Nordic or Saxon-based fantasy or historical novels, when written by those outside of the respective countries, tend to turn into a gamut of stereotypical scenarios involving ale and whore houses, lootin' and pillagin', and some booze fueled mano a mano manly combat, with some barbaric execution and torture practices thrown in for good measure. All this is supposed to exude that rugged sense of manhood and bonding and brotherhood that kept life going in the longhouses on the icy land. Instead these just present a crass, stereotypical view of life in the north. In today's post-Tolkien fantasy realm (such as Game of Thrones) where the audiences crave that "gritty, realistic" factor in their stories about heroes of bygone era, I'm happy to find a story that neither whitewashes the past, but also doesn't depend on shock value or lowbrow humor to please the reader. Instead the story moves forward through engaging dialog between characters. Sometimes the conversations help characters develop their internal compass as they grapple with decisions. Other times the dialogues are more for the reader, helping them navigate the complex ties of politics, kinship, and Nordic customs as they are happening, without resorting to a clumsy info-dump. The quasi-omniscient perspective is also used well, and it explains events according to the worldview of the person witnessing it (such as when there is a "miraculous" event), but not in a way that's pushy to the reader, but rather helps them understand the mental process of the characters better. It's also used well to introduce humor into the story, when the characters thought one way but the reader understood otherwise.As for the plot itself. I was initially interested in reading a historical novel set during the Crusades, and was grumpy to find out that this first volume takes place entirely in medieval Sweden, and mostly concerned the childhood and youth of the protagonist Arn, as well as the clan intrigues in the country before its unification. Bah, just a bunch of longboats, long names and family lineages, and drunken swordfights >.<. And it has a cast list in the beginning organized by clans and lineage. But the author introduced the complex political tangles and clan relationships and rivalries in an engaging manner. Even the main character's youth growing up in a Cistercian monastery (what I thought would be the slowest part of the story) is very interesting. The details of everyday life, the philosophical conversations, and the personality of the brothers brought the experience to life, and makes the reader identify with Arn's spiritual upbringing and the way it shaped his outlook in the base world beyond the walls. (But then I might be more enthusiastic about monastic life than most). The ultimate tension in this volume was how this young man would fare out in the world, where his values acquired from the brothers from the simple, cloistered life would come into tension with the practices of his kinsmen in matters such as having to choose between the comparative evils of strategic murder or even regicide, or risk inflicting greater harm through civil war; and through the process the character grows up and reconsiders his point of view. (A contemplative, self-searching protagonist - something bildungsroman heroes don't do enough, as they typically just rage or mope). In the next volume, I'd imagine this tension between what he learned inside the cloister will be found deficient against the reality as he encounters the much maligned Saracens; and yet he would preserve what the wise monks [despite their own prejudices] taught him about how man will ultimately be held accountable for exercising his own free will in matters of judgment.
It's an uncomplicated read. Often boring. Sometimes interesting.The extreme naivete of Arn is not my most favorite trait in a main character. While later in the story he has a more 'in the world but not of the world' quality that stems from his religious upbringing, it wasn't enough to make up for the earlier naive innocence that annoyed me so much.The characters had no real depth for me. They haven't been fleshed out to real people, just distant foreign historical figures thrown into a story. I did like Arn's mom, though how she magically seems to make money and be innovative with everything she does, seems a bit much at times. The best part of the book is that the Scandinavian history is very clear. It's not just another medieval story that could technically be set anywhere, this one is very involved with it's backdrop. I think I would prefer a non-fiction work from this author though. His mix of too much fact and not enough story didn't work in this fiction setting, though I do really like the history, the location and the era.The writing comes across as very simple, childish and choppy throughout. I'm not sure if this is from the translation alone or has been carried through from the original text.The author has tried to create a story from medieval times, not just of medieval times and I appreciate that, but it didn't catch my imagination enough to read the next volume.
What do You think about The Road To Jerusalem (2002)?
أربع أشهر من القراءة كانت هي الفترة التي استغرقها هذا الكتاب لأنهي قرائته رغم انه لا يتجاوز ال 400 صفحة - أقل قليلا - أي أنه بحطجم أي كتاب عادي آخر أقرأه ، لكن هذا الكتاب كان مرهقا فعلا.ينتمي الكتاب الى أدب الملاحم ، الذي لم أستسغه في أحد الأيام ، ورغم اسماء الاماكن والاشخاص المعقدة والكثيرة ، وفحوى الصراع السياسي الذي لم استطع كشف اغواره جدا ، والذي ويقف حائلا بعض الشيء بيني وبين الكتاب ، لكن المؤلف استطاع ان يقنعني بطريقة -لا أعلمها حتى اللحظة - ، الى العودة الى الكتاب في كل مرة أتركه فيها ..والغريب ان الكتاب كان يتسكل في اللاوعي الخاص بي ، وكأنه فيلم سينما ، بطيء الحركة ، يعرض بكل هدوء وثقة في ثنايا عقلي ..أكثر ما جعلني مصرة على قراءة الكتاب ، هو أن الكاتب يكتب عن الحروب الصليبية من وجهة نظر الصليبين - وهو ما افترضته من العنوان - لكنه وان لم يكن قد وصل الى هذه المرحلة من الامر في ثلاثيته وانهى الكتاب دون ان يصل ارن البطل الى القدس حتى ، لكنه اسطتاع نقلي الى جو اروويا في ذلك العصر.دائما ما قيل لنا ان اوروبا في ذلك العصر كانت تغرق بالظلام ، والحروب ، و الامر صحيح ، ولكن يبدو انني كنت بحاجة الى سماع تفصيلات الاخر ، ما يرويه تاريخهم هم لا تاريخنا نحن .استمتعت جدا في الكتاب .. واحد من اكثر الكتب المرهقة التي قرأتها في حياتي :) وأ‘تقد ان قرائته يجب أن تكون فرض عين على كل قارىء في الوطن العربي .. ربما لا بد من العودة الى تاريخهم بروايتهم هم أيضا ! .. ليس من الضرورة ان نلتزم برؤية واحدة للأمر .. متشوقة جدا لقراءة بقية السلسلة ..
—ala'
A deep, penetrating look into the mindset of early Crusades-era Christians in Scandinavia. This is the first of the famed Crusader Trilogy, and really focuses on Arn as a child, complete with a major explanation of the Gotland political and religious machinations of his mother before he was born. The entire book gives a deep, penetrating, and frank view of the people and culture and attitudes of these Scandinavians. That's really what it's about. That, and an equally exhaustive explanation of why Arn grows to be the man he does. Growing to manhood in a monastery and the worldview that is hammered into him with such force (to put it mildly) I found unpleasant to read, being a non-religious sort myself. It was necessary to show Arn's awkward introduction to the real world, however. Overall, I found the elements of Arn's personal story quite predictable, but this book really doesn't seem to be about Arn, so much as painting a fully realized, nuanced portrait into his world. In that, it achieves fully.
—Brian Bruns
A lovely book. Unlike some other reviewers, I found the distinctive writing style to be quite delightful. Guillou can move effortlessly from the point of view of the naïve Arn, to that of a timid mother in law, to a wise priest, to a calculating nobleman, all in the space of a few pages. It must be admitted that the character of Arn seems almost drawn from a fairy tale, but the encounter of such a character with the (historically accurate) political complexity and occasional brutality of medieval Scandinavia proves to be highly entertaining. I very much enjoyed rooting for Arn while at the same time laughing at his naïveté, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series when his newfound knowledge of the real world will no doubt continue to transform him.
—Dan Ryder
