ELEVEN READER'S CLUB discussion

The book ‘Under Heaven’ by Guy Gavriel Kay stood out amongst the hordes of Canadian books just waiting for me. I have always loved a good fantasy novel, something that I can disappear into; where I can pretend I’m in another world. ‘Under Heaven’ takes place in a medieval-era, alternate-universe China, where there are two provinces constantly in disagreement, sometimes even progressing into war. The main character lost many loved ones in the battles that took place between the provinces, and has put it upon himself to clear the battlefields of the corpses of the fallen; as a sort of tribute to his deceased loved ones. The cover of this book is a statue of a horse, with some faded text in the background. Considering the two warring provinces were constantly giving the main character gifts to make them seem better than the other province, I believe the horse on the cover to be a horse that was gifted to him by the Taguran province, and died while helping him work the battlefield. The story itself is very inviting; I found myself having a very difficult time putting the book down.