Tigana

I just finished reading Tigana today and I must say that I loved it. The first chapter starts very slowly. But I slogged through it, and by the time I was a few chapters in I was totally hooked. The story builds slowly, but it does build, and by the last chapter of the book I could hardly breathe because I was so eager to find out what happened. The story is not predictable. I like complex stories like this that take lots of twists and turns, and contain significant surpises. I also like books like this that mostly deal with shades of grey instead of black and white, because they make you think. Often while reading Tigana I had to put the book down to think for a few moments if a character had been justified for doing something. I felt every bit as much sympathy for Brandin and Dianora, because their deplorable actions were done with love in mind, as I felt for Alessan and his group. This is like real life, where bad guys and good guys rarely exist. Kay's writing contains a message of compassion for all people. But there was one character I really disliked and could feel no sympathy for: Alberico, not only because he killed so many innocent people gruesomely because he seemed to have no feelings at all, no soul, only a cold meaninless ambition. He didn't care about anything except his desire to be Emperor.As well as the dark and pensive themes of the book, I enjoyed Kay's writing style as always. Although his poetic prose sometimes borders on melodrama he has the power to take my breath away. Rarely do I read a book and want to read certain lines over and over again because they're so beautiful.The book is full of memorable scenes that are dripping with strong emotion. I felt everything along with the characters: the fear, the pain, the helplessness, the love and elation. I don't think I've ever read another author who conveys such depths of emotion as Kay.If you like shocking surprises you'll like this book, because it contains quite a few. My jaw dropped open more than once! All in all a great book that I'll always remember. Kay is a master of emotional, poignant writing that also makes you think. If you're willing to dedicate some time to this book (it's on the long side) as well as some mindpower (it's not something you can breeze through) then you won't be sorry.

Having read all of Kay's other books, I have to say this is one of the best. Unlike other people, I think the characterzation in this book was particularly good, because the characters were much more...three-dimensional(?) then those of other books.For one thing, Brandin, one of the villains, isn't strictly evil. He's human, who lives and loves and is loved by others. The act that made him the bad guy was out of love for a killed son. That's one of the saddest parts of the entire book.Also, I thought the minor characters were wonderfully detailed. Kay gave each of them their own personality, rather than being part of a faceless mob.Characters aside, the storyline is great. The book is impossible to put down, and you feel like you're part of the story. Surely I wasn't the only one who laughed out loud at Aleis and Catriana's discussion of Aleis's younger sister, had a queer feeling of loss when you learned Adreano(a character only in a few pages of the book) had been killed, or felt their eyes widen in shock when they learned Rhun's true identity? Probably not.Over all, this is a beautiful and extremly moving novel. Whether you read it or not is your decision, but I would recommend that you do.

A quick warning for all of you into the more visceral, fast-reading fantasy authors... this book may not be for you. Tigana is one of those rare fantasy novels that transcends the genre to become a pure work of literature. Compared to most modern fantasy authors today, Kay writes very carefully and makes an extra effort to force you to care about all his characters and the situations they find themselves in. This extraordinary novel can force you to redefine your expectations of fantasy writing.Tigana's world is based loosely on Renaissance Italy. The Peninsula of the Palm has been split down the middle by two separate conquerors from larger countries. The conquerors were able to subjugate the peninsula easily due to the rivalries between the seven formerly independent provinces of the Palm. The final province to be conquered, Tigana, managed to kill the son of one of the tyrants. In a fit of wrath, the tyrant descends upon Tigana and crushes it utterly. However, he also takes the extra step of erasing the country's name from the minds of every citizen on the Palm except for the survivors of Tigana. Non-citizens cannot hear or speak the name; instead, Tigana is renamed after its most bitter rival in the old provincial struggles. Years later, a small group of Tiganese rebels begin a campaign to bring their name back to the Palm and expel both tyrants...And this just doesn't convey the subtleties and character interaction the plot has. The use of Italian linguistics and political situations gives the book an atmosphere of plausibility but doesn't ram it down our throats (as Jordan's Aes Sedai mythos or Goodkind's descriptions of the Mother Confessor's office tend to do). The characters, though, are what drive the book. Even those characters that only make a brief appearance are startlingly well-crafted and at times even touching. An episode early in the book which examines very closely the relationship between a proud, authoritarian father and his doomed son moved me to tears- and it happened in the first one hundred and fifty pages. Bottom line: if you enjoy fantasy that is literate, well thought-out, and exquisitely crafted, then buy this book. If your taste leans more toward the Jordan/Goodkind/Feist vein, be warned that Kay takes his time getting to where he wants you to go... but for me, that makes him the finest living fantasy writer.

I have just finished "Tigana" & feel a deep sense of loss. I can't bring myself to read anything else at present. The book developes complex characters & explores their struggles in a world where good & evil are intermingled in ways which don't allow for simplistic judgements.