Novel set in USA, VIETNAM and JAPAN
Historical novel set in Granada
22nd August 2018
The Prisoner of Thiago by Jamie D’Antioc, historical novel set in Granada.
It is the turn of the sixteenth century and the Muslim population of Andalusia are having a hard time under an extremely harsh Christian regime. The Muslims of Granada, in particular, are keeping their heads down, governed as they are by the fanatical and ruthless Bishop Thiago and his military force, the Santa Hermandades. Zaira, a young Muslim girl with more spirit than sense is not, however, keeping her head down despite her family’s repeated warnings and, inevitably, she gets caught up in an uprising and is captured by Bishop Thiago.
Fascinated by her face and her courage in equal measure, Thiago spares her from execution – the fate of most of the rebels – and instead condemns her to slavery in his home, whilst he oversees her conversion to Christianity. Life in the bishop’s opulent house is lonely and frightening for Zaira – none of the other servants speak to her, for she is a Morisco (the derogatory label the Christians have assigned to Muslims) and hence beneath contempt. She is watched over by Gael, Thiago’s pet thug and the other-worldly and sinister Sister Magdalena. Zaira’s spirit isn’t so easily broken, however, and she discovers that her position in the Bishop’s household gives her a unique opportunity to help her people in their struggle to resist the oppressive regime.
It is evident that D’Antioc has done his research and this is certainly a well written and an engaging enough tale, but it would have benefitted from a good pruning. It’s probably at least a hundred pages too long. There are some very pacy, exciting passages – the attack on the madrasa is particularly thrilling – but, once Zaira is imprisoned in the Bishop’s house, the tale gets tedious. The characterisation, too, is a tad weak with a definite tendency towards caricature, Thiago and Gael particularly, although Zaira is more well-rounded and believable. D’Antioc has a tendency to labour a point, also. He clearly intends the reader to see the parallels between the treatment of the Muslims in this period and the treatment of the Jewish people centuries later but I’m certain most readers could have grasped that without the rather obvious devices he employs.
The Prisoner of Thiago is set in Granada and the opening section gives the reader some enticing glimpses into Granada at the turn of the sixteenth century, but this is all too brief unfortunately and, once Zaira, our narrator, is incarcerated in Thiago’s house, we see nothing much more than the damp stone passages she sneaks about as she eavesdrops on Thiago’s scheming.
On the positive side, this is a straightforward, slightly-old-fashioned story, which has something for everyone – there’s plenty of action, a good dollop of romance and if you’re a lover of a good bloodbath, then this is definitely the novel for you.
Ellen for the TripFiction Team
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