The Iron and The Loom

by Flavia Idà

How many times, she wondered, had she woven together cloth that his sword had then torn apart along with the flesh underneath?

The year is 1136, the place Tropèa, a walled sea town in Southern Italy during the Norman domination.

Kallyna d’Àrgira, a master of the arts of the loom who can turn the world into silk thread, is pledged in marriage by her father to Raimo Trani, a man she hates. After a sudden tragedy leaves her at Raimo’s mercy, into her life comes Dàlibor d’Hancourt, the Norman knight sent by King Roger of Hauteville to be the new governor of Tropèa, a man who, like her, is burdened by a life he did not choose.

Their opposite stations — Kallyna the daughter of a fisherman, Dàlibor the son of a foreign lord — pit them at first against each other. When Kallyna’s talent attracts the unwelcome attention of the heir to Roger’s throne, who can destroy them both, the common threat will draw them together, with a bond that defies all distinctions, into the time of iron that saw the founding of the greatest kingdom in Italy.

366 pages, Hardcover

First published December 13, 2013

About the author

Flavia Ida` was born and raised in Arena di Calabria, Italy, and studied the Classics and European Literature at the University of Naples. At 28 she moved to San Francisco, where she learned English by watching children's television programs with her 4-year-old son Adam. In 1984 she graduated summa cum laude in English and Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, where she also obtained her Master's and taught Creative Writing. Her poetry has appeared in several literary magazines, and she is the winner of the Emily Dickinson Award sponsored by the Poetry Society of America. "The Iron and the Loom" is her first novel. Her second novel, "The Names of Heaven" is due out in summer 2014, also from Hunt Press of Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Domenico Capano · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb book.
The Iron and the Loom draws the reader with narrative virtuosity into an uncommon love story that defies all the conventions of the times. Kallyna, strong and proud, is a beautifully-drawn character. The loves scenes are daring, and there is a wonderful imaginative scope, with turns of phrases of great rarity and beauty. The depiction of times and places reveals the Author’s knowledge of the historical and cultural background, through which she paints on a vast canvas a portrait of Southern Italy that resonates still. Brava to the Author for this superb novel. Flavia Ida` proves herself to be a born storyteller.
ing. Domenico Capano
Piergiovanni Salimbeni, Nel '700, Da Quella Picciola Terra Di Limpidi

[Augusta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful characters and beautiful story...i'm reading this amazing book without stop...it's impossible don't love it!My favorite book, for characters and hystorical period...an endless emotion!

[LIsa Partridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book immensely and found that reading about this era of European history was fascinating and I intend to read more from this author.

[J. Dark · Rating 5 out of 5]

'The Iron and the Loom' by Flavia Ida is a very good story. It begins with Kallyna, a daughter of a fisherman who is a headstrong and passionate woman. The tapestry of the story is richly developed, and you can feel the breeze of the main character's home in the pages. The story is solid and measured in pace throughout, which reinforces the sense of history as your read. The details of place and time are well thought out and add more 'flavor' to the background of the story. To me the title is a little misleading, but not much. The Iron is both physical and metaphorical, being the steel used in the war that makes up much of the 'off-stage' background that affects Kallyna and those around her. It also is a reference to her determination, along with Dalibor d'Hancourt's who is fighting in that war. The Loom does show up in the story, more as a skill of Kallyna's that introduces her into Norman politics and intrigue. All in all, I enjoyed the book very much and am looking forward to Flavia's next one.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book for its strong female protagonist. It was also a new historical period for me: the Norman conquest/occupation of Italy in the early 12th century. I don't consider this great literature, but it was a good story contrasting the life of nobility and peasants during the Crusades.

"We break our bodies in childbirth, risking our lives every time... We nurse our sons and we raise them and we watch them day and night... and then as soon as they've barely reached manhood their fathers take them from us and throw them into the battlefield to become meat for the sword... No choice is given... Do the fathers want their sons to love them or just to fear them?"