Book Club: The Lions of Al-Rassan (#8)

I am going to try something new with this post, that is starting it before I have actually finished the book. This is, in part, because it is a long and complicated book with many characters and many settings, but also because maybe if I write while I read I will have an easier time expressing what I am thinking. Or at least jot down some guidelines that I can further expound upon once I have closed the final pages.

In general, tidying up news, I am almost 2 months into the year challenge I have set for myself and I have read almost 8 books which tells me that I am keeping a fairly good pace ... I think that in order to accomplish my goal I have to read at least 4 books a month and there need to be at least 2 months where I read 5 books and things should come together quite nicely. Despite all the areas where I seem to be failing lately this is one place where I seem to be right on track and it is kind of refreshing. I think the project is also helping me to slow down and absorb what I am reading and to think at least a little bit critically about it.

As for this book, it was Karen's pick for bookclub as it is one of her favorite books. I am just shy of halfway through and I can already see why. Lions is a complex book with many characters and many landscapes all building upon one another towards the assumed climax of the book - a holy war. It is a bit of a challenge to keep everyone straight ... not only are their religious backgrounds extremely important, there are also their countries/cities of birth, their current location and their past and current allegiances to keep straight. I often find myself flipping back to the maps and charts at the beginning of the book to remind myself of relationships and locations (is Batiara South or East of Cartada?). I do find that the author is clear and concise in his character depictions - if you read carefully it is clear what each character stands for.

I also find that the religious lines are very clearly drawn. There is a bias (or at least I think there is one) towards the groups/people we are supposed to empathise with but there is also a clear explanation of who and what the other groups/other people think and stand for. It feels like everything is carefully planned and plotted and while you might not agree with anyone in particular, you can at least see where they are coming from. I appreciate these subtleties because there is nothing I hate more than thinking wow, that development came out of the blue! and then never having a satisfactory explanation provided.