The Captive Reader

I picked up Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay late Sunday night and every minute spent not reading between then and when I finished it this evening felt like wasted time.

Kay writes historical fantasies (or, perhaps more appropriately, fantastical histories).  He has used this to explore renaissance Italy (Tigana), medieval Provence (A Song for Arbonne), Moorish Spain (The Lions of Al-Rassan), Viking incursions in Britain (The Last Light of the Sun), the Byzantine Empire (in two books- Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors), and, most recently, China’s Song dynasty (River of Stars).  Each book is meticulously researched, densely plotted, and beautifully written.  I’ve spent the last few years reading them all and now, joyously, have begun rereading.  But for me, Under Heaven, Kay’s epic based on the An Shi Rebellion during the 8^th century Tang Dynasty, is his best, most complete, most perfectly balanced work to date.

Across a sprawling empire, Kay tracks the fates of his characters: an aging emperor obsessed with escaping death; his brilliant, beautiful consort, the most influential woman in the empire; an arrogant general; an honorary princess sent to wed a barbarian; a female warrior with a tongue as sharp as her swords; and, at the heart of it all, a young man emerging from the mourning period following the death of his father into a world of ambition, corruption, and near constant danger.

Just writing that makes me want to start reading again from page one.

For anyone who has read Kay’s work, it should go without saying that his research into the period is immaculate.  The culture and values of the Tang dynasty are such an important part of the story, guiding the thoughts and actions of all the characters.  Somehow, with great artistry since even after a second reading I’m not sure how he managed it, Kay passes that strong sense of the culture on to the reader, which in turns informs our understanding of everything that passes.  Also, for history geeks (hello kindred spirits!), in his acknowledgements Kay includes detailed information on the books and experts he consulted during the writing process.

For almost six hundred pages, Kay weaves myths and superstitions, poetry and music into a story of political unrest and upheaval.  He is (always) unbelievably good a creating and sustaining tension.  Even though I had read this before and remembered it well, I still spent the last two hundred pages with my heart caught in my throat as the tension built and, inevitably, chaos erupted.

What makes this his best book though is his ability to balance that external tension with the human relationships between friends and enemies, servants and masters, brothers and sisters.  Who to trust, who to love, who to be wary of – in uncertain times these are important, life-defining questions.

It is a beautiful, complex, enthralling story and, much as I loved it the first time around, I think I love it even more now.  I can’t image a day when I would finish it and not be instantly looking forward to the next time I read it.