This is my periodic “wow, I haven’t written on this for a
while” post. Something nice and light to
give me a minor sense of accomplishment...
Recently I finished an historical fiction novel called Wine
of Satan. It was written by Laverne
Gay, who wrote only one other novel. It
told the story of the life of Bohemond, one of the major figures in the First
Crusade.
I am a fan of historical fiction, but I’ve read a couple
duds that cause me to be wary of the genre. The novel that evoked the strongest reaction
from me was set during the high Middle Ages.
Maybe it wasn’t historical fiction as much as just plain fiction, as the
story didn’t concern any actual historical figures. When I finished the book, I was so upset with
the ending that I ripped it in a few pieces and threw it away. Another one, written about the life of Henry
V, had me scratching my head at the end. On one hand, the author included a postscript,
noting all the research she did. On the
other hand, I remembered from past history classes things that contradicted the
author’s research.
Perhaps King Henry V is a special case, since much has been
written about him. The Battle of
Agincourt in 1415 was fraught with controversy then as well as now.
Still, with those historical fiction novels, I wish I could
go back into my life and reclaim the hours I spent reading them. The parts I enjoyed were not just eclipsed but
gored out of my memory by my frustrations with the books.
Enter the newest why-do-I-bother-with-this-genre: Wine of
Satan. I have no one to blame but
myself; I judged the book by its cover. It said it was a novel of the First Crusade
(hmm, interesting) and it had a cover with knights on horses (cool). The first half of the book was good, but the
second half was terrible. I hated the
ending so much that I’m tempted to burn the book in my backyard.
My main objections were two of my biggest pet peeves with
entertainment (books, TV, movies, plays, etc.):
1) Once the main characters finally went on crusade (halfway
through the book), they became very unlikeable. All of them. I kept reading, hoping for redemption. Maybe resolution! Maybe repentance! Terrible things are going on? That happens in real life. There’s mortal sin all around and the main characters
could care less? That’s a human
reaction, not unfamiliar to anybody living today. Was there any redemption, healing, or anything
positive? NO! That’s real life sometimes, I understand. I really do. When I’m reading something for fun, however, I’m
not always looking for how bad life and people can be.
2) The ending sucked. It had no resolution for one of the two main
characters and it killed off another main character, with little detail behind
it. This happens often in a TV show my
wife and I like. It’s an hour long, and
unless the guide notes it as “Part 1 of 2”, you know it will end in one hour. Just by keeping track of the clock, we know
that the episode will wrap up in, for example, the next 5 minutes. This book was much the same; there were less
than 10 pages left and I still hadn’t gotten to the ending... then the death
scene came and went in a flash. The “lack
of resolution” scene was similar. And poof,
it ended! That was it!
Maybe I’ll give other historical fiction novels a try, but
not for a while. And if anyone is in the
mood for a backyard BBQ, let me know...
