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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The ties that bind stitch two women ages apart together-but the needed mystic element is almost completely absent from the novel, July 1, 2008
There are a couple of subjects that I consistently seek out and read whatever I can find out about them. Seeing as I mostly read fiction this means I end up reading a lot of novels on the same subject- the settling of Australia, Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, rebellions against the Roman empire and white women in harems. It was that last obsession that lead me to this book, "The Tenth Gift." "The Tenth Gift" is the story of two women in very different times, connected by birthplace and a love of embroidery. Julia Lovat is a modern woman with a secret-she's been seeing her best friend Anne's husband Michel for seven years and is racked by guilt but unable to give up the relationship. Luckily Michael makes the decision to end it for her and gives her a parting gift of a seventeenth century embroidery book. Cat is a 17th century housemaid in the richest manor in her neck of Cornwall but she wants more for her life. She wants to be a master embroiderer, something only men can aspire to, and travel far beyond her home But just when it looks like she will stuck forever in Cornwall married to her cousin fate intervenes. It is the book Michael gives Julia "The Needle Woman's Glorie" which tells Cat's tail. It contains, written by her own hand, a diary account of Cat's days in Cornwall and the fateful day which made Cat one of the sixty or so men, women and children who were taken in a church raid by Turkish pirates and transported to Morocco for sale. Julia is soon caught up in Cat's captivating story (to the extent of dreaming the events that occurred) but she had no idea of the books true value. And when Michael realizes he has given her a gift worth a great deal of money he begins to try and get it back. To avoid him and search out more of Cat's history she heads to Morocco where the lives of Julia and Cat converge in the unexpected turns their destinies takes them. As a first novel this isn't bad. The plot is interesting and it certainly brings to light a whole aspect of English history I knew nothing about (by 1625 there were than 2,000 English citizens who had been kidnapped and sold in Morocco.) And also tells how different Cornish culture, names and mythic beliefs varied from the rest of England. But like any book it has its bad points, the dialog is stilted and just plain weird sometimes and occasionally people act in ways-especially after terrible tragedies-that doesn't make any sense at all. There is also a mystical quality to the novel, an aspect of destiny, people connecting across times, possesions carrying part of their orginal owners spirits, which really was underplayed for most of the book. I really liked the mysticism of the book but it should have been either enhanced or taken out all together not just put together willy nilly. But the vivid descriptions of scenery and embroidery do make up for a lot of the problems in the book. All in all this is an enjoyable story and a very fast read that has some problems but this is still an author I will be on a the lookout for in the future. And though "The Tenth Gift" is very similar to another book I read recently, The Aviary Gate: A Novel they differ in enough ways to be able to read both without feeling like you've read it before. Three point five stars. (P.S-While the title may not make sense until the end, in the end it is perfect for the novel (much better than the UK title of "Crossed Bones.")
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intriguing Tale of Past and Present, July 19, 2008
Jane Johnson's first novel, The Tenth Gift, flies back and forth between the present and the past, woven together through a small book used as a journal by one woman and given to another as a parting gift for a failed relationship. In the present time, Julia Lovat finds the handwritten words of Catherine Tregenna inside the small book of needlepoint; through Cat's thoughts Julia discovers that Cat was kidnapped from her Cornish home in 1625 by Moroccan raiders to be thrust into slavery. It is only as Julia's ex realizes his costly mistake--he'd meant to give her another book; this one is obviously an historical treasure--that she finds herself going to Morocco to learn more of the life of the young girl who had yearned for adventure and found so much more. This is an exciting book, and the chapters written from Cat's point of view are especially well done. I knew very little about life in Morocco during this time period, and Cat's untamed character was not only believable, it was her salvation. The present day characters were far less appealing; Julia's seven year affair with her best friend's husband, who is something of a cad, set the stage for my not liking her, and while I could understand her need to experience something new, I just didn't connect with her as well. The mystical elements are good but far between; just when I'd forgotten they were even involved in this tale, they'd come at me again unexpectedly (and not necessarily naturally). However, this unusual tale is entertaining, and to lovers of dual points of view and historical fiction, it is a gem. Be prepared to love Cat and her choices.
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"What you are searching for you will have to travel to discover.", May 6, 2008
Pirates off the coast of Cornwall in 1625? The abduction of a flame-haired beauty and others from a Sunday service, the captives swept into the hold of a ship sailing to Morocco? Such a scenario would seem the stuff of nightmares and fairy tales, were it not grounded in historical fact. Using this obscure information, Johnson fashions an adventure that begins in Cornwall and ends in the slave markets of Morocco, two women centuries apart caught in the mystery of an exotic place, yet sharing a common bond. Catherine Anne Treganno is the unlikely captive of corsair raiders, Julia Lovat pursuing the young woman's journey as written in a precious 17th century book on embroidery, "The Needle Woman's Glorie". It is on these pages, in tiny script, that Cat pens her diary, few expectations in life, a planned marriage to a man she does not love and the day her life changes forever as she and other villagers are snatched from their church, destination Morocco, to be sold as slaves. When first the book comes into her possession, Julia Lovat has no idea of its value. Neither does soon-to-be-ex-lover, Michael, the husband of Julia's best friend. Michael offers the book as a parting gift; only later does he realize his mistake, desperate to recover the valuable tome. Retreating from London to Cornwall, Julia at first has no idea of the book's secrets. When she discovers Cat's fascinating diary, she reads the young woman's entries obsessively, fascinated and appalled by the sudden turn in Cat's fortunes. She reads of the hardships on the slave ship, the fearsome attacks on the high seas, Cat attending the wounded after one battle. Two cultures collide as Cat refuses to be cowed by circumstances, even though her actions may bring certain death at the hands of her oppressors. Of course, it is Cat's spirit that makes her all the more intriguing. Julia will not be left alone in Cornwall to ponder Cat's fate once she reaches her final destination, or whether a ransom is ever paid, for Michael has followed in a bizarre repetition of Cat's journey centuries earlier. Hoping to comfort her newly-widowed cousin, Julia finds no peace with Michael on her trail. Boldly, Julia sets out to track Cat across the ocean, hoping to discover what became of the kidnapped woman, but no matter where she goes, Michael will intrude. With the aid of a local guide, Julia immerses herself in an exotic city, the valuable book never out of her sight. It is in this distant place that Julia comes to terms with Cat's fate- for the diary ends abruptly- but also faces the consequences of her own choices as well as an unexpected opportunity, a direct result of her quest to learn more about the enigmatic Cat. With her own experience to inspire this unusual tale, Johnson weaves past and present in an intricate pattern of intrigue, love and adventure. Luan Gaines/ 2008.
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