Customer Reviews

Tigana

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Tigana falls under that genre labled fantasy but where most fantasy is a story told about a fantasy world, Guy Gavriel Kay writes about people who happen to inhabit a fantasy world. If you think the difference is academic you really need to read this book along with "A Song for Arbonne" and some of this authors other works.

Kay writes fantasy based on medieval times in Moorish Spain, southern France, and Italy which is slightly refreshing compared to all the Arthurian and Roman based fantasy out there. Still the most important part of this book are the characters. How to describe them? They are humans who make mistakes and misunderstand the true situation with tragic results as happens in real life- yet they are also somewhat mythic because the tragedy in their worlds is on a scale few people could ever experience in real life.

I really enjoyed this book even though I didn't connect with a single character and to me more than anything else that is an indicator of the quality of writing here. If you are bored with the overly trite and tired books populating the shelves today, yet enjoy the fantasy setting, this book with satisfy you.

In this masterpiece, Guy Gavriel Kay manages to blend elements of fantasy and historical fiction (based loosely on Renaissance Italy) into a symphony of lyrical beauty. The characters are complex and multi-dimensional, the setting is well crafted and the story engrossing from start to finish.

I loved the fact that Guy Gavriel Kay manages to humanize the so called "evil" characters. Just as Dianora falls in love with Brandin of Ygrath, the "evil" sorcerer of the west - you come to sympathize with this complex, cultured and multi-faceted character. Similarly, the "good" characters have to engage in unsavory acts for their own purposes and confront their own fallibility - I'm thinking of Alessan binding the wizard Erlein against his will. When it comes to the final confrontation between "good" and "evil" I found myself torn between both sides. Rarely does a novelist achieve this level of emotional complexity for me.

Furthermore, Guy Gavriel Kay's use of language is superb - he writes for an intelligent, reflective audience. There were many times when I had to re-read paragraphs to appreciate the multi-layered poetic symbolism.

All in all, a truly satisfying experience with unforgettable characters (notably Brandin of Ygrath), a complex, well-crafted story, and resonating themes of identity, loss and love. Highly recommended!