Granada: A Novel of Moorish Spain

by Alexander Grace

The major event of the year 1492, to most Europeans at the time, would not have been Columbus' discovery of the New World but rather the fall of the last Moorish kingdom in Spain. After centuries of struggle, the forces of Christendom had driven the Moors into a tiny enclave in the south based on the capital of Granada. This novel encompasses the final destruction of a glorious, sophisticated civilization as well as the birth pangs of the Renaissance and the Spanish Inquisition. The lives of three people are entangled in this drama, a young Jewish woman desperate to conceal the fact that her family's forced conversion to Christianity was a fraud, an Arab intellectual hopelessly seeking the continuation of his life of philosophic contemplation, and a brutal, ambitious Spanish knight whose only road to power will be over a bloody battlefield. War, politics, religion, lust, and love are all factors in this story which spans years of heartache and glory.

Genres: Historical Fiction

732 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 12, 2016

Reviews

[Cathy Smyth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking Forward to Visiting

I chose this book because I wanted to know more about the people and history of Spain and I think I have a better understanding of the good and the bad during this time. When I do get to Visit Spain, I will think about the historical experiences of the people of Spain.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the most compelling book, managed to make this gripping historical period quite confusing. Too much emphasis on blood and torture for my taste. And for goodness sake, why did one character’s name keep changing? Marisol or Miriam????? Sort it out.

[George · Rating 1 out of 5]

A book without an editor. Misspellings, too long, too much focus on detailed carnage. Dialog is the strong suit, but the plot weakly extends to carry too much history. Partner and I both read while in Spain, where much of this took place, yet couldn’t finish.

[Juan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Master piece

Extraordinary novel, beautifully structured, wise insights with superlative historical context. Adequate tempos and credible personages. A real masterpiece, undoubtedly one of the best books i'.be read. Chapeau to Alexander Grace.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because I plan to visit the Alhambra next spring, I was looking forward to reading this book. I learned an enormous amount of history of that region during the late 1400s by reading the book, as the book paints a vivid picture of Grenada, its Moorish citizens and ruling families, the Spanish quest to reclaim that territory as Christian and the ensuing wars, and also the Spanish Inquisition, which was occurring at that same time. The characters unfold in separate stories amid detailed descriptions of life in both Moorish and Christian courts and the wars that they fought against each other. I'm glad I read this book, as it truly enhanced my knowledge of this place and that time. However, It should have been much more closely proofed and edited, as the vast number of errors detracted from the scope and depth of the story. There were omitted words, duplicated words, words out of sequence, and even in one or two places, the characters were referred to by different names. For this reason, I am reducing my rating by one star, from what would have been 4 stars based on all other aspects of this novel. If you have an interest in this place and time, I heartily recommend this book, but be prepared for very detailed descriptions of war strategies, machinery, and battles. Such chapters are interesting and give insight but are not the easy reading that one might expect from a novel.