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Kells: A novel of the eighth century
With the death of his father, Connachtach is finally Free to leave the family farm, free to return to the monastery of his youth, and free to scribe―a skill held by few in eighth-century Scotia. But answering what he hopes is God's call to create a new, glorified book of the gospel is not without in leaving all earthly matters behind, Connachtach also leaves his sister Oona and niece Deirdre, who are not so eager to let him disappear from their lives. From the Celtic shores of Iona to the amber sands of newly founded Baghdad; from the eerie decrepitude of fallen Rome to the hallowed stairs of Jerusalem, what begins as Connachtach's quest to scribe soon ranges beyond even his most beatific vision.
In this transporting testament to the power of the written word, Amy Crider offers a richly imagined early medieval odyssey ripe with purpose and rife with danger―whether from marauding Vikings, treacherous fellow wayfarers, or one's own innermost doubts.
In this transporting testament to the power of the written word, Amy Crider offers a richly imagined early medieval odyssey ripe with purpose and rife with danger―whether from marauding Vikings, treacherous fellow wayfarers, or one's own innermost doubts.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
401 pages, Paperback
Published October 6, 2023
2 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 18, 2025
This is an amazing book with verifiable facts that were meticulously researched by the author. The Book of Kells is so famous and Crider uses so many details about its creation and the actual creators who were real monks and scribes, instrumental in its production. It is also a philosophical treatise on love, piety and forgiveness and how the 9th century was a time of tremendous growth as old civilizations were dying and travel between continents became more possible. The historical material is fascinating. The story is compelling and the love of beautiful art as an expression of passion and promise is "illuminating."
August 21, 2024
“It is only out of love that any great work is done, and, if it is only a humble thing that we labor over hour after hour, that still it is something, something that tells the world of our existence, our sacrifice.”
Ever since I noticed a relative lack of non-Roman Late Antiquity / early Middle Ages fiction reads while writing my 6th century historical fiction novel Jayida, I enjoy finding others from the era. As such Amy Crider’s Kells set in the 8th c instantly caught my attention.
With atmospheric poetic language, it follows the creation of the Celtic illuminated manuscript of the Book of Kells through multiple touching points of view, and even a Middle Eastern angle. Throughout the journey, the Christian struggles of earthly vs spiritual desires recur through longing, sacrifice, and faith that movingly resonate.
My read was also automatically colored by the echoes of the Danna brothers’ lovely album 'A Celtic Romance,' which I discovered as a 90s teen while rummaging through my papa’s CD collection—and remained a fav ever since. Fittingly, that heavenly album is also inspired by a 9th century poetic fragment of the region that packs its own poignant effect.
Ever since I noticed a relative lack of non-Roman Late Antiquity / early Middle Ages fiction reads while writing my 6th century historical fiction novel Jayida, I enjoy finding others from the era. As such Amy Crider’s Kells set in the 8th c instantly caught my attention.
With atmospheric poetic language, it follows the creation of the Celtic illuminated manuscript of the Book of Kells through multiple touching points of view, and even a Middle Eastern angle. Throughout the journey, the Christian struggles of earthly vs spiritual desires recur through longing, sacrifice, and faith that movingly resonate.
My read was also automatically colored by the echoes of the Danna brothers’ lovely album 'A Celtic Romance,' which I discovered as a 90s teen while rummaging through my papa’s CD collection—and remained a fav ever since. Fittingly, that heavenly album is also inspired by a 9th century poetic fragment of the region that packs its own poignant effect.
August 11, 2023
Medievalists - you're about to have a new favorite book!
That is, of course, if you're interested in life as it was lived in the eighth century. There are no knights or damsels or dragons, just scribes and slaves and baby elephants. (Yes, baby elephants.) Most of the characters have motivations that are inscrutable to the modern reader, so it will take some imagination to relate to people who want, with their whole heart and soul, to have perfect penmanship so that they might transcribe the word of God. And it's quite the challenge to believe that someone would be willing to spend years traversing the known world in search of pretty blue stones to help decorate a Bible, but after reading "Kells," it makes sense to me.
No wonder the printing press was like TV, radio, and the internet combined when Guttenberg loosed it upon the world in 1436.
That is, of course, if you're interested in life as it was lived in the eighth century. There are no knights or damsels or dragons, just scribes and slaves and baby elephants. (Yes, baby elephants.) Most of the characters have motivations that are inscrutable to the modern reader, so it will take some imagination to relate to people who want, with their whole heart and soul, to have perfect penmanship so that they might transcribe the word of God. And it's quite the challenge to believe that someone would be willing to spend years traversing the known world in search of pretty blue stones to help decorate a Bible, but after reading "Kells," it makes sense to me.
No wonder the printing press was like TV, radio, and the internet combined when Guttenberg loosed it upon the world in 1436.
July 2, 2024
Kells tells the story of the monk who championed the creation of the Book of Kells. What struck me was how unconnected everyone was. The monk's sister, Oona, undertakes a journey to bring her blind daughter to the monastery seeking a cure. Disaster strikes and the two women disappear from our view for a period. The characters in the book do not know what happened to the women, nor do we. Meanwhile, the book's creation requires lapis lazuli launching several monks on a journey to find and bring back this precious stone. Paths will cross and stories will weave. There are Viking raids devastating monasteries, slavery, and violence all on par with the times. Charlemagne has a part as do lords of the Middle East. This is not a thriller in the sense we think of today. It is a beautiful tale of sacrifice and faith in the face of challenges few of us can imagine living through. Recommended.
December 17, 2023
You don't know what type of book you're going to read but this one was a great and pleasant surprise.
There's the sense of travelling back in time and meeting people who are living according to different rules.
They will do something that could seem crazy but it's part of their way of living.
Well plotted, thought provoking.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
There's the sense of travelling back in time and meeting people who are living according to different rules.
They will do something that could seem crazy but it's part of their way of living.
Well plotted, thought provoking.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
June 21, 2024
An incredible story from the 8th century telling of three people on quests of faith, family, and understanding in a medieval world that truly comes alive. Though the book does have violence in it, I love that it is not military historical fiction. The perspective changes in the book were jarring each time they happened, but I soon fell in love with each new narrator.
December 4, 2025
I FOUND THIS BOOK INTERESTING. RECOMMENDED
September 14, 2024
Kells is a compelling book that will appeal to medievalists, lovers of Celtic culture and everyday readers. Author Amy Crider invents a tale incorporating real history about the Book of Kells -- the Eighth Century illuminated Bible created in Scotland, now housed in Ireland, and seen by millions on the grounds of Trinity College Dublin.
Crider has a lot to say about faith in religious and existential contexts. The book also touches on self-discipline both in terms of denial as well as cleverness. Combined, these themes make a potent read. And a surprise in a book with monks as the main characters is that it touches a lot on sexuality -- desire, second thoughts and slavery. The monks were holy men who lived in a very real world of flesh, greed and suffering.
The work is rich in part because Crider grounds it in historical fact, as a details about the work's authors and its composition have come down through the millennium. She imagines what type of men were attracted to an ascetic religious life yet able to produce a florid, artistically beautiful masterpiece of a Bible.
Crider wisely uses history to make the story compelling. The monks who made the Book of Kells in their monasteries off the west coast of Scotland were under the threat of attack from Viking raiders. The creation of the Book of Kells was a supreme act of devotion given the threat posed by Viking warriors. And she uses imagination to enrich her story. It starts in Ireland and then moves to Scotland, Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa as monks in search of the lapis lazuli mineral go on a quest so that they incorporate blue colors in their book. Like the monks, Kells goes briefly astray, making the tale a bit tedious for a couple chapters, hence the reason for the four-star rating, but the narrative gets back on track.
Crider presents the Book of Kells as a Bible that all humanity had a role in producing, regardless of whether they were Christian, Muslim, pagan, men or women. Kells is a believable tale.
The details of how monks created illuminated bibles -- the slaughter of cattle for the skin to be used as page, the creation of black ink, the use of minerals to create colored ink -- are generously researched without being tedious. I learned about Kells by going to a presentation by Amy Crider.
Like the monks of yore, Crider is a compelling author.
Crider has a lot to say about faith in religious and existential contexts. The book also touches on self-discipline both in terms of denial as well as cleverness. Combined, these themes make a potent read. And a surprise in a book with monks as the main characters is that it touches a lot on sexuality -- desire, second thoughts and slavery. The monks were holy men who lived in a very real world of flesh, greed and suffering.
The work is rich in part because Crider grounds it in historical fact, as a details about the work's authors and its composition have come down through the millennium. She imagines what type of men were attracted to an ascetic religious life yet able to produce a florid, artistically beautiful masterpiece of a Bible.
Crider wisely uses history to make the story compelling. The monks who made the Book of Kells in their monasteries off the west coast of Scotland were under the threat of attack from Viking raiders. The creation of the Book of Kells was a supreme act of devotion given the threat posed by Viking warriors. And she uses imagination to enrich her story. It starts in Ireland and then moves to Scotland, Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa as monks in search of the lapis lazuli mineral go on a quest so that they incorporate blue colors in their book. Like the monks, Kells goes briefly astray, making the tale a bit tedious for a couple chapters, hence the reason for the four-star rating, but the narrative gets back on track.
Crider presents the Book of Kells as a Bible that all humanity had a role in producing, regardless of whether they were Christian, Muslim, pagan, men or women. Kells is a believable tale.
The details of how monks created illuminated bibles -- the slaughter of cattle for the skin to be used as page, the creation of black ink, the use of minerals to create colored ink -- are generously researched without being tedious. I learned about Kells by going to a presentation by Amy Crider.
Like the monks of yore, Crider is a compelling author.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews