Tirant Lo Blanc

Sheer genius! A joy to read! If anyone out there has my copy - I WANT IT BACK!!! If you are in anyway interested in the late middle ages, chivalry or early literature... BUY THIS BOOK NOW!!!

Once I read an essay about anthologies written by Jorge Luis Borges. All anthologies (he said, I don't remember the exact words, but I do remember the idea) are arbitrary conventions, but only time makes real, unforgettable anthologies. Although I agree with the Argentine writer, I must add that time is sometimes an unfair judge. So unfair that it left behind this masterpiece of Catalan literature, one of the greatest book I've ever read, a book that stands alongside such undisputable masterpieces as "El Engenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de La Mancha" and "War and Peace". Joanot Martorell built the Universe. After reading his rich work, we cannot but regret how poor is the literature of our times, how narrow-minded are the presumptuous writers of nowadays. "Tirant lo Blanc" is not just a chivalry story. It's much more than that. It's a book about love and romance, about honor and war, about sex and chastity, about boldness and bravery. Its settings comprise several countries; it has more than a hundred characters, many of them richly portrayed with subtle psychology. We, readers of the twentieth-first century, use to look despicably at the literature of the middle-ages for we take the "dark age" as a decaying era between the classical times of Greeks and Romans and the Renaissance (Dante is an exception to this tough judgment). If you think thus, read this book and you'll find how wrong and unfair your pre-conceived ideas are. I bet you'll be surprised with Martorell's boldness in sexual affairs, with his mastery of plot, with the unpredictable behavior of his characters, with the unsurpassed richness of scenarios. You will find that the literature of our times is too conventional notwithstanding all the modernist and post-modernist' experimentations. But, be aware: this book is just for those who really love literature. If you are looking for entertainment, please buy another book. You will not bear its slow pace, the endless dialogues and the sometimes boring letters the characters send one to another.

Writen about 100 years prior to Don Quixote de la Mancha, and the appearance of the modern novel, Tirant Lo Blanc is a refreshing and interesting masterpiece on Mideaval society, love and the rules that governed the nobility of the time. Indirectly, it gives us a look at the lives of Catalan knights, troubadours, merchants, peasants, sailors and the clergy. The book is politically incorrect (thank goodness), and if you are tired of modern "cleansed" interpretations of life during the middle ages, you need to read this book. Be prepared for the unexpected, and also be aware that its structure will at times give you the feeling of a slow read. But, as I said, the material is pure gold!

An absolute romp, filled with fighting, romance and intrigue. A fictional story written in the fifteenth century about a knight that rivals any that ever lived and many that never did. If your after medieval fiction this is one you should have, it rivals anything that Chaucer wrote.

This book is a must read for the historical enthusiast! It was written by a knight about knighthood. The viewpoints and situations are very far removed from our preconceived ideas of the middle ages. It is written very well and reads almost in a 'modern' way. This book was difficult to read in some places, but for the most part was so interesting that I couldn't put it down.