It is good that I am reading this during a period of curfew as it is one which needs a slower pace to take it all in.
Set in Scotland just after the birth of Mary Queen of Scotland the era is marked with violence of an unimaginable kind. Enmities and grudges are carried on for centuries over generations and nothing seems to be forgotton - not the smallest slight.
All Mintie wanted was to find out who her father's murderer was and to seek revenge for it. To also get back his belongings and his horse from whoever murdered him. What she did not envisage was bringing on a time of sheer intermittent warfare between two sides with no signs of stopping. In her search for avenging the death of her father Mintie herself lost so much of herself, her spirit and her youth.
The sense of belonging to a clan and that the clan reigned supreme was apparent because it was the clan and the family you belonged to which gave you support, succor and protection. Lose it and you are done for. There was no chance of survival if you were alone.
This is good for readers of historical fiction but there is nothing light in this book. It is all quite heavy stuff and you need time to assimilate it all.
Sent by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Canelo.
P S Going back to the current situation, the curfew has been relaxed for some districts in Sri Lanka but not in others. We come into the other category! but though curfew relaxed it is reimposed every night at 8 pm till the next morning. There is no travelling between districts other than for exceptional purposes and permission very rarely given. Quarantine is strictly enforced and for the very very rare flight that comes in (mainly students returning home) they have to be quarantined in government determined places under army control. This is because we had some foolish people trying to escape (and they did) from the airport prior to being taken for quarantine. This resulted in several cases of the virus appearing in pockets here and there, all traced back to what we call foreign returnees! Not very popular with the local populace after those antics.
I think I might like this--but at some point in the future. I really like the setting and time period.
ReplyDeleteI just heard our Governor is planning to start re-opening some businesses throughout the state. I think that will make a lot of business owners happy. I think it's important to remain cautious though. I hope people don't take this a sign it should be business as usual. I still worry it's too soon, to be honest. Our numbers are still rising, even if not as quickly as initially expected. That could change so easily.