Book recommendation / Preporuka knjige: Sailing to Sarantium,Guy Gavriel Kay

Today I have a book recommendation for you. It is a novel Sailing to Sarantium by Canadian writer Guy Gavriel Kay. This was my third novel by this author, previously I had read Tigana and Song for Arbonne. Gay Gavriel Kay often creates his fantasy worlds having in mind a specific historical period. This novel, being set in a world very much akin to 6th century Mediterranean world, is no exception. Many of its characters are based on real historical figures, for example emperor Justinian I (known as a man who never sleeps) becomes Valerious II in this novel and his empress Theodora (a former courtesan turned great ruler) appears under name Aliana. Sarantium, the embodiment of culture and art in this novel, is based on Constantinople during the reign of Justinian I. This novel has a lot to offer. I'm sure that historical lovers will enjoy parallels with the actual historical period and places that appear in this book. Likewise, art lovers and artists will surely love all those meditative passages about the nature of art. This novel opens with artisan Crispin, who having lost his family in a plague has nothing to life for. His love for his craft ( he creates mosaics, a form of art in that time) is probably the only thing keeping him alive. So, when Crispin’s elderly mentor asks him to travel to Sarantium in his place to work on a royal commission, Crispin accepts knowing that this journey will surely change his life. That’s the opening of the story and I assure you, it is a very enjoyable story to read. Now, I’ll say something about the downsides of this novel. It feels unfinished, but that is due to the fact it is meant to be read with its sequel (it is a duology). In addition, female characters are a bit one dimensional despite being intelligent. You will notice that spiritual experiences happen to men and that ladies are more focused on this material world. However, it was still a fine novel. I'm sure that fantasy, art and history geeks will love this one. If you want to read by full book review you can do so here (goodreads review).

Danas za vas imam preporuku knjige, a radi se o romanu Odjedriti u Sarant kanadskoga pisaca Guy Gavriel Kaya. Ovo je moj treći roman ovoga autora, do sada sam pročitala Tiganu i Pjesmu za Arbonnu. Guy često stvara svoje svjetove fantastike imajući u umu određeni povijesno razdoblje, a ovaj roman čija se radnja događa u svijetu veoma sličnom Mediteranu šestoga stoljeća, nije nikakva iznimka. Mnogi likovi u ovom romanu su utemeljeni na stvarnim povijesnim likovima, npr.  car Justijan I Veliki (poznat kao čovjek koji nikad nije spavao) postaje Valerije II u ovom romanu, a njegova carica Teodora ( bivša kurtizana koja je postala velika vladarica) pojavljuje se se pod imenom Aliana. Sarant, oličenje kulture i umjetnosti u ovom romanu je utemeljen na Konstantipolu tijekom vladavile Justijana I. Ovaj roman ima puno za ponuditi. Ljubitelji povijesti će uživati paralele sa stvarnim povijesnim razdobljem i mjestima koja se pojavljuju u knjizi. Ljubitelji umjetnosti i umjetnici će sigurno uživati u meditativnim dijelovima o prirodi umjetnosti. Ovaj roman započinje pričom o Krispinu, koji nakon što je izgubio obitelj zbog kuge, više nema za što živjeti. Na životu ga vjerovatno drži samo njegova ljubav prema zanatu koji je u zapravo vid umjetnost (on naime pravi mozaike, ali ne u današnjom smislu riječju već u povijesnom, tako da je on zapravo umjetnik, nikako ne samo zanatlija). Tako da kada ga ostarjeli mentor zamoli da ga zamijeni na putovanju u Sarant kako bi radio na kraljevskoj narudžbi, on to prihvaća svjestan da će mu to sigurno promijeniti život. To je početak priče za koju vas uvjeravam da je jako zanimljiva za čitanje. Sada, nešto o nedostacima romana. Roman zapravo i nema pravi kraj, ali to je zato što bi se i trebao čitati s nastavkom (radi se o duologiji). Uz to, ženski likovi su malo jednodimenzionalni, čak i ako su inteligentni. Primijetiti ćete da se duhovna iskustva događaju muškarcima, a da su dame više usmjerene na ovaj materijalni svijet. Ipak, radi se o sjajnom romanu. Sigurna sam da će se svidjeti ljubiteljima fantastike, povijesti i umjetnosti. Želite li pročitati cijeli ogled ove knjige možete to učiniti ovdje (poveznica vodi na moj ogled na stranici goodreads, zasada ga nisam prevela na hrvatski. Knjigu sam također čitala u originalu, ali naravno morala sam potražiti kako izgleda hrvatsko izdanje jer jako volim naše ilustratore).

“He wanted to achieve something of surpassing beauty that would last. A creation that would mean that he--the mosaic worker Caius Crispus of Varena--had been born, and lived a life, and had come to understand a portion of the nature of the world, of what ran through and beneath the deeds of women and men in their souls and in the beauty and the pain of their short living beneath the sun.” ― Guy Gavriel Kay, Sailing to Sarantium

Sailing to Sarantium

“We worship…the powers that speak to our souls, if it seems they do. We do so knowing there is more to the world, and the half-world, and perhaps worlds beyond, than we can grasp. We always knew that. We can’t even stop children from dying, how would we presume to understand the truth of things? Behind things? Does the presence of one power deny another? [p. 176]” ― Guy Gavriel Kay, Sailing to Sarantium