I wish I'd written about this last week, because it would have been the perfect book to read on Halloween and All Saints' Day.
Interestingly, the British edition of "Company of Liars" by Karen Maitland was subtitled "A Novel of the Plague." No doubt Bantam thought referring to an historical event might frighten off American readers... It's a shame, because knowing immediately that the characters are facing an invisible, inexorable enemy in the plague virus provides an important layer. (Yes, of course many readers will already realize that the time period indicates plague years -- but honestly, if the publisher doesn't even think the American audience can handle the subtitle, can the audience be expected to immediately recall when the plague hit England?)
Anyway, as I mentioned in my previous blog, I'm engaged in a writing a reference book about the medieval world. I've made a real effort to immerse myself in reading books about the era, fiction as well as nonfiction (naturally, I am not using the fiction for research!). I was thrilled t receive Maitland's novel, because I have not previously seen anything based on The Canterbury Tales.
I was even more thrilled to see that Maitland did not attempt to recreate Chaucer's plot or characters. Instead, she subtly and slowly builds a murder mystery involving her "liars:" a hideously disfigured Crusader; an oddly connected couple, the woman heavy with child; a sinister albino child; an exotic, untrustworthy huckster; and several others, all with different physical and psychic burdens that add to the ragtag caravan's troubles as they attempt to outrun the path of the plague and famine that seems unavoidable in 1348.
Unfortunately, I found Maitland's prose plodding in several chapters, so I never became swept up in the story the way I often do with a masterful novel. On reflection, I wonder if that might have been a good thing. This novel requires pacing one's self, because Maitland's strongest skill lies in showing honestly and accurately how grim life in what historians famously deem "the calamitous 14th century" was. The tales the travelers tell during their rare times of rest provide some respite, but putting Company of Liars down from time to time is not a bad idea. When you pick it back up, you'll be ready to follow Camelot, Zophiel, Rodrigo, Jofre, Narigorm, Pleasance, et al again.
The mystery may not be the most ingenious, but it doesn't need to be -- there's enough going on as the band moves further and further eastward seeking refuge. They attend a "Cripples' Wedding," experience marketplace swindling (and do more than a bit themselves), and learn about how the Domesday Book made it necessary for every serf to protect his livestock with his life.
I was intrigued to read on Maitland's web site that her knowledge of how tough her characters' lifestyle was goes more than research-deep:
"The medieval world has long held a fascination for me, but for eighteen months, I experienced the medieval lifestyle for real, in a rural village in Nigeria. I lived without running water, electricity or sanitation, bargaining for dried fish in the market place and constructing my own oven. Like our medieval ancestors, I quickly learnt that if you wanted to eat at night you had to make sure you collected firewood, water and food during daylight. It's not easy fetching water from a river by candlelight."
This isn't a novel for everyone -- but it is a novel that will reward those for whom it is right. There's an amazing ending! I'm planning to check out Maitland's other work, and I'm providing a couple of review links, too:
Marilyn Stasio, NY Times calls it "a jewel of a medieval mystery."
Eithne Farry, Marie Claire says Company of Liars "combines the story-telling traditions of The Canterbury Tales with the supernatural suspense of Kate Mosse's Sepulchre in this atmospheric tale of treachery and magic."
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