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The Jerusalem Quartet #1
El tapíz del Sinaí
Sinai Tapestry, the brilliant first novel of the Jerusalem Quartet,is an epic alternate history of the Middle East in which the discovery of the original Bible links a disparate group of remarkable people across time and space
In 1840, Plantagenet Strongbow, the twenty-ninth Duke of Dorset, seven-feet-seven-inches tall and the greatest swordsman and botanist of Victorian England, walks away from the family estate and disappears into the Sinai Desert carrying only a large magnifying glass and a portable sundial. He emerges forty years later as an Arab holy man and anthropologist, now the author of a massive study of Levantine sex—and the secret owner of the Ottoman Empire.
Meanwhile, Skanderbeg Wallenstein has discovered the original Bible, lost on a dusty bookshelf in the monastery library. To his amazement, it defies every truth held by the three major religions. Nearly a century later, Haj Harun, an antiquities dealer who has acted as guardian of the Holy City for three thousand years, uncovers the hidden Bible.
Sinai Tapestry is the first volume of the Jerusalem Quartet, which continues with Jerusalem Poker, Nile Shadows,and Jericho Mosaic.
In 1840, Plantagenet Strongbow, the twenty-ninth Duke of Dorset, seven-feet-seven-inches tall and the greatest swordsman and botanist of Victorian England, walks away from the family estate and disappears into the Sinai Desert carrying only a large magnifying glass and a portable sundial. He emerges forty years later as an Arab holy man and anthropologist, now the author of a massive study of Levantine sex—and the secret owner of the Ottoman Empire.
Meanwhile, Skanderbeg Wallenstein has discovered the original Bible, lost on a dusty bookshelf in the monastery library. To his amazement, it defies every truth held by the three major religions. Nearly a century later, Haj Harun, an antiquities dealer who has acted as guardian of the Holy City for three thousand years, uncovers the hidden Bible.
Sinai Tapestry is the first volume of the Jerusalem Quartet, which continues with Jerusalem Poker, Nile Shadows,and Jericho Mosaic.
382 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
172 people are currently reading
745 people want to read
About the author
Edward Whittemore
7 books22 followersEdward Whittemore (1933–1995) graduated from Yale University in 1955 and went on to serve as a Marine officer in Japan and spend ten years as a CIA operative in the Far East, Europe, and the Middle East. In addition to writing fiction, he managed a newspaper in Greece, was employed by a shoe company in Italy, and worked in New York City’s narcotics control office during the administration of Mayor John V. Lindsay. He wrote the Jerusalem Quartet while dividing his time between New York and Jerusalem.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
February 23, 2019
There is a story hidden inside every man… And behind every story there is a man.
Sinai Tapestry is as grotesque as the Old Testament and as flowery as Arabian Nights – it is a fabulously mythologized trip through the last two centuries.
In the end, mankind always, like a legendary phoenix, rises from the ashes… And life is always a step ahead of death.
Men tend to become fables and fables tend to become men.
Sinai Tapestry is as grotesque as the Old Testament and as flowery as Arabian Nights – it is a fabulously mythologized trip through the last two centuries.
They might weave slaughter in the streets but what was that in the end? The other weaving also never ceased, the weaving of life, and when they burned one city another was raised on the ruins. The mountain only grew higher and towered ever more majestically above the plains and the wastes and the deserts.
In the end, mankind always, like a legendary phoenix, rises from the ashes… And life is always a step ahead of death.
November 2, 2013
The Sinai Tapestry is a story that merrily bounces back and forth through history, from the Holy Land in 1000 BC, to Victorian England, then back to the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years War, with pit-stops in a dozen other places along the way. Similarly it flits back and forth between genres, a gentle satire of Victorian sexual morals at one point, a heart-breaking war story the next, with a love story, a Boy’s Own adventure and a Middle East travelogue in between. It features a diverse cast of wonderful characters, including but not limited to; Plantagenet Strongbow, 26th Earl of Dorset, 7’7” tall and deaf as a doornail, a fierce non-conformist and the finest fencer, botanist and exlorer of Victorian England; Joe O’Sullivan Beare, failed Irish freedom-fighter and gun-runner, 33rd son of a fisherman-prophet; Harun al-Rashid, antiquities dealer and possible Immortal Guardian of the city of Jerusalem; Wallenstein Skanderberg, a mad Albanian monk who rediscovers the Original Bible, and dozens more. It’s a story about religion and faith, the search for knowledge, the tragic beauty of a Lost Cause, the birth and death of nations, “the mammoth course of history, it’s large brutish atrocities and the small moments of goodness” as the afterword puts it. Somehow Whittlemore manages to take all of this and weave (‘cause, tapestry, get it???!) not just a coherent narrative, but an engrossing one.
The Smyrna chapter is a particular highlight. Whittlemore takes a largely forgotten chapter in 20th century history and delves deep. His anger and sorrow are palpable on the page as he portrays the very worst and best that humankind has to offer, when the Turkish army comes to reclaim the town of Smyrna and unleashes an orgy of rape and slaughter, while an uncaring international community watches on impassively. So much of the Sinai Tapestry has a whimsical tone, but when Whittlemore changes gears he does it very effectively, sliding effortlessly into a story of war, inhumanity and heroism, damaged characters desperately trying to survive a world that has suddenly gone mad.
Some sections can be a little too twee or arch at times, but whenever this threatens to become too much Whittlemore always manages to flip the script and deliver a gut punch, and what was bordering on caricature becomes character again, a flesh and blood human being, a startling and forgotten moment in the long and bloody history of the Middle East, a secret triumph or a public failure.
This is a bit of a weird book at times. I’m not entirely sure it’s the forgotten classic that some claim, but it is pretty damn good. Very damn good. Whatever deficits there are in the telling, it finishes with incredible strength and power and left me wanting more.
The Smyrna chapter is a particular highlight. Whittlemore takes a largely forgotten chapter in 20th century history and delves deep. His anger and sorrow are palpable on the page as he portrays the very worst and best that humankind has to offer, when the Turkish army comes to reclaim the town of Smyrna and unleashes an orgy of rape and slaughter, while an uncaring international community watches on impassively. So much of the Sinai Tapestry has a whimsical tone, but when Whittlemore changes gears he does it very effectively, sliding effortlessly into a story of war, inhumanity and heroism, damaged characters desperately trying to survive a world that has suddenly gone mad.
Some sections can be a little too twee or arch at times, but whenever this threatens to become too much Whittlemore always manages to flip the script and deliver a gut punch, and what was bordering on caricature becomes character again, a flesh and blood human being, a startling and forgotten moment in the long and bloody history of the Middle East, a secret triumph or a public failure.
This is a bit of a weird book at times. I’m not entirely sure it’s the forgotten classic that some claim, but it is pretty damn good. Very damn good. Whatever deficits there are in the telling, it finishes with incredible strength and power and left me wanting more.
August 18, 2008
Whittemore in 5 interconnected novels, three of which I have read (only Sinai tapestry reads poorly as a stand alone) presents his gonzo secret history of the 20th century. These books combine magic realism, war stories, gothic horror, tall tales, romantic adventure, allegory, and spy thriller (Whittermore can be placed on that short list of authors who was also a spy or intelligence agent hanging out with Graham Greene, James Tiptree jr./Alice Sheldon, Cordwainer Smith, and Christopher Marlow). The tone ranges from whimsical and funny to unsettling and depressing, in fact he resembles Heironymous Bosch in print when describing historical atrocities like the massacre at Smyrna or the Rape of Nanking. A bizarre cast of over the top and eccentric characters including gunrunners, gangsters, drug addicts, serial killers, revolutionaries, and lunatics move through magical and historical events in locations ranging from the far east, middle east, America, British Islands, and Europe. Fans of the romantic, doomed adventures of Alvaro Mutis, the depressed thrillers of Greene, the gothic story-weaving of Angela Carter or Dineson, and the erudite wit of Borges will find much to love here.
December 16, 2022
“Labi, tātad no cilvēka pie cilvēka, un tas, kas tev vajadzīgs, ir bagāts un košs ceļojums, tādēļ lūdz Dievu, lai tu galā nonāktu lēni. Un, ja ceļā kādu sastopi, tūdaļ apstājies un aprunājies, un atbildi uz jautājumiem, un jautā pats, pēc iespējas vairāk. Ērmotas paražas un pretišķīgas patiesības? Un vēl arī mirāžas? Pieņem to visu, it kā pieņemdams savu dvēseli, jo tas viss ir tava dvēsele, sevišķi mirāžas. Un nekad nebrīnies par citu dīvainībām, jo tu esi tikpat dīvains. Vienkārši sniedz viņiem šo Dieva dāvanu, klausies viņos! Tad tev beigās nebūs, ko nožēlot, jo šo ceļu tu būsi nogājis savā sirdī.”
Vitmors raksta izcili, un tomēr šoreiz nespēju trāpīt uz viņa viļņa. Grāmata nosvaidījās nepabeigta kopš vasaras, kaut kā to tagad pabeidzu, bet gribētos kādreiz pārlasīt pareizajā noskaņojumā, jo zinu, ka tad izbaudīšu un iekritīšu līdz ausīm šai trakajā virpulī.
Vitmors raksta izcili, un tomēr šoreiz nespēju trāpīt uz viņa viļņa. Grāmata nosvaidījās nepabeigta kopš vasaras, kaut kā to tagad pabeidzu, bet gribētos kādreiz pārlasīt pareizajā noskaņojumā, jo zinu, ka tad izbaudīšu un iekritīšu līdz ausīm šai trakajā virpulī.
January 21, 2015
"In the early nineteenth century, Skanderberg Wallenstein, a fanatical Albanian monk and linguist, unearths in a monastery in Jerusalem the oldest Bible in the world and discovers that it denies every religious truth ever held by anyone. Fearful of the consequences of its dissemination, Wallenstein forges an original Bible that will justify faith and buries the real Sinai Bible in Jerusalem. His actions set into motion a bawdy, brilliant, and undeniably epic adventure that spans a century and entwines the destinies of four extraordinary men in the shifting sands of the Holy Land: Plantagenet Strongbow, an English-born adventurer who becomes a Muslim holy man and finally, on the eve of World War 1, the secret ruler of the Ottoman Empire; his son Stern, a visionary who dedicates his life to establishing an inclusive homeland in the Middle East for Jews, Muslims, and Christians; Haj Harun, a 3000-year-old warrior and antiquities dealer; and O'Sullivan Beare, an exiled Irish freedom fighter and gunrunner."
I'm going to be upfront and say that will impossible for me to be objective about this book. This is only the second book I have read that I knew I would love from the very first page to the last, the other being The Shadow of the Wind, recommended by a dear friend. It will also be impossible to write a review that will do this book justice, but I will try.
Sinai Tapestry is the first book in the Jerusalem Quartet, a series written over a decade in the late '70s and '80s. The series garnered much critical acclaim, but little publishing success, which is a shame because I think this is one of the best books I have ever read. I would like to say the same about the rest of the series, but I haven't read them yet. I definitely will be though.
The book covers a lot of ground in both location and time from 19th Century England to Africa, to Germany and the Balkans, to various points around the Mediterranean and Middle East, but always coming back to Jerusalem, and finally to the eve of World War II. It is an amazing piece of speculative fiction, combining elements of fantasy, history both real and imagine, literature, and just a hint of spy thrillers to truly transcend all the genres. Whittemore is a masterful storyteller, putting all these pieces together with eye-twinkling humor on every page, but turning to the dark and serious in the blink of an eye.
If this book has any failing at all it is that it may become a bit incomprehensible by the end. Actually, that's not quite right. The plot itself becomes more straightforward, but the reader is perhaps not quite sure of how it all hangs together. But then again, this novel is titled a "tapestry" after all and there are three more books to go.
Sinai Tapestry is a seminal work of speculative fiction and one that everyone must read. I'm giving this book the highest possible recommendation.
Rating: 9.5/10.
I'm going to be upfront and say that will impossible for me to be objective about this book. This is only the second book I have read that I knew I would love from the very first page to the last, the other being The Shadow of the Wind, recommended by a dear friend. It will also be impossible to write a review that will do this book justice, but I will try.
Sinai Tapestry is the first book in the Jerusalem Quartet, a series written over a decade in the late '70s and '80s. The series garnered much critical acclaim, but little publishing success, which is a shame because I think this is one of the best books I have ever read. I would like to say the same about the rest of the series, but I haven't read them yet. I definitely will be though.
The book covers a lot of ground in both location and time from 19th Century England to Africa, to Germany and the Balkans, to various points around the Mediterranean and Middle East, but always coming back to Jerusalem, and finally to the eve of World War II. It is an amazing piece of speculative fiction, combining elements of fantasy, history both real and imagine, literature, and just a hint of spy thrillers to truly transcend all the genres. Whittemore is a masterful storyteller, putting all these pieces together with eye-twinkling humor on every page, but turning to the dark and serious in the blink of an eye.
If this book has any failing at all it is that it may become a bit incomprehensible by the end. Actually, that's not quite right. The plot itself becomes more straightforward, but the reader is perhaps not quite sure of how it all hangs together. But then again, this novel is titled a "tapestry" after all and there are three more books to go.
Sinai Tapestry is a seminal work of speculative fiction and one that everyone must read. I'm giving this book the highest possible recommendation.
Rating: 9.5/10.
dnf-bitches
July 16, 2016Dick-lit, Tom Robbins-style, where all the heroes have over the top abilities and are beatified for their over the top eccentricities. Gets old real fast unless you're buying into that kind of hero worship.
Can't finish this. No idea how far I got, but I had yet to encounter a female character with a name. Or any dialog.
Can't finish this. No idea how far I got, but I had yet to encounter a female character with a name. Or any dialog.
August 11, 2024
Not my favorite. It had all the elements of a book I would like; big bold and eccentric characters, interweaving plot points over space and time, pathos, hints at deeper symbolism and commentary on the human condition. But something just didn’t quite land for me. 3 stars for potential.
April 10, 2008
Edward Whittemore, ex-CIA agent with great insight into the Middle East, has written a quartet of sadly under-read novels that burst with humor, larger-than-life characters, Rabelaisian earthiness and deep compassion. Sinai Tapestry is the first novel in this quartet, setting an absurd pace with a protagonist who is a lampoon of Sir Richard Burton, the explorer (not the actor): "Plantagenet Strongbow, twenty-ninth Duke of Dorset, seven feet, seven inches tall, the greatest swordsman, botanist and explorer of the Victorian age, who disappears in the Sinai in 1840." Stick with these books and find out how secret control of the Middle East turned on the result of a long-term poker game and how the real Bible was dictated by a blind man to an imbecile. The writing is brilliant, blistering, and parallels Pynchon in themes, though this novel was contemporary with Pynchon's masterpiece, Gravity's Rainbow. Unlike Pynchon, though, the writing is accessible and yet still contains a wealth of fancy, unusual and forgotten historical episodes, ruminations on human nature and characters more lively than most historical novels.
One of my Top 10 favorite writers!
For more information, go to:
http://www.jerusalemdreaming.info/
One of my Top 10 favorite writers!
For more information, go to:
http://www.jerusalemdreaming.info/
December 20, 2015
Audio. The reader is excellent but by the time I was 30 minutes from the end I almost didn't bother finishing. Plot is wandering if there is a plot at all. It is like movie reviews that gush over the eccentric characters but nothing about plot or story. Will not bother with any more.
July 28, 2014
The Jerusalem Quartet holds up very well for me, re-reading it after twenty-something years.
Edward Whittemore was such a writer! IMO, the Jerusalem Quartet (of which Sinai Tapestry is the first volume) is one of the great literary works of the twentieth century. Practically no-one has read it. Here's Jeff Vandermeer's recommendation.
Vandermeer's review is here. Erik Davis has a useful review here.
Be advised that the Jerusalem Quartet can be heavy going from time to time, not in the same way as Umberto Eco's work, but to a similar degree. In particular, the first hundred pages of Sinai Tapestry are somewhat dry and expositional.
Occasionally I wish Whittemore had done more showing and less telling, but the Quartet would probably have run to 10,000 pages without expositional interludes. It's 1600 pages as is.
Finally, it's a perfectly decent psychological and sociological history of the Middle East in the 20th century. An attentive reader will come away with a good understanding of the region's sometimes-baffling politics.
It has been out of print for decades, but it's now available in paperback and Kindle formats.
Edward Whittemore was such a writer! IMO, the Jerusalem Quartet (of which Sinai Tapestry is the first volume) is one of the great literary works of the twentieth century. Practically no-one has read it. Here's Jeff Vandermeer's recommendation.
In the end, all I can tell you is this: If you believe in fiction much as you would a religion, or if you think that great works of fiction contain insights and wisdom that can literally change your life, or if you have known books that took you on strange but wonderful journeys, then you should read Edward Whittemore. He will not disappoint you.
Vandermeer's review is here. Erik Davis has a useful review here.
Be advised that the Jerusalem Quartet can be heavy going from time to time, not in the same way as Umberto Eco's work, but to a similar degree. In particular, the first hundred pages of Sinai Tapestry are somewhat dry and expositional.
Occasionally I wish Whittemore had done more showing and less telling, but the Quartet would probably have run to 10,000 pages without expositional interludes. It's 1600 pages as is.
Finally, it's a perfectly decent psychological and sociological history of the Middle East in the 20th century. An attentive reader will come away with a good understanding of the region's sometimes-baffling politics.
It has been out of print for decades, but it's now available in paperback and Kindle formats.
February 20, 2023
Sometimes, gems remain undiscovered for a reason. They're flawed.
In 1978 or so, I was lucky enough to stumble upon the paperback of this, just out, in a mall book store. Imagine! Shelved in with Tolkien and Shannara. This is one of a handful of books that have accompanied me on my life's journey. This is probably my last re-read. I see now it is not the sui generis masterpiece I always thought, now that I've read Pynchon, Marquez, Barth, and written a couple of novels myself.
The book seems to start out as one thing, and changes into another. First, it's about someone forging the Bible, and that story is then abandoned, literally buried and forgotten, until the last pages. Too bad. The fun, Tom Robbins "Another Roadside Attraction" writing turns into an attempt at a serious novel. The rest of the book is a confusing and vague spy novel with undeveloped characters. The Smyrna massacre is tossed in at the end, probably because the plot was going nowhere and a climax of some sort was needed.
If you're reading this book and feeling there's a lot going on that you're missing, I feel your pain. There are people who appear (women in particular, like Maud, Sophia), without explanation or backstory, which can leave you feeling like you aren't smart enough, you missed something. But no, after reading this book four times, I can see that former CIA spook Whittemore just left out the information we expect from fiction. Just keep in mind, if you read this, that there are two books jammed together here, and you won't find any connection between them.
Here's hoping the rest of the Quartet holds up better.
In 1978 or so, I was lucky enough to stumble upon the paperback of this, just out, in a mall book store. Imagine! Shelved in with Tolkien and Shannara. This is one of a handful of books that have accompanied me on my life's journey. This is probably my last re-read. I see now it is not the sui generis masterpiece I always thought, now that I've read Pynchon, Marquez, Barth, and written a couple of novels myself.
The book seems to start out as one thing, and changes into another. First, it's about someone forging the Bible, and that story is then abandoned, literally buried and forgotten, until the last pages. Too bad. The fun, Tom Robbins "Another Roadside Attraction" writing turns into an attempt at a serious novel. The rest of the book is a confusing and vague spy novel with undeveloped characters. The Smyrna massacre is tossed in at the end, probably because the plot was going nowhere and a climax of some sort was needed.
If you're reading this book and feeling there's a lot going on that you're missing, I feel your pain. There are people who appear (women in particular, like Maud, Sophia), without explanation or backstory, which can leave you feeling like you aren't smart enough, you missed something. But no, after reading this book four times, I can see that former CIA spook Whittemore just left out the information we expect from fiction. Just keep in mind, if you read this, that there are two books jammed together here, and you won't find any connection between them.
Here's hoping the rest of the Quartet holds up better.
November 5, 2011
Плантагенет Стронгбоу навсегда вошел в историю Тринити-колледжа после трех примечательных инцидентов, один из которых приключился на Хэллоуин, второй – на Рождество, третий – на весеннее равноденствие. На Хэллоуин Стронгбоу возвращался поздно ночью с букетиком для своего гербария, когда случайно нарвался на толпу пьяных студентов, дерущихся в темном переулке. Пьянчуги мгновенно вырвали у него букетик и бросили его на мостовую. Но Стронгбоу не дрогнул, он поднял свои цветочки, отряхнул с них пыль и пошел через толпу. Через пять минут около дюжины сильных парней валялось на мостовой, крича от боли и злости. У одних были переломы, у других – вывихи.
На Рождество Стронгбоу подал заявление на участие в конкурсе по фехтованию, подтвердив свое мастерство верительным письмом от двух знаменитых мастеров из Италии. Стронгбоу хотел принять участие во всех трех отделениях конкурса – меч, шпага, сабля – чему не было пока прецедентов за всю историю колледжа. На самом деле он ни разу в жизни не фехтовал с живыми партнерами. Просто пару месяцев назад он нашел в своем замке старый учебник по фехтованию и долго тренировался вместе с ним у большого венецианского зеркала. Однажды во время путешествия Стронгбоу остановился в придорожной гостинице и, узнав, что в ней остановились два известных итальянских мастера, он попросил у них оценить его владение клинком. Мастера посмотрели его прыжки перед зеркалом и были просто потрясены тем, что таких приемов они никогда не видали в своей жизни. Они написали по его просьбе верительное письмо, после чего сразу же вернулись к себе в Италию, чтобы попытаться повторить все то, что увидели от этого парня. Естественно, пару недель спустя Стронгбоу выиграет за 15 минут все три фехтовальных конкурса в своем учебном заведении.
Сорок лет спустя, когда он будет вести в пустыне жизнь простого нищего дервиша и когда обкуренный опием убийца попытается всадить клинок ему в спину, Стронгбоу повторит один из этих фехтовальных приемов, что будет замечено легендарным путешественником Нумой Нуманцием, собирающим на Ближнем Востоке все источники по истории древнего гомосексуализма. Нуманций подзовет к себе этого странного дервиша и скажет, что такие движения он видел за свою жизнь только у двух людей – двух итальянских мастеров, которых уже давно нет среди живых. Дервиш сделает вид, что не понял его слов. Тогда Нуманций пойдет на хитрость. Он скажет, что заплатит ему золотом, если старик даст ему слово, что они никогда не встречался с этими мастерами. Но граф Дорсет Стронгбоу никогда не врал, поэтому его ответ был хитр и замысловат. “Мне снилось, что я живу в далекой северной стране и живу в высоком каменном замке. Там я знал этих людей и учил их своему мастерству”. После этого старик Стронгбоу начнет симулировать эпилептический приступ, и народ разбежится в страхе, что демоны захватят и их тела тоже.
Между тем, в канун весеннего равноденствия с юным Стронгбоу случится третий примечательный инцидент. На протяжении многих столетий в Оксфорде существовала самая древняя и самая влиятельная масонская ложа – Орден Масонов-Мастурбаторов. Из поколения в поколение в него входили самые влиятельные люди Империи – будущие ученые, архиепископы и короли. Раз в год орден выбирал Великую Семерку, которая в течении года правила Орденом. В канун очередного весеннего равноденствия каждый студент в Оксфорде таил в себе надежду, что будет избран одним из великих мастурбаторов, поэтому не закрывал входную дверь в свою каморку.
Теперь уже кажется, что вражда Стронгбоу с мастурбаторами, из-за которой полвека спустя рухнет вся Британская империя, была предрешена с самого начала. Все началось с того, что в ту самую ночь он запер свою входную дверь…
Не подумайте, что я цитирую книгу дословно. Это всего лишь мой приблизительный и при этом очень грубый пересказ. Мне самому непонятно зачем я это делаю. Точнее, прекрасно понятно, но все равно странно. Просто Уитмора очень хочется цитировать и даже просто пересказывать. С первой и до последней строчки и почти дословно… Одним словом, я наконец нашел своего автора, которого готов приводить отныне за образец для подражания и на фоне которого теперь серьезно померкли для меня и Эко, и Павич, и Орхан Памук.
Самое ужасное в книге – это личность автора. Точнее, осознание читателем того, что можно писать так офигенно и так попсово, но при этом умереть в полной неизвестности. Эдвард Уитмор – выпускник Йеля и бывший агент ЦРУ – написал всего пять книг, которые были изданы, но при этом прошли на Западе совершенно незамеченными. Автор после этого прожил еще лет десять без гроша в кармане. Работал копировщиком на ксероксе в какой-то юридической конторе. Потом помер. Лет через восемь после этого его книги неожиданно переиздали, и все поняли какого человека они потеряли. Но было уже, разумеется, поздно… Более серьезного аргумента в пользу решения никогда не становиться писателем – придумать попросту сложно. (2006.08.21)
На Рождество Стронгбоу подал заявление на участие в конкурсе по фехтованию, подтвердив свое мастерство верительным письмом от двух знаменитых мастеров из Италии. Стронгбоу хотел принять участие во всех трех отделениях конкурса – меч, шпага, сабля – чему не было пока прецедентов за всю историю колледжа. На самом деле он ни разу в жизни не фехтовал с живыми партнерами. Просто пару месяцев назад он нашел в своем замке старый учебник по фехтованию и долго тренировался вместе с ним у большого венецианского зеркала. Однажды во время путешествия Стронгбоу остановился в придорожной гостинице и, узнав, что в ней остановились два известных итальянских мастера, он попросил у них оценить его владение клинком. Мастера посмотрели его прыжки перед зеркалом и были просто потрясены тем, что таких приемов они никогда не видали в своей жизни. Они написали по его просьбе верительное письмо, после чего сразу же вернулись к себе в Италию, чтобы попытаться повторить все то, что увидели от этого парня. Естественно, пару недель спустя Стронгбоу выиграет за 15 минут все три фехтовальных конкурса в своем учебном заведении.
Сорок лет спустя, когда он будет вести в пустыне жизнь простого нищего дервиша и когда обкуренный опием убийца попытается всадить клинок ему в спину, Стронгбоу повторит один из этих фехтовальных приемов, что будет замечено легендарным путешественником Нумой Нуманцием, собирающим на Ближнем Востоке все источники по истории древнего гомосексуализма. Нуманций подзовет к себе этого странного дервиша и скажет, что такие движения он видел за свою жизнь только у двух людей – двух итальянских мастеров, которых уже давно нет среди живых. Дервиш сделает вид, что не понял его слов. Тогда Нуманций пойдет на хитрость. Он скажет, что заплатит ему золотом, если старик даст ему слово, что они никогда не встречался с этими мастерами. Но граф Дорсет Стронгбоу никогда не врал, поэтому его ответ был хитр и замысловат. “Мне снилось, что я живу в далекой северной стране и живу в высоком каменном замке. Там я знал этих людей и учил их своему мастерству”. После этого старик Стронгбоу начнет симулировать эпилептический приступ, и народ разбежится в страхе, что демоны захватят и их тела тоже.
Между тем, в канун весеннего равноденствия с юным Стронгбоу случится третий примечательный инцидент. На протяжении многих столетий в Оксфорде существовала самая древняя и самая влиятельная масонская ложа – Орден Масонов-Мастурбаторов. Из поколения в поколение в него входили самые влиятельные люди Империи – будущие ученые, архиепископы и короли. Раз в год орден выбирал Великую Семерку, которая в течении года правила Орденом. В канун очередного весеннего равноденствия каждый студент в Оксфорде таил в себе надежду, что будет избран одним из великих мастурбаторов, поэтому не закрывал входную дверь в свою каморку.
Теперь уже кажется, что вражда Стронгбоу с мастурбаторами, из-за которой полвека спустя рухнет вся Британская империя, была предрешена с самого начала. Все началось с того, что в ту самую ночь он запер свою входную дверь…
Не подумайте, что я цитирую книгу дословно. Это всего лишь мой приблизительный и при этом очень грубый пересказ. Мне самому непонятно зачем я это делаю. Точнее, прекрасно понятно, но все равно странно. Просто Уитмора очень хочется цитировать и даже просто пересказывать. С первой и до последней строчки и почти дословно… Одним словом, я наконец нашел своего автора, которого готов приводить отныне за образец для подражания и на фоне которого теперь серьезно померкли для меня и Эко, и Павич, и Орхан Памук.
Самое ужасное в книге – это личность автора. Точнее, осознание читателем того, что можно писать так офигенно и так попсово, но при этом умереть в полной неизвестности. Эдвард Уитмор – выпускник Йеля и бывший агент ЦРУ – написал всего пять книг, которые были изданы, но при этом прошли на Западе совершенно незамеченными. Автор после этого прожил еще лет десять без гроша в кармане. Работал копировщиком на ксероксе в какой-то юридической конторе. Потом помер. Лет через восемь после этого его книги неожиданно переиздали, и все поняли какого человека они потеряли. Но было уже, разумеется, поздно… Более серьезного аргумента в пользу решения никогда не становиться писателем – придумать попросту сложно. (2006.08.21)
January 3, 2020
I set out to read Whittemore's first of his Jerusalem Quartet after great reviews from some thoughtful people I follow here, and a promise of an unusual adventure through Jerusalem and 19-20th century mid East history. Also the (2) introductions in the edition I read from the author's Yale pal and editor laid it on thick - how unusual and exciting this author was.
Well I'm here with the counter opinion. The book is mostly silly, the characters absurd, the history garbled. It just never takes off. Yes it is Pynchon-esque, but maybe I never like Pynchon either. What have we got - a deaf 8 foot English lord who is of course a genius (did this genius really need to write an 8 volume on levantine sex?), the original king of Jerusalem who lives forever along with his city mistreated and baffled, some entirely perverted Albanians, a gun runner hooked on heroin and an Irish rebel fighting the black&tans in whatever guise.
None of it made much sense, and the history was unclear at best. The second to last chapter which covers the horrific Turkish slaughter and rape of Greeks and Armenians in Smyrna in 1922 was somewhat redeeming - I learned something looking it up.
Although many readers don't mind, for me, the lack of any significant female characters was absurd.
Overall I guess there is some kind of odd music in the writing, but nothing to make me want to read the second volume. To me it's pretty clear why this writer never did become famous: he's nuts.
Well I'm here with the counter opinion. The book is mostly silly, the characters absurd, the history garbled. It just never takes off. Yes it is Pynchon-esque, but maybe I never like Pynchon either. What have we got - a deaf 8 foot English lord who is of course a genius (did this genius really need to write an 8 volume on levantine sex?), the original king of Jerusalem who lives forever along with his city mistreated and baffled, some entirely perverted Albanians, a gun runner hooked on heroin and an Irish rebel fighting the black&tans in whatever guise.
None of it made much sense, and the history was unclear at best. The second to last chapter which covers the horrific Turkish slaughter and rape of Greeks and Armenians in Smyrna in 1922 was somewhat redeeming - I learned something looking it up.
Although many readers don't mind, for me, the lack of any significant female characters was absurd.
Overall I guess there is some kind of odd music in the writing, but nothing to make me want to read the second volume. To me it's pretty clear why this writer never did become famous: he's nuts.
June 26, 2017
What a crazy novel! Whittemore is known in some circles as "one of the best unknown writers ever." It's understandable considering the publishing world probably didn't have a way to categorize his writing. If you can't categorize it, you can't market it effectively. So how many great novels are there that we'll never know about (almost happened with "A Confederacy of Dunces"!)? This one is a magic realism historical mixture of Vonnegut, Robbins, Durrell, and Pynchon, with a dusting of Robert Anton Wilson. The focus is the search and obsession with the *real* original Bible. The writing flows and the quirky characters--legacies of the Wallenstein and Strongbow families and assorted hanger-ons--will latch onto you and stay after the last page is done. Like Durrell's Alexandria Quartet, Whittemore has chosen Jerusalem to weave his magic around. Has cult qualities. As a part of a four-book cycle, I'm glad there's more to come.
April 29, 2011
Pbbblllffttt. This 1977 book started out so well with Strongbow, a giant multi-talented sort of cross between Finn McCool and Sherlock Holmes. Then we meet a few more wildly implausible but interesting characters. They slip through the shadows of unreality, sticking their heads out from time to time into the real world. There's insouciance, and bold action, and some witty wording.
After 50 pages I loved it. After 100 pages I liked it. After 150 it was OK. After 200 I gave up. I was bored.
I understand this is #1 of four parts, and I am sure everything will come together in the end, but it will have to do it without me.
After 50 pages I loved it. After 100 pages I liked it. After 150 it was OK. After 200 I gave up. I was bored.
I understand this is #1 of four parts, and I am sure everything will come together in the end, but it will have to do it without me.
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July 17, 2019This book has been on my to-read list for years, ever since Keith Morgan talked it up way back in--I can't even remember the date. At last I got a copy, and what do you know--the book easily matched and exceeded my long-building expectations.
The first volume in Whittemore's Jerusalem Quartet follows the meandering paths of several characters--to call them colorful would be to criminally under-emphasize their vivid nature--as they pursue various relics, dreams, and quests all across the Holy land and the tottering Ottoman Empire.
It's a thing of beauty to watch Whittemore pull these individual story strands together into the tapestry that gives the book its title. And deep below all the surface fireworks of sentence and character and plot is the quixotic idea that the three Abrahamic religions might find a way to share their small part of the world.
Just a taste of the style, then:
Haj Harun the moving target of the Roman Empire and every other empire that ever existed. Cloak flowing, spindly legs churning, bare feet wearing down the cobblestones, around and around for three thousand years outrunning siege machines and conquering armies. Around and around in a circle, defying the arsenals of war that were always being dragged up the mountain to defeat him. Plodding stubbornly up and down the alleys wearing down the cobblestones, puffing and wheezing on the run through the millennia, Haj Harun the ghostly jogger of the Holy City surviving and surviving.
June 16, 2020
“When you’re defending Jerusalem you’re always on the losing side.”
A fascinating mélange of fact and fiction focusing on the Middle East in general and Jerusalem in particular. As jumbled as a Finnegans Wake. It never sold well perhaps because it’s not that good. But it has the bones of greatness. Imaginative.
“Scraps from a magical book that’s always being written? Or was written once? Or will be written someday?”
Do not, do not, do not read the fore- and after words until after you have read the entire book. Even then you should skip those natterings of literary hangers on, laced with much back patting and mild spoilers.
“What he did is too unreal not to be true. No one could forge a life like his.”
If this is, as we are assured, Whittemore’s greatest work, then you need not read the rest. Having said that, why rate it as three stars? It hints at more than it delivers, but what it does deliver has the possibility of opening new worlds of thought, if not history and introspection.
“In the end nothing could be said of his work except that it was preposterous and true and totally unacceptable.”
“What happens to a person who reads a book—if it’s any good—is a profoundly private and irrational process, and the more distinctive the novel, the more private and irrational the process.” Judy Karasik
A fascinating mélange of fact and fiction focusing on the Middle East in general and Jerusalem in particular. As jumbled as a Finnegans Wake. It never sold well perhaps because it’s not that good. But it has the bones of greatness. Imaginative.
“Scraps from a magical book that’s always being written? Or was written once? Or will be written someday?”
Do not, do not, do not read the fore- and after words until after you have read the entire book. Even then you should skip those natterings of literary hangers on, laced with much back patting and mild spoilers.
“What he did is too unreal not to be true. No one could forge a life like his.”
If this is, as we are assured, Whittemore’s greatest work, then you need not read the rest. Having said that, why rate it as three stars? It hints at more than it delivers, but what it does deliver has the possibility of opening new worlds of thought, if not history and introspection.
“In the end nothing could be said of his work except that it was preposterous and true and totally unacceptable.”
“What happens to a person who reads a book—if it’s any good—is a profoundly private and irrational process, and the more distinctive the novel, the more private and irrational the process.” Judy Karasik
March 1, 2019
Sākums mānīgi aizraujošs un kaut kur otrajā grāmatas pusē es paguru šo grāmatu lasīt. Domāju, ka drīzumā neatcerētos par ko īsti šis darbs bija. Varbūt kādreiz saņemšos izlasīt citas kvarteta daļas.
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February 26, 2023Just not my kind of whimsy.
Read
August 15, 2023Didnot finish, σελ. 289.
ίσως, πριν από είκοσι χρόνια να το έβρισκα ευφυές και ιντριγκαδόρικο. Σήμερα απλά δεν την παλεύω να πάω παρακάτω.
ίσως, πριν από είκοσι χρόνια να το έβρισκα ευφυές και ιντριγκαδόρικο. Σήμερα απλά δεν την παλεύω να πάω παρακάτω.
February 18, 2023
We just can't help wanting to put things into orderly categories but some novels thoroughly defy the notion. What often happens, alas, is that these authors get compared to others with a similar issue and then dismissed from the 'canon' as being, sure, yeah, realists about some things but so off the wall about the rest, that what can a scholar do but ignore such chaos? Whittemore belongs firmly in this category. You know that from page 1 with the description of Plantagenet Strongbow, born around 1840 and heir to the Dukedom of Dorset. No, actually, you know it from the second you read his name. You also know you are in the hands of a genuine storyteller. I am not going to describe the plot or even the characters as that would take all day and night, but summarize by saying, the last book I read that actually helped me understand the turmoil that is the Middle East was David Fromkin's A Peace to End All Peace (1970's). This is the second. (There have been others, but not like these two.) Sinai Tapestry is the first of four novels that make up a quartet--the purpose of which, I think, is to lift out and pinpoint specific currents, happenings and obsessions that emerge from the epicenter of the Middle East, the Sinai and Jerusalem. All of these are historically 'true' occurences. Then there is the other piece of the story, literally 'the story' but not historical because how can it be? Whittemore's aim here is to capture the essence of the matter: positing an original Bible, a chaotic document 'suggesting infinity' written by a blind man and an imbecile, replaced by a religious fanatic who decided that the real Bible was too chaotic so he carefully forged a better one (this in the 1800's) destroying himself with the effort. Other dreams and obsessions exist too: of creating a peaceful land where the three monotheistic religions can live side by side. This theme, this thread has also been present for over a century, albeit lesser as being the most fantastical idea of all. I spent a lot of time reading, looking things up (Asa Jennings! Who knew?) and a certain amount of time staring out the window. The portrait of Jerusalem is also quite wonderful, so affectionate and so uncompromising. This first of the four ends in 1922 and I think the next one starts right then. Sometimes fiction does a better job at revealing truths than just the facts, m'am.
*****
*****
March 31, 2009
A deaf, seven-foot-seven duke, who is both master botanist and swordsman, explores the Middle East, writes an embarrassingly comprehensive treatise on sex, and then, offended by the revocation of his title, proceeds to sell his British estate and buy the Ottoman Empire. A bastard Albanian nobleman decides one day to become a monk and subsequently discovers a copy of The Bible, New Testament included, that is a thousand years older than Christ. An infamous Irish partisan, who happens to be the 33rd child of a prophet, flees British-occupied Ireland in the guise of a nun and becomes a Middle-Eastern arms smuggler.
Such is the stuff of Sinai Tapestry, a work that piles improbability upon impossibility so quickly, stylishly, and with such good humour, that one can’t help but be taken along for the ride. Epic, droll, mercurial, and bawdy, Whittemore’s novel is a work of genuine originality and an unfailingly surprising pleasure to read. One might readily imagine its mythically-proportioned characters participating in the intrigues of the Greek pantheon, but Sinai Tapestry is no dusty classic; it is written in an economical and highly accessible style.
The book’s many-stranded swashbuckling at times rarefies into a contemplation of what constitutes home, peace, and one’s true calling; more than anything the book is concerned with its characters’ search for these things. But there are also darker struggles: with rejection and loss, with madness, and with the sometimes terrible brutality of others. Sinai Tapestry has its grisly and sobering moments, none more so than an unflinching account of the 1922 massacre at Smyrna.
The first novel in a series of four, Sinai Tapestry is, nevertheless, quite self-contained and satisfying in its own right. Highly recommended.
Such is the stuff of Sinai Tapestry, a work that piles improbability upon impossibility so quickly, stylishly, and with such good humour, that one can’t help but be taken along for the ride. Epic, droll, mercurial, and bawdy, Whittemore’s novel is a work of genuine originality and an unfailingly surprising pleasure to read. One might readily imagine its mythically-proportioned characters participating in the intrigues of the Greek pantheon, but Sinai Tapestry is no dusty classic; it is written in an economical and highly accessible style.
The book’s many-stranded swashbuckling at times rarefies into a contemplation of what constitutes home, peace, and one’s true calling; more than anything the book is concerned with its characters’ search for these things. But there are also darker struggles: with rejection and loss, with madness, and with the sometimes terrible brutality of others. Sinai Tapestry has its grisly and sobering moments, none more so than an unflinching account of the 1922 massacre at Smyrna.
The first novel in a series of four, Sinai Tapestry is, nevertheless, quite self-contained and satisfying in its own right. Highly recommended.
July 27, 2013
I disagree with the very enthusiastic reviews calling it a lost masterpiece, nevertheless it was damn good read. I enjoyed it immensely. I like strange and this book was strange. The author seems to have accumulated huge piles of useless facts and he managed to incorporate them into his marvelous book which is at times breathtakingly original and poetic and riveting. At other times it's just plain boring and overwritten but in the end it stays with me. I actually finished reading this book almost six months ago but wanted to wait and see what remained from it. A lot. That's why the five stars. Despite its very obvious shortcomings it's a totally unique reading experience. I tend to think that books got forgotten for good reasons. I'm sure it's not a masterpiece but should be rediscovered.
December 29, 2013
Безсмертний хранитель міста, божевільний переписувач священних текстів з дерев'яним вухом і носом - лише два персонажі, заради яки це варто прочитати.
Лише люди і міста, люди в містах, міста у людях - все інше більш ніж другорядне.
Вітмор так легко вводить у гру нових персонажів, так само легко їх позбувається, що в кінці їх майже не пам'ятаєш. Але лишається ледь вловимий сум, яким пронизана вся книжка.
Лише люди і міста, люди в містах, міста у людях - все інше більш ніж другорядне.
Вітмор так легко вводить у гру нових персонажів, так само легко їх позбувається, що в кінці їх майже не пам'ятаєш. Але лишається ледь вловимий сум, яким пронизана вся книжка.
August 7, 2020
Whittemore is the most underrated of postmodern authors. His "Jerusalem Quartet" begins here, with the story of a man who discovers the earliest version of the Bible, and realizes it will destroy every known religion. Naturally, he decides to save civilization by forging the Bible we all know, and by burying the real Bible forever away from the sight of humankind.
November 24, 2014
Edward Whittemore's exclusion from the modern literary canon is a travesty at best...
His Jerusalem Quartet outstrips even Durrell's works...
And it also happens to be hilarious, touching, heart-wrenching, intellectual, and just absolutely amazing...
His Jerusalem Quartet outstrips even Durrell's works...
And it also happens to be hilarious, touching, heart-wrenching, intellectual, and just absolutely amazing...
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November 17, 2019amzing insiering unknown secreative and conquerin
October 9, 2015
A stunning opening shot in what might be one of my favorite quartets of all time.
July 23, 2021
Viss ir iespējams un nekas nav tā kā izskatās.
May 3, 2025
Βαθμολογία: 9/10
Για αρκετά χρόνια γνώριζα την ύπαρξη του Κουαρτέτου της Ιερουσαλήμ του Έντουαρντ Γουίτμορ, ενός πρώην κατασκόπου της CIA σε Ευρώπη, Μέση Ανατολή και Ανατολική Ασία, αλλά για κάποιο λόγο έμενα μακριά από αυτό. Μέχρι που απέκτησα και τα τέσσερα βιβλία από το Παζάρι Βιβλίου το 2022 έναντι είκοσι δυο ευρώ (!) και τώρα, τρία χρόνια μετά, αποφάσισα να τα διαβάσω στη σειρά, το ένα μετά το άλλο, ένας από τους αναγνωστικούς στόχους που έθεσα στην αρχή της χρονιάς. Λοιπόν, το "Ο Κώδικας του Σινά", πρώτο βιβλίο του Κουαρτέτου, είναι από τα πιο κουλά, τρελά και απολαυστικά βιβλία που έχω διαβάσει τα τελευταία χρόνια. Ιστορία, φαντασία, περιπέτεια, συνωμοσίες, καταδικασμένοι έρωτες, παράνοια, τρελοί χαρακτήρες, τρελά σκηνικά, φοβερά τοπία, μπρος-πίσω στον χρόνο, πέρα δώθε στον χώρο, ο κακός χαμός. Το να συνοψίσει κανείς αυτά που συμβαίνουν στο βιβλίο και να παρουσιάσει εν συντομία το ποιόν των χαρακτήρων, είναι άθλος που δύσκολα μπορεί να φέρει σε πέρας με μεγάλη επιτυχία. Να πω την αλήθεια, ξεκίνησα τελείως στα τυφλά όσον αφορά την πλοκή, απλώς ήξερα ότι θα διαβάσω κάτι τρελό, κάτι μεταξύ Πίντσον και Ρόμπινς, με τα σκηνικά να εντοπίζονται στη Βικτωριανή Αγγλία, σε απομονωμένους πύργους στην Αλβανία, στη Σμύρνη κατά τη Μικρασιατική Καταστροφή (τρομερό κεφάλαιο), στους Άγιους Τόπους, σε ερήμους στην Αφρική και την Αραβία, γενικά σε μέρη μαγικά που πάντα με εξιτάρουν. Κάτι σαν τις Χίλιες και Μια Νύχτες, δεν ξέρεις τι είναι αληθινό και τι φανταστικό, βάλε και λίγη παρωδία και λίγη σάτιρα και μπόλικη τρέλα, και έτοιμο το βιβλίο. Και εδώ νομίζω ότι δεν υπάρχει μέση κατάσταση, ή θα λατρέψει κανείς το βιβλίο και θα το απολαύσει γι' αυτό που είναι ή θα το παρατήσει στη μέση: Ευτυχώς εγώ ανήκω στην πρώτη κατηγορία, η γραφή και η τρέλα του Γουίτμορ είναι σαν να μου μίλησαν, οπότε ορμάω για το επόμενο βιβλίο, το "Το πόκερ της Ιερουσαλήμ".
Για αρκετά χρόνια γνώριζα την ύπαρξη του Κουαρτέτου της Ιερουσαλήμ του Έντουαρντ Γουίτμορ, ενός πρώην κατασκόπου της CIA σε Ευρώπη, Μέση Ανατολή και Ανατολική Ασία, αλλά για κάποιο λόγο έμενα μακριά από αυτό. Μέχρι που απέκτησα και τα τέσσερα βιβλία από το Παζάρι Βιβλίου το 2022 έναντι είκοσι δυο ευρώ (!) και τώρα, τρία χρόνια μετά, αποφάσισα να τα διαβάσω στη σειρά, το ένα μετά το άλλο, ένας από τους αναγνωστικούς στόχους που έθεσα στην αρχή της χρονιάς. Λοιπόν, το "Ο Κώδικας του Σινά", πρώτο βιβλίο του Κουαρτέτου, είναι από τα πιο κουλά, τρελά και απολαυστικά βιβλία που έχω διαβάσει τα τελευταία χρόνια. Ιστορία, φαντασία, περιπέτεια, συνωμοσίες, καταδικασμένοι έρωτες, παράνοια, τρελοί χαρακτήρες, τρελά σκηνικά, φοβερά τοπία, μπρος-πίσω στον χρόνο, πέρα δώθε στον χώρο, ο κακός χαμός. Το να συνοψίσει κανείς αυτά που συμβαίνουν στο βιβλίο και να παρουσιάσει εν συντομία το ποιόν των χαρακτήρων, είναι άθλος που δύσκολα μπορεί να φέρει σε πέρας με μεγάλη επιτυχία. Να πω την αλήθεια, ξεκίνησα τελείως στα τυφλά όσον αφορά την πλοκή, απλώς ήξερα ότι θα διαβάσω κάτι τρελό, κάτι μεταξύ Πίντσον και Ρόμπινς, με τα σκηνικά να εντοπίζονται στη Βικτωριανή Αγγλία, σε απομονωμένους πύργους στην Αλβανία, στη Σμύρνη κατά τη Μικρασιατική Καταστροφή (τρομερό κεφάλαιο), στους Άγιους Τόπους, σε ερήμους στην Αφρική και την Αραβία, γενικά σε μέρη μαγικά που πάντα με εξιτάρουν. Κάτι σαν τις Χίλιες και Μια Νύχτες, δεν ξέρεις τι είναι αληθινό και τι φανταστικό, βάλε και λίγη παρωδία και λίγη σάτιρα και μπόλικη τρέλα, και έτοιμο το βιβλίο. Και εδώ νομίζω ότι δεν υπάρχει μέση κατάσταση, ή θα λατρέψει κανείς το βιβλίο και θα το απολαύσει γι' αυτό που είναι ή θα το παρατήσει στη μέση: Ευτυχώς εγώ ανήκω στην πρώτη κατηγορία, η γραφή και η τρέλα του Γουίτμορ είναι σαν να μου μίλησαν, οπότε ορμάω για το επόμενο βιβλίο, το "Το πόκερ της Ιερουσαλήμ".
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