Customer Reviews

The Abyssinian : A Novel

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I feel compelled to review this book in order to inspire others to read it. The book provides a rich and rewarding reading experience. Loaded with history. Loaded with adventure. Loaded with romance. "The Abyssinian" is brilliant adventure. For educated readers who often feel cheated by the cheap thrills so common to popular fiction, this book is a godsend. Every page teaches and awes and thrills. Of course there are limits inherent to the adventure genre, but this novel so often transcends the genre with its barrage of detail, research, well written descriptions, and well drawn characters that it is first and foremost an intelligent work of literature. Lucky for the reader, it is so darn much fun to read!

According to the dust jacket, THE ABYSSINIAN by Jean-Christophe Rufin is a first novel. If so, I hope Rufin writes many more books because THE ABYSSINIAN is one of the best works of fiction I've read in a while. Rufin is a French physician who has spent many years working with Doctor's Without Borders. His writing reflects his medical background as well as his love of and regard for his fellow human beings.

Rufin is both romantic and a realist. A major thread in the plot of THE ABYSSINIAN involves a romance between his protagonist Jean-Baptiste Poncet, unlicensed lower-class medical practicioner living in Cairo, and Alix Maillet, the beautiful upper-class daughter of the French Ambassador to Egypt. Rufin's story is made real by his deft interweaving of actual historical events and evocative fictional episodes he has crafted from his obvious knowledge of the era and it's political machinations.

The basis of the book is an event that occurred in 1699 when Louis XIV sent an embassy of ministers, Jesuits, and a physician to the Negus or King of Abyssinian. The Negus was sick and admitted the strangers only because they accompanied the physician whom he hoped would provide a cure for his malady. In the 17th Century, Abyssinia was a mysterious Coptic Christian country closed to outsiders for centuries. The nation-states of Europe and the Muslim countries of the near east struggled for control of Abyssinia which lay in North Africa southeast of Egypt. A desire for economic gain through trade lay behind the French King's offer of a physician to the Negus.

But other factors were at play. In the 17th Century, conflict continued between various Roman Catholic orders, between Catholics and Protestants, and between Christians and Muslims, all of whom sought relgious dominance. THE ABYSSINIAN is populated with French Jesuits, Italian Domincans, and Muslim imams all struggling to convert Abyssinians. The Jesuits' goal was to use the King's embassy as a means of penetrating the Coptic populace for the purpose of proselytization.

Like Dumas' action-thrillers, Rufin's book is filled with sword-play, gallantry, and back-stabbing, but unlike Dumas, Rufin's characters are fully developed. Poncet's sidekick, the apothocary Maitre Juremi is vividly drawn. Both Alix and Francoise (Juremi's love interest) are "real" women. Poncet is an honorable young man who seeks to win his fortune and claim his love's hand without selling his soul. His mission is dangerous and as he attempts to make his way back to Alix, the reader will wonder if he can possibly accomplish his goal in an age 'sans merci'. Long after you've read THE ABYSINIAN, you will recall the vivid imagery of an exotic place now lost to the world though civil war, and the wrenching suffering of a pair of lovers separated by the cruel irony of chance.

I have read this book in French and can say that it is well worth reading whether in French or English or any other language. It has a texture and magnificence that one rarely encounters. Parts of it evoke The Sheltering Sky, Lawrence of Arabia and The English Patient. Its structure twists and turns unexpectedly but ultimately gratifies resoundingly when the last page is turned.

The adventure and exotic locale of the story were wonderful. However, given that the story is placed in a historical context, it would have helped this American reader if there had been an afterward with a brief overview of the real history. I finished the story wondering what was *really* going on at the time.

But that's a quibble. The multiple journeys, and the descriptions of what was seen and encountered were riveting. Very much worth your time.

The Abyssinian is a mesmerizing adventure chocked full of romance and political intrigue set in exotic locales--that doesn't take itself too seriously. Opening in Cairo during the reign of Louis IV, the protagonist of The Abyssinian is Jean-Baptiste Poncet, a young French herbalist/doctor practicing in Cairo. The action really begins when Louis commands the French consul in Egypt to send a delegation to the King of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Knowing any foreigner, and especially a Christian, would be less than welcome in Abyssinia, leaves the consul, Monsieur de Maillet, in a quandry. What to do? When he hears the Abyssinian king is in need of medical care, Maillet decides to send Poncet, not only to cure the King, but also to convince him to send a delegation to Versailles. Poncet, who has fallen hopelessly in love with Maillet's daughter, Alix, agrees immediately, danger notwithstanding. As the "son of a servant girl and an unknown man," he knows his only chance with Alix is to bring an Abyssinian delegation to Versailles. Poncet's adventures make for fascinating reading as he travels from Cairo to Abyssinia to Versailles. Rufin's prose is, at all times, smooth, pure and elegant and the translation is superb. The characters are fully-developed and extremely likable. And the fact that The Abyssinian doesn't take itself too seriously only adds to the overall charm. The only book I can compare it to is Andrew Miller's Casanova in Love. Both books are equally well-written, but where the love interest in Casanova in Love is extremely weak and deserving of no one's love except her mother's, Alix is both charming and engaging. Extremely well-written on all counts, I found this book to be a pure delight.

This is a fascinating tale beautifully written, even in translation. The characters are realistically depicted, the plot is plausible, scenic descriptions immediate and compelling. Overall, it's a whacking great read. There are amusing modern overtones in the doctor-author's depiction of Roman Catholic priests and monks, the era's medical profession and savants. Not to be missed if you are a fan of historical fiction or at all interested in history.

Historically accurate or not, this book was fun to read. Much of it is written is dry sardonic style befitting the French aristocracy it lampoons. The main characters from Poncet to Murad are enjoyable to read. The story itself is about the nominal interest that France took in attempting to convert Abyssinia to Catholicism. If this sounds boring, it's not. It is only the backdrop for a host of colorful characters caught up in a cauldron of intrigue and backbiting. That's not to say its perfect. It does have its flaws like the abstractness of all of Poncet's cures. He's an herbalist yet the author avoids mentioning what herbs he uses to cure what illness. What disease does the negus have? We're never given its name. These are minor flaws. It is a wholly satisfying adventure novel.

Really enjoyed this book, a 'cracking read' as one of the other customers has said. Kings, courts, political and religious intrigue, romance, adventure, Abyssinia, Cairo, Giza, Paris, this book has it all, delivered in fine style. Highly recommended.

It's an exciting novel of merit. Jean-Christophe Rufin's book "The Abyssinian" combines intrigue, drama, adventure, romance, and more intrigue worthy of the time spent reading it.

Set in 17th-century Cairo during the reign of Louis XIV, Jean-Baptiste Poncet, is the young protagonist, a French doctor who, alas, is practicing without a license in Egypt. Through his connections with the French consul, he is dispatched on a diplomatic mission to the King Negus, of Abyssinia to try to open up diplomatic opportunities. It is a dangerous mission, as Christians are not welcomed following, some 50 years prior, the expulsion of the Jesuits from the area. And during the course of the book, Poncet has to confront many personal obstacles, both physically and emotionally.

A "period piece" of the first water, "The Abyssinian" combines the typical melodrama of such a tine in literature-the daring adventures, the daring romances, the daring intrigues. Rufin seems to have captured well these characteristics as he's made a novel that is compelling to read, one that, despite the obvious melodrama, captures the reader's interest tout suite with lots of wit, creativity, and cleverness.

To call this book "larger than life" is perhaps an understatement but it's what one would expect if it were written by 18th or 19th century novelists! I look for further Rufin works of fiction! (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)

The author succeeds in putting together all these qualities in a historic and exotic novel. We spend a wonderful moment, enjoying the hilarious description of certain religion that caused so many troubles in the "evangelized" coutries, unable to critisize itself. Do not miss the way Jean Baptiste Poncet makes the Jesuits give up the idea of getting to Abyssinia! As a physician, i admired also the precision of the medical facts; without spoiling, since it's not said in the novel, i think that the disease of the king is a cutaneous cancer.