt compelled to do stupid things which they acknowledges were wrong and mindless and fight each other for no apparent reason.
Anyway, after slogging through this book a second time I would recommend you skip it.
Lions of Al-Rassan was written to act as a sort of lament for the world of Al-Rassan (Al-Andalus) and to show its ending and how some characters from all three faiths dealt with that ending. The problem is that this lament contained no hint of understanding of what made Al-Andalus so great. It, instead, projected a kind of orientalist view of Al-Andalus lamenting the beauty of its castles and marble, without understanding its people, the people that built and inhabited it. And at the same time, a modern day "decadent and secular" lifestyle was projected onto all the main characters to the point where they all sounded like one person who comes from some modern day artsy lifestyle rather than actual characters from the time period being represented. More time was spent describing what people did in bed than describing the actual cities and world that was supposed to be lamented.
It's a shame. I was hoping to be able to enjoy it and appreciate its ending this second time, but I just couldn't. Especially when the characters had been so botched as to appear the same and agree with each other completely, but, because history they somehow felt compelled to do stupid things which they acknowledges were wrong and mindless and fight each other for no apparent reason.
Anyway, after slogging through this book a second time I would recommend you skip it.