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veronica87 's review for:
Under Heaven
by Guy Gavriel Kay
"Because paths can and do fork, in ways no man or woman can ever truly grasp, for that is the way the world had been made."
Shen Tai is a young man who, for the past two years, has worked in near isolation in an effort to pay honor to his deceased father, a well-known former military commander, in a way that would’ve been meaningful to him in life. He has worked from dawn to dusk burying the bones of the dead soldiers – from both sides of the conflict – of one of his father’s last battles. He could never have known that such an act would alter the course of his life even as the Kitai empire, of which he is a loyal citizen, is set to be forever altered. Because when an unlooked for reward comes his way, his life path turns in directions he could never have foreseen.
I love the way that Kay writes books that feel like historical fiction with just a touch of fantasy. He has said that he uses the “prism of the fantastic to treat the matter of history” and no one does this quite as good as he does. His books are effortless to slip into because they feel so very much like our own world. This time around Kay invokes China’s great Tang Dynasty and the An Lushan rebellion. He does this by giving us the country of Kitai and the Imperial Court of Emperor Taizu, complete with all the behind-the-scenes machinations of courtiers and courtesans. It is a time when even the slightest misstep can give great offense, resulting in severe beatings or death. And as Tai attempts to navigate the politics that he’s been absent from for two years, we as readers are right there with him through it all.
Kay always manages to write smart, capable female characters and the women in this book are no exception. But whereas the women in, say, [b:A Song for Arbonne|104085|A Song for Arbonne|Guy Gavriel Kay|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1309212350s/104085.jpg|2498881] were given power and respect because of the society in which they lived, the women in this book live in a culture that views them as tools or as mere objects of desire. They have no overt power but they nevertheless manage to influence a great deal, often at great risk to their own lives. My only qualm with this book is that a potential love interest for Tai is a green-eyed blonde. In a world so obviously inspired by ancient China, the choice to make Tai pine for a woman who represents a western, Caucasian standard of beauty is both puzzling and annoying.
That one qualm aside, Kay continues to amaze me with the subtlety of his writing. Whereas many writers are verbose in their attempts to club readers over the head in obvious efforts to force emotional reactions, Kay subscribes to the “less is more” school of writing. He sets the scene through his skillful and efficient use of words trusting readers to read between the lines, to find the meanings in what is hinted at but left unsaid. For me, this makes for purer and more honest feelings because I don’t come away feeling emotionally manipulated.
This is now my eighth book by Guy Gavriel Kay. A few of us over at Fantasy Buddy Reads have been slowly making our way through Kay’s wonderful bibliography. I’ve loved some of his works more than others but each and every book has touched me in one way or another and I consider them all to be worthy of multiple rereads. This book is no exception. While I started out thinking that this wouldn’t end up being one of my favorite Kay books, that last 30% or so corrected that initial impression and I look forward to reading my next book by him.
"You did what you could to shape your own peace, before you crossed over to the night and left the world behind, as all men did, to be forgotten or remembered, as time or love allowed."
Shen Tai is a young man who, for the past two years, has worked in near isolation in an effort to pay honor to his deceased father, a well-known former military commander, in a way that would’ve been meaningful to him in life. He has worked from dawn to dusk burying the bones of the dead soldiers – from both sides of the conflict – of one of his father’s last battles. He could never have known that such an act would alter the course of his life even as the Kitai empire, of which he is a loyal citizen, is set to be forever altered. Because when an unlooked for reward comes his way, his life path turns in directions he could never have foreseen.
I love the way that Kay writes books that feel like historical fiction with just a touch of fantasy. He has said that he uses the “prism of the fantastic to treat the matter of history” and no one does this quite as good as he does. His books are effortless to slip into because they feel so very much like our own world. This time around Kay invokes China’s great Tang Dynasty and the An Lushan rebellion. He does this by giving us the country of Kitai and the Imperial Court of Emperor Taizu, complete with all the behind-the-scenes machinations of courtiers and courtesans. It is a time when even the slightest misstep can give great offense, resulting in severe beatings or death. And as Tai attempts to navigate the politics that he’s been absent from for two years, we as readers are right there with him through it all.
Kay always manages to write smart, capable female characters and the women in this book are no exception. But whereas the women in, say, [b:A Song for Arbonne|104085|A Song for Arbonne|Guy Gavriel Kay|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1309212350s/104085.jpg|2498881] were given power and respect because of the society in which they lived, the women in this book live in a culture that views them as tools or as mere objects of desire. They have no overt power but they nevertheless manage to influence a great deal, often at great risk to their own lives. My only qualm with this book is that a potential love interest for Tai is a green-eyed blonde. In a world so obviously inspired by ancient China, the choice to make Tai pine for a woman who represents a western, Caucasian standard of beauty is both puzzling and annoying.
That one qualm aside, Kay continues to amaze me with the subtlety of his writing. Whereas many writers are verbose in their attempts to club readers over the head in obvious efforts to force emotional reactions, Kay subscribes to the “less is more” school of writing. He sets the scene through his skillful and efficient use of words trusting readers to read between the lines, to find the meanings in what is hinted at but left unsaid. For me, this makes for purer and more honest feelings because I don’t come away feeling emotionally manipulated.
This is now my eighth book by Guy Gavriel Kay. A few of us over at Fantasy Buddy Reads have been slowly making our way through Kay’s wonderful bibliography. I’ve loved some of his works more than others but each and every book has touched me in one way or another and I consider them all to be worthy of multiple rereads. This book is no exception. While I started out thinking that this wouldn’t end up being one of my favorite Kay books, that last 30% or so corrected that initial impression and I look forward to reading my next book by him.
"You did what you could to shape your own peace, before you crossed over to the night and left the world behind, as all men did, to be forgotten or remembered, as time or love allowed."