29/04/14 Meeting

The Dice Man

Luke Rhinehart

Small turn out but a very lively meeting! We discussed the Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart. Very mixed opinions on this book I must say, ranging from "very dated and of its time" to "its stood the test of time very well!" Those of us who have completed the book were in agreement that it was far too long and lost its way at about 3/4 through. Ivan commented on the complete lack of an ending, the book seems to finish almost mid sentence. Reading through a lot of the Amazon reviews The general consensus does seem to be read 75% of it then go and read something else. 

The scores ranged from 0 to 7 with an average of 6

The pitches for this months book were as follows.

• Ivan - The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Helen - Longbourn by Jo Baker
• Jean - Life after life by Kate Atkinson 

The winning pitch was Mike's.. Lionheart by Sharon Penman

Here is an outline of the book from Bookpage.com

Sharon Kay Penman transcends beloved-author status: among lovers of historical fiction, she is cherished. Her latest offering sets out to capture the larger-than-life Richard I—crusader, king of England and member of the colorful Angevin family—and she does not disappoint.

The stage for Richard’s story is the Third Crusade, a quest to retake Jerusalem from the hands of the sultan of Egypt, Salah al-Din, called Saladin by the Westerners. As Richard embarks on this all-consuming quest in concert with the rest of Christendom, he rescues his sister, Joanna, from a precarious political position after the death of her husband and marries Berengaria, daughter of the king of Navarre. And so the two women join Richard in the Holy Land, bearing witness as the plot clambers over the highs and lows of history—scandalous political intrigue, battles won and lost and the thrills and heartaches of maintaining a life in the midst of war.

Richard’s profile in history is that of a bold, boisterous warrior-king, a character that seems almost too exaggerated to be real. Penman reaches beyond the hero, not to imbue him with flaws, but to find the man behind the legend. Penman’s Richard I is hot-blooded with incredible military prowess, but capable of being humbled and moved. His commitment to act with honor is not outsized, but real.

Richard’s spotlight, however, is very nearly stolen by his tough-minded sister and quiet, yet strong new wife, two women who become compelling characters in their own right in Penman’s hands.

Penman is often commended for writing about the medieval world without passing judgment on its characters and the value system that makes them so different from modern readers, and she does that again in Lionheart. She also succeeds at depicting the odd nature of holy war. Both Richard and Saladin, a shrewd commander famous for both might and mercy, believe they are serving God with each clash of swords, and yet each respects the other’s military skill and strategy.

The author is also known for her meticulous research; it’s as if she sees herself more as a historiographer than a novelist. Lionheart is no departure from this reputation, and the richly imagined dialogue and story are intercut with snippets from primary sources. The truth of the events makes the novel all the more fascinating and worthy of several reads.

A Bit of info about the author:

Biography

Sharon Kay Penman is the author of seven critically acclaimed historical novels: The Sunne in Splendour, Here be Dragons, Falls the Shadow, The Reckoning, When Christ and his Saints Slept, Time and Chance, and Devil’s Brood. She has also written four medieval mysteries. Her first was The Queen’s Man, the queen in question being Eleanor of Aquitaine, a finalist for an Edgar Award for Best First Mystery from the Mystery Writers of America. Her other mysteries are Cruel as the Grave, Dragon’s Lair, and Prince of Darkness. She lives in New Jersey.

Reviews for Sharon Kay Penman

"An historical novelist of the first rank."
--Publishers’ Weekly

‘Bloody and violent deaths, tearful betrayals by close relatives, dizzying shifts of power – Sharon Penman is particularly good at battles – the whole is very convincing."
--Times

"She manages to illuminate the alien shadowland of the Middle Ages and populate it with vital characters whose politics and passions are as vivid as our own."
--San Francisco Chronicle

Finally here is a link to her website.

If anyone would like me to order any copies via Quinns please let me know.

The next meeting will be Tuesday 27th May. If I get time this month I will be looking at other venues around Harborough. Any suggestions?

Jon.