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The Habitation of the Blessed: A Dirge for Prester John, Vol. 1 Paperback – Deckle Edge, October 26, 2010

by Catherynne M. Valente (Author), Rebecca Guay (Illustrator)

25 customer reviews

Book 1 of 3 in the A Dirge for Prester John Series

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This is the story of a place that never was: the kingdom of Prester John, the utopia described by an anonymous, twelfth-century document which captured the imagination of the medieval world and drove hundreds of lost souls to seek out its secrets, inspiring explorers, missionaries, and kings for centuries. But what if it were all true? What if there was such a place, and a poor, broken priest once stumbled past its borders, discovering, not a Christian paradise, but a country where everything is possible, immortality is easily had, and the Western world is nothing but a dim and distant dream?

Brother Hiob of Luzerne, on missionary work in the Himalayan wilderness on the eve of the eighteenth century, discovers a village guarding a miraculous tree whose branches sprout books instead of fruit. These strange books chronicle the history of the kingdom of Prester John, and Hiob becomes obsessed with the tales they tell. The Habitation of the Blessed recounts the fragmented narratives found within these living volumes, revealing the life of a priest named John, and his rise to power in this country of impossible richness. John's tale weaves together with the confessions of his wife Hagia, a blemmye--a headless creature who carried her face on her chest--as well as the tender, jeweled nursery stories of Imtithal, nanny to the royal family. Hugo and World Fantasy award nominee Catherynne M. Valente reimagines the legends of Prester John in this stunning tour de force.

The Habitation of the Blessed: A Dirge for Prester John, Vol. 1 [Deckle Edge]

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1165, a letter ostensibly written by the distant Christian king Prester John describing a kingdom of wonders rocked medieval Europe. In this enchanting retelling of the legend, the first volume in a projected trilogy, Hugo nominee Valente (Palimpsest) imagines what might have been discovered by Rome's ambassadors if the letter had not been a hoax. Nothing is quite as fabulous as the pious priests had hoped. Prester John and St. Thomas the Twin married nonhuman women; the Fountain of Youth does not sparkle, but instead "oozes thick and oily, globbed with algae and the eggs of improbable mayflies." Three very different personalities narrate: the brooding Prester John himself; his carefree and openhearted wife, the blemmye Hagia; and maternal Imtithal of the elephant-eared panotii. Filled with lyrical prose and fabled creatures, this languorous fairy tale is as captivating as Prester John's original letter. (Dec.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Catherynne M. Valente was born on Cinco de Mayo, 1979 in Seattle, WA, but grew up in in the wheatgrass paradise of Northern California. She has three brothers and a sister. She graduated from high school at age 15, going on to UC San Diego and Edinburgh University, receiving her B.A. in Classics with an emphasis in Ancient Greek Linguistics. She then drifted away from her M.A. program and into a long residence in the concrete and camphor wilds of Japan.
She currently lives on a small island off the coast of Maine, with her partner, two dogs, and one recalcitrant cat, having tumbled back to America and the otherworldly New England coast. She has Won the James Tiptree Award, and been Nominated for the Norton Award

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Product details

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Night Shade Books (October 26, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1597801992
ISBN-13: 978-1597801997
Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #751,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1535 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Anthologies
- #3805 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical > Fantasy
- #5839 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Short Stories & Anthologies > Anthologies

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Top Customer Reviews

lyrical allegory challenging mind and spirit

ByAmazon Customeron July 20, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Mysteriously, I received Habitation of the Blessed on my Kindle, although the website does not show that option. That was the start of my mystical journey through the storyscape of Catherynne Valente in which a quest for Christian validation becomes a multi-layered encounter with alternatives of thought, being, and meaning. If you are a literalist, a lover of concrete story, a keeper of dogma, a linear thinker, . . . better to read something else. But if your heart, mind, and spirit finds meaning in the edges, the possibilities, all-that-is without need for name, the ineffable dreams, then you will want to live in this journey.

Language this rich, full of analogy, metaphor, and mystical beauty feels luxuriant. . . while I was in the pages I felt like the title referred to me, and that the book was my habitation, and I was the blessed.

And to wonder early and often, is this an account of what is already, or what is not yet?

Immortality as responsibility (even grief) as opposed to release and reward. Sacred promises of one faith tradition the common-place expectations of all species in another tradition. Anthro-centrism challenged by the humanity of some many non-humans, and the inhumanity of so many humans.

This is a book which I can hope will be made into a movie and which I hope will not be made into a movie -- operatic in its scope, it deserves more than the printed page (image screen), but how could any one director express the universals adequately?

For now, it plays on the screen of my soul, over and over again, rewriting itself into my own story.

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Hauntingly beautiful

ByMichael Phillipson November 14, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The Habitation of the Blessed: A Dirge for Prester John, Volume One by Catherynne M. Valente is her latest work and her addition to the legend of Prester John. Talet of Prester John aren't new, they began in 12th century Europe, but Valente's take on him is definitely unique. The basic story, told for centuries, is that John was a Christian fellow who went East to convert millions and become ruler over vast and beautiful, and even magical lands. Within his kingdom one could find the Fountain of Youth, and countless wonders. Valente takes the basic framework of the Prester John legend and makes it her own.

When I picked up Habitation, I really had no idea what I was getting into. I just saw that Catherynne M. Valente published something new and I slammed my money down. Her books have never left me disappointed, and her latest is really no exception. I don't want to give too much about the story, I don't want to rob anyone of that sense of discovery that I experienced. The book is really home to four stories told by four characters, these stories brilliantly intersect and ultimately tie together to create a lush and fully-realized world. As always, Valente's use of language is gorgeous, she arranges words into sentences, into paragraphs that create life. Early on, the reader knows that the world they're immersed in is tumbling toward something bad, the "what" isn't clear, but it's clearly coming. This sets a sense of foreboding, it causes one to want to turn the page, and turn the page, and turn the page until the last page, the last revelation. There's this shadow over everything, beautiful scenes take on an ominous feeling, because that fall is coming, it's so right there. This book is haunting, I still think about the end, it tells a story that stays. Let it visit and stay with you.

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Prester John lives!

ByTimothy Susmanon December 7, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

... at least, as of the beginning of this book, though we are told immediately upon entering Valente's world that he has died.

The story is told as four different stories: the story of the old man who finally discovers the land of Prester John, and three books he works to transcribe. The first is an account by Prester John himself, the second a memoir by his wife, and the third a well-known text of the land, called "The Scarlet Nursery."

What is impressive is Valente's ability to give each narrative a distinct voice. Her use of language is, as always, beautiful and a delight to read, and here, each separate story contains its own tension, interwoven with the others. The old priest, Hiob, rushes to transcribe the books before they rot, while musing on the failings of his own life and taking what inspiration he can from John's. John, stranded in this magical world, struggles to assert and justify his faith in it, while John's eventual wife Hagia recounts the strange influence this man had on her life.

One of the main themes of the book is purpose, since the magical land of Pentexore has such rich soil that anything planted in it will grow a tree. Thus, there is no death; any dead body set in the ground will produce a tree that is the embodiment of that person. Also they have a Fountain of Youth which keeps them immortal. So how does a society function when none of its members need die? What does that make of their religion, their conception of heaven and hell?

Valente explores these and many other questions in intricate, lovely detail. The book has funny moments, touching moments, deep and sad moments. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys a rich fantasy world and skilfully poetic language.