Scan barcode
_shania's review against another edition
4.0
wowwww.. this book hits especially hard after travelling through andalucía and hearing these stories from many perspectives already. and the epilogue? fwef. 4 ⭐️
jcurrat's review against another edition
4.0
I thought that this was a great book about the fall of the Moorish empire in southern Spain. I enjoyed reading about this era from a different perspective and as it followed a fictional family through that time. I think that it was grea tto follow different members of the family as they struggled with the expulsion of the muslims from moorish Spain, the takeover of the Christian empire and how the lives of everyone changed during this time.
yanailedit's review against another edition
4.0
This book lulls you into a false sense of security and then rips your heart up.
Ali has a gift for storytelling and toys with his readers until we’re just as drunk on the comfort, love, respect, and drama of Al Hudayl as the Banu Hudayl themselves. The tales of chivlary within the narrative hypnotize us while the painstaking characterisation of each individual feeds into our hopes. Ali knows we are conditioned to expect a happy ending when something is so clearly deserving, even if historical fact details otherwise.
Instead of sweetening the narrative to spare our sensibilities, Shadows does a fantastic job of delivering a masterful end to hope without becoming perversely obsessed with gore. This is especially true of the tiny epilogue:.
I’m particularly impressed by Ali’s specific strain of deep-running humor, dark as can be: an incredible number of biblical references are weaved through the narrative, making its bitterness an elegantly construed depiction reminescent of Mudejar geometric art. I’m gutted but in the most exquisite of manners...
In spite of the tragic nature of Ali’s work, it’s humbling and a dang education to follow a narrative not created to cater to cultural Christianity and all of its established taboos and tropes. And what better way to critically examine our own cultural narratives than to look into how we’ve framed the “re”conquest of Spain and colonialism. Always colonialism.
Ali has a gift for storytelling and toys with his readers until we’re just as drunk on the comfort, love, respect, and drama of Al Hudayl as the Banu Hudayl themselves. The tales of chivlary within the narrative hypnotize us while the painstaking characterisation of each individual feeds into our hopes. Ali knows we are conditioned to expect a happy ending when something is so clearly deserving, even if historical fact details otherwise.
Instead of sweetening the narrative to spare our sensibilities, Shadows does a fantastic job of delivering a masterful end to hope without becoming perversely obsessed with gore. This is especially true of the tiny epilogue:
Spoiler
after detailing the genocide and cultural purging committed on the Peninsula, he briefly brings our gaze to the stunning beauty of Tenochtitlan by which point we have already learned our lesson about what happens to beautiful thingsI’m particularly impressed by Ali’s specific strain of deep-running humor, dark as can be: an incredible number of biblical references are weaved through the narrative, making its bitterness an elegantly construed depiction reminescent of Mudejar geometric art. I’m gutted but in the most exquisite of manners...
In spite of the tragic nature of Ali’s work, it’s humbling and a dang education to follow a narrative not created to cater to cultural Christianity and all of its established taboos and tropes. And what better way to critically examine our own cultural narratives than to look into how we’ve framed the “re”conquest of Spain and colonialism. Always colonialism.
mubeenirfan's review against another edition
2.0
I knew Tariq Ali to be only a left-leaning historian before stumbling upon an entire fiction series written by him. Naturally, I wanted to read the series to find out how he has approached the famed Islamic history. Only Urdu readers would know that a writer named Nasim Hijazi has done the same where he has hyper-sensationalized islamic history in cover of historical novels. I think I wanted to read something to balance those novels out in my mind.
This first novel from Tariq Ali is approaching the fall of Muslim Spain in a different manner. He has made it not about the religion (Muslims vs Christians) but about the riches of state and how the church is prevalent in carrying out this purge to enlarge its influence. It is an interesting way to look at it but what stands out the most in this novel is the portrayal of a typical muslim household in a village near Granada. Pre-marital sex, homosexuality & adultery is a norm in the society. There are a few sceptics too who continue preaching truth & rationality over religion and are admonished for doing it. Role of the Ulemas is restricted in learned families and there are a few amicable debates between these two segments of the society. Between all these is a young male who is conflicted in himself about his love for his religion and his respect for a rational mind. Growing up in a Granada which has been recently taken up by Christians & the inquisition is underway; he ends up picking arms to fight.
Story wise, it is a very simple story relying almost entirely on dialogues and not on the construction of story line which gives a vibe that the writer is probably someone who isn’t comfortable with writing a novel. Due to this fact and due to the reason that Tariq Ali has approached an Islamic society in a very casual manner without much reference to facts, is something that makes me not like this story. I will definitely think twice before picking up part 2 of this series.
This first novel from Tariq Ali is approaching the fall of Muslim Spain in a different manner. He has made it not about the religion (Muslims vs Christians) but about the riches of state and how the church is prevalent in carrying out this purge to enlarge its influence. It is an interesting way to look at it but what stands out the most in this novel is the portrayal of a typical muslim household in a village near Granada. Pre-marital sex, homosexuality & adultery is a norm in the society. There are a few sceptics too who continue preaching truth & rationality over religion and are admonished for doing it. Role of the Ulemas is restricted in learned families and there are a few amicable debates between these two segments of the society. Between all these is a young male who is conflicted in himself about his love for his religion and his respect for a rational mind. Growing up in a Granada which has been recently taken up by Christians & the inquisition is underway; he ends up picking arms to fight.
Story wise, it is a very simple story relying almost entirely on dialogues and not on the construction of story line which gives a vibe that the writer is probably someone who isn’t comfortable with writing a novel. Due to this fact and due to the reason that Tariq Ali has approached an Islamic society in a very casual manner without much reference to facts, is something that makes me not like this story. I will definitely think twice before picking up part 2 of this series.
soph2962's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
dave37's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed Ali's approach to storytelling, as well as his ability to weave facts seamlessly into the tale. The two were very engaging for me and I raced through much of the book both to follow his characters, as well to learn more. At least I did until it became apparent where the story was going to end up.
The massacre scene is as horrific and heart-breaking as expected, though Ali imbues the victims with a calm resignation to dull the ache a bit. He thankfully goes light on the gore, letting simple factual details starkly convey the terror.
I will certainly read of the Quintet, but will hope that humanity treats its own a bit better in the following installments.
The massacre scene is as horrific and heart-breaking as expected, though Ali imbues the victims with a calm resignation to dull the ache a bit. He thankfully goes light on the gore, letting simple factual details starkly convey the terror.
I will certainly read of the Quintet, but will hope that humanity treats its own a bit better in the following installments.
esther_habs's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5