Medieval
Fiction
|
|
.
|
|
|
Cathars being expelled from Carcassonne, 1209
|
Festa
Medivale di Monselice The Art of Papermaking
Photo credit: Zyance
|
|
Trobaritz
|
|
Medieval
Book Reviews !
All
Things Medieval !
|
|
Watermark
by
Vanitha Sankaran
In fourteenth century
France, the horrific circumstances surrounding Auda's birth mark her
inside and out. Auda stands out in a society. Her
albinoism inspires
thoughts of witchery, marking a curse and marking her as someone to be
silenced. To protect her from spreading the devil's words, her
tongue
is cut out and yet, Auda finds the means to communicate, express
herself in the art of papermaking and through the written
word. She learns to read and write, a skill many medieval women
do not
have. Her father makes paper, a technology that opens up new
possibilities to those that cannot afford the expense of
parchment.
Through her father's business, Auda captures the attention of the local
vicomtesse who hires her as a scribe. In this new environment,
Auda's
world opens up. Ideas of the troubadours and especially the
trobaritz
give her new insights and indeed questions into love. Can a woman
find
true love without becoming less? Auda meets a man who exposes her
to
new religious ideas, ideas branded as dangerous. As Auda
discovers the
power within herself, the forces of the Inquisition seek to root out
all that do not conform. Her growing strength becomes a danger.
New
and unorthodox beliefs can lead to burning and death in this society, a
society intolerant of difference and unorthodoxy. In this
atmosphere
of suspicion, fear, and violence, can Auda discover true love and stand
up for herself and her ideas, empowered by her knowledge and
hopes?
Will she be able to carry on with the legacy given to her by her father
and his art?
Vanitha Sankaran's WATERMARK makes all the tensions and
excitement of
the Middle Ages come alive, combining meticulous historical research
with fictional imagination. The growing middle class, the corrupt
Church and the nobility trying to protect its own power create an
exciting background for the story. WATERMARK does not simply use
history as a backdrop for her tale but rather history and papermaking
become vital, essential, fully integrated components of the
very heart
of the story, the character's
lives and the narrative events. WATERMARK is an absolute
delight for
the medieval enthusiast for its ability to make present the vibrancy
and dynamic tensions of the time period through a character who
challenges that world. Although she does not hesitate to show the
darker sides of the time period, Vanitha Sankaran's medieval historical
fiction elucidates the tensions and underlying pressures that make the
Middle Ages exciting and much more than the inaccurate, stereotypical,
simplistic view of the medieval times as "The Dark Ages". Vanitha
Sankaran gives voice to a richer, multi-layered, active medieval world
in which ideas and technology change and inspire forces to counter
those changes.
Within this world, Auda stands out for her
courage and sense
of self. Intelligent, curious and independent, Auda is a woman
with
whom modern readers can easily identify. For feminist
medievalists,
Auda's fictional story gives voice to the possible dynamics in the
unrecorded lives of women. She rises above the difficulties
she faces to strive for something more. In a world where women are
defined by others rather than their own desires, Auda makes her own
way. She
yearns for true love that will not lessen her. She yearns for a
God
who will not treat her less for being a woman. Auda investigates
the
new technology of the times. She is an active participant, not a
victim to the forces before her. Auda's story leaves a mark in
the
heart of a reader. After reading WATERMARK, this medieval
enthusiast
eagerly awaits her next novel, a novel set in the Renaissance, but at
the same time, I eagerly encourage her to return to the Middle Ages as
a
setting in future novels because she captures Medieval times so
brilliantly in debut novel!
WATERMARK is an excellent choice for book clubs, not only for the story
itself but also the accompanying guides. Supplemental materials
in the back include an author's note about the use of history and
fictional imagination, a glossary, a chronology of important
medieval dates, a bibliographic selection for further readings in
history and medieval literature, and an author's insight section which
includes the story behind the book, a short history of papermaking, a
recipe for papermaking, and a series of questions on 30 topics to
assist book club leaders and readers to stimulate discussion and in
depth reading of the story.
Publisher: Avon
A (April 2010)
|
Book description
The daughter of a papermaker in a small French
village in the year 1320—mute from birth and forced to shun normal
society—young Auda finds solace and escape in the wonder of the written
word. Believed to be cursed by those who embrace ignorance and
superstition, Auda's very survival is a testament to the strength of
her spirit. But this is an age of Inquisition and intolerance, when
difference and defiance are punishable "sins" and new ideas are
considered damnable heresy. When darkness descends upon her world,
Auda—newly grown to womanhood—is forced to flee, setting off on a
remarkable quest to discover love and a new sense of self . . . and to
reclaim her heritage and the small glory of her father's art.
|
|
|