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sophia_sol) wrote2022-12-28 11:26 am
sophia_sol) wrote2022-12-28 11:26 am
Island of Ghosts, by Gillian Bradshaw
I first heard about this book from sholio years ago, and I'm glad it rang a bell when I stumbled across it in a used bookstore! I picked it up, and it is GREAT.
This is a historical fiction book set in Roman Britain, which is a time/place I've only ever seen get attention from Rosemary Sutcliff, so it was honestly a little bit disconcerting - I kept expecting it to be more Sutcliffy than it was! But Bradshaw has different interests and different prose styles than Sutcliff. (Some better, some worse, some just different without judgement!)
The ongoing Sutcliff reminders did make me worried going in about emotional devastation, but that's not what Bradshaw wants to write about, and you know what, I'm here for that, much though I love having Sutcliff rip my heart out. Also Bradshaw is interested in her female characters actually having their own names and identities and goals and drives apart from the men in their lives, which I am ALSO here for. (even the fridged wife,Tirgatao, gets brought up often enough and with enough specificity that she felt like a real person!) I missed Sutcliff's nature porn though!
Anyway, Island of Ghosts is about a bunch of Sarmatian warriors who were defeated by the Romans and get sent to Britain to supplement the Roman troups in keeping back the British barbarians at Hadrian's Wall. The main character, Ariantes, is a prince and a leader among the Sarmatians, but despite the warrior culture of his people he has become sick of war. As well, he is caught in a difficult situation between remaining as Sarmatian as he can, and needing to learn how to interact with and ingratiate himself with the Romans in order to better agitate for good treatment of his men - which then leads him to be seen as a Romanizer by some other Sarmatians.
It's a book where the central conflict, then, is about identity and what it means, and how much you can or should change your identity when circumstances change. This is present among the Sarmatians, but it's also a recurring theme with various secondary characters who are of a British background and are to a greater or lesser degree assimilated into Romanness as well. And is there such a thing as a pan-British identity, rather than specific tribes being important? And is one's identity as a not-a-Roman sufficient to make people allies?
All of this is fascinating and wonderful, and I love the complexity with which Bradshaw addresses these questions.
There is an actual plot as well, not just questions of identity, but it's not the kind of book that's interested in maintaining the reader's sense of tension by withholding information from the reader. It's obvious from fairly early on who the main antagonist is, and it's more about how the issues will get addressed. I am a little annoyed though about Aurelia Bodica being the Designated Evil Person to the degree that she's an animal abuser and baby killer. She can be self-centred and ambitious and cruel without adding those kinds of short-hands to make her extra-hateable!!
I do love though how so many characters beyond the protagonist are allowed to have things that really really matter to them, even though they aren't of any importance or interest to the POV character. And they have delightful complexity too that makes them feel real! And not everybody who's an ally of Ariantes likes him at first (or even necessarily ever). Facilis and Longus are both so great!
The other thing to talk about is the romance arc. It's rather too love at first sight for my tastes really, but honestly this works far better for me than love at first sight usually does, given the particulars of the situation and the people involved! I can see why this is how these particular characters might actually feel! Also, after this, they end up having to have multiple ongoing conversations with each other about the issues and concerns that arise in their relationship, especially due to the cross-cultural nature of it, and how much work it still does take to understand each other despite the bond they have. So overall I'm here for it!
I also love the note the book ends on, a bittersweet refocusing on the ways that life continues to suck even as Ariantes has succeeded wildly in all he's been attempting to do over the course of the book. He wants a world without hatred, but that is impossible, but there IS still joy to be had in the world he lives in.
Overall an excellent read! And now I have a list of other Gillian Bradshaw books to seek out as I have the opportunity.
sholio years ago, and I'm glad it rang a bell when I stumbled across it in a used bookstore! I picked it up, and it is GREAT.This is a historical fiction book set in Roman Britain, which is a time/place I've only ever seen get attention from Rosemary Sutcliff, so it was honestly a little bit disconcerting - I kept expecting it to be more Sutcliffy than it was! But Bradshaw has different interests and different prose styles than Sutcliff. (Some better, some worse, some just different without judgement!)
The ongoing Sutcliff reminders did make me worried going in about emotional devastation, but that's not what Bradshaw wants to write about, and you know what, I'm here for that, much though I love having Sutcliff rip my heart out. Also Bradshaw is interested in her female characters actually having their own names and identities and goals and drives apart from the men in their lives, which I am ALSO here for. (even the fridged wife,Tirgatao, gets brought up often enough and with enough specificity that she felt like a real person!) I missed Sutcliff's nature porn though!
Anyway, Island of Ghosts is about a bunch of Sarmatian warriors who were defeated by the Romans and get sent to Britain to supplement the Roman troups in keeping back the British barbarians at Hadrian's Wall. The main character, Ariantes, is a prince and a leader among the Sarmatians, but despite the warrior culture of his people he has become sick of war. As well, he is caught in a difficult situation between remaining as Sarmatian as he can, and needing to learn how to interact with and ingratiate himself with the Romans in order to better agitate for good treatment of his men - which then leads him to be seen as a Romanizer by some other Sarmatians.
It's a book where the central conflict, then, is about identity and what it means, and how much you can or should change your identity when circumstances change. This is present among the Sarmatians, but it's also a recurring theme with various secondary characters who are of a British background and are to a greater or lesser degree assimilated into Romanness as well. And is there such a thing as a pan-British identity, rather than specific tribes being important? And is one's identity as a not-a-Roman sufficient to make people allies?
All of this is fascinating and wonderful, and I love the complexity with which Bradshaw addresses these questions.
There is an actual plot as well, not just questions of identity, but it's not the kind of book that's interested in maintaining the reader's sense of tension by withholding information from the reader. It's obvious from fairly early on who the main antagonist is, and it's more about how the issues will get addressed. I am a little annoyed though about Aurelia Bodica being the Designated Evil Person to the degree that she's an animal abuser and baby killer. She can be self-centred and ambitious and cruel without adding those kinds of short-hands to make her extra-hateable!!
I do love though how so many characters beyond the protagonist are allowed to have things that really really matter to them, even though they aren't of any importance or interest to the POV character. And they have delightful complexity too that makes them feel real! And not everybody who's an ally of Ariantes likes him at first (or even necessarily ever). Facilis and Longus are both so great!
The other thing to talk about is the romance arc. It's rather too love at first sight for my tastes really, but honestly this works far better for me than love at first sight usually does, given the particulars of the situation and the people involved! I can see why this is how these particular characters might actually feel! Also, after this, they end up having to have multiple ongoing conversations with each other about the issues and concerns that arise in their relationship, especially due to the cross-cultural nature of it, and how much work it still does take to understand each other despite the bond they have. So overall I'm here for it!
I also love the note the book ends on, a bittersweet refocusing on the ways that life continues to suck even as Ariantes has succeeded wildly in all he's been attempting to do over the course of the book. He wants a world without hatred, but that is impossible, but there IS still joy to be had in the world he lives in.
Overall an excellent read! And now I have a list of other Gillian Bradshaw books to seek out as I have the opportunity.