The Folded World (A Dirge for Prester John, #2)

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The Folded World (A Dirge for Prester John #2)

by Catherynne M. Valente (Goodreads Author)

4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 · rating details · 143 ratings · 31 reviews

When the mysterious daughter of Prester John appears on the doorstep of her father's palace, she brings with her news of war in the West--the Crusades have begun, and the bodies of the faithful are washing up on the shores of Pentexore. Three narratives intertwine to tell the tale of the beginning of the end of the world: a younger, angrier Hagia, the blemmye-wife of John...more

Paperback, 320 pages

Published November 1st 2011 by Night Shade Books

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Dec 08, 2011 Kat Hooper rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Prester John has been king in Pentexore for many years now, aided by his wife Hagia the blemmye. He loves the creatures he rules and has spent his time teaching them about Jesus Christ and trying to reconcile the creation story in Genesis with his new knowledge of the world. When one of John’s daughters brings a letter from Constantinople, asking John to bring his army of monsters to fight the Muslims in Jerusalem, he decides that they’ll go. Although he i...more ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Prester John has been king in Pentexore for many years now, aided by his wife Hagia the blemmye. He loves the creatures he rules and has spent his time teaching them about Jesus Christ and trying to reconcile the creation story in Genesis with his new knowledge of the world. When one of John’s daughters brings a letter from Constantinople, asking John to bring his army of monsters to fight the Muslims in Jerusalem, he decides that they’ll go. Although he is happy with his new life in Pentexore, he is still a faithful Christian and he feels that it’s his duty to clear the sacred city of infidels.

The creatures of Pentexore, though they claim to be Christians to please their beloved King John, think the whole Christianity thing is a game involving silly hand motions and recitations. When they agree to fight on John's side, they have no idea what they’re in for. To them, war means “mating and keening” and they don’t understand the ancient battle between the Christians, descendants of Abraham’s son Isaac, and the Muslims, descendants of Abraham’s first but illegitimate son Ishmael. When they cross the wall into John’s world, they are shocked at the treatment they receive and the way humans treat each other.

The Folded World is similar in structure to the first novel in Catherynne M. Valente’s PRESTER JOHN series — a monk is alternately copying chapters from three different books (written by Hagia, Vyala the White Lion, and the explorer John Mandeville) and desperately trying to transcribe them before they rot. All the while, he tends to the dying Brother Hiob and attempts to understand what Pentexore means for his own faith.

The greatest impact of The Folded World comes not from its ideas about creation, salvation, eschatology, or faith, but from Catherynne Valente’s powerful presentation of every creature’s struggle to understand the world, its beauty and terror, and his own place in it. I cannot think of another author who can fill one book with so many thoughtful ideas so beautifully spoken:

Love is a practice. It is a yogic stance; it is lying upon nails; it is walking over coals, or water. It comes naturally to no one, though that is a great secret. One who is learned might say: does not a babe in her mother’s arms love? From her first breath does she not know how to love as surely as her mouth can find the breast? And I would respond: have you ever met a child? A cub may find the breast but not latch upon it, she may bite her mother, or become sick with her milk. So too, the utter dependence of a tiny and helpless thing upon those who feed and warm her is not love. It is fierce and needful; it has a power all its own and that power is terrible, but it is not love. Love can come only with time and sentience. We learn it as we learn language — and some never learn it well. Love is like a tool, though it is not a tool; something strange and wonderful to use, difficult to master, and mysterious in its provenance.

If love were not all of this, I would not have devoted my mind, which is large and generous and certainly could have done much else, to it for all these centuries.

If love were not all of this, I would never have known that wretched, radiant little girl, nor let her learn her teeth on my heart, which children can find with more sureness than ever they could clasp the breast, and latch upon it, and bite, and become sick, and make ill, and all the worst of the six ails of loving, which are to lose it, to find it, to break it, to outlive it, to vanish inside it, and to see it through to the end.

The entire book is like this — beautiful nuggets of wisdom on every page.

I listened to Brilliance Audio’s version, which is dynamically read by Ralph Lister who is convincing in all of his human and monster roles. He does a great job and I’ll be reading the third volume of PRESTER JOHN in this format.

The Folded World is highly recommended, but it’s not what you need when you want to read an action-packed adventure story. Save this for when you’re in a pensive and vulnerable mood. It’s incredibly gorgeous.(less)

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Jan 31, 2012 Joell Smith-Borne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: literary-fic, sf-f

Just loving this book. A quote, to whet the appetite:

Love is a practice. It is a yogic stance; it is lying upon nails; it is walking over coals, or water. It comes naturally to no one, though that is a great secret.

Another shimmering, lovely book by Valente. When the 3rd one comes out, I'm going to read all three right in a row. I know there was so much I missed by forgetting stuff in the first book.

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Jun 11, 2012 Dorothea rated it 5 of 5 stars

I didn't let myself believe that The Folded World could live up to The Habitation of the Blessed. But it did. Oh it did.

In my review of The Habitation of the Blessed I said that I needed Pentexore to be a fairyland, and not the imaginative colonization of a geographically and historically real place. I was worried because at the very beginning of The Folded World, there's a map that seems to show Pentexore on the Indian subcontinent. But that map is irrelevant. I could have ignored it, glued tho...more

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Jan 08, 2012 Alytha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Also finished The Folded World, the second volume of A Dirge for Prester John, by Catherynne M Valente.
For the background, see my post about the first book.
Extracts of the second book here.

The following contains spoilers for vol.1 and a vague plot summary for vol.2.

At the end of the first book, brother Hiob ate one of the books he was transcribing (or several, it's been a while and I can't find the book right now...), and a plant started growing out of his mouth, and he's unconscious. Thus, brot...more

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Nov 17, 2011 Ian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, medieval, myth

Wow. I am slain.

I didn't start the second part of this tale with the best of auspices. I admit that, while I loved The Habitation of the Blessed, I found it often hard to move through, as if I too were John struggling with a new world.
But this book. I don't know what his book is.
The second part of a trilogy is usually the weakest, being by nature the thread between two worlds, the beginning and the end, the exposition and the resolution, and therefore not exactly a creature on its own. The fol...more

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Oct 31, 2011 April Steenburgh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

“We are all just humans, and most of us fools, and all of us longing for more than we have, to know more than we know- and yet even that is not enough, for if we knew everything we would only be disappointed that there was not one more secret to uncover.” -Catherynne Valente, The Folded World, pg 170

Prester John and Hagia have a daughter, with a sweet mouth on her right hand while a bitter sits on her left, two opposing personalities in one body pulling all the world in one direction. Prester Jo...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Karky rated it 5 of 5 stars

I had some idea of where the last book was heading, but I almost regret getting this far into the story. This is the second volume of a trilogy, so we've had a taste of the ruin that is to come, and I fear for this isolated, forever-young world that knows not the pains of war.

It reflects on how people interpret the world around them through the lenses of belief, exploring the confines of religion when it comes face to face with something Other. Some men can find space in their holy scripture whi...more

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Dec 30, 2011 Kathryn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, sci-fi-fantasy

Just finished, and I'm having trouble figuring out just WHAT I'm feeling. The book is beautiful (it's Valente, so that goes almost without saying), and you have all the lovely creations that catch you by surprise. It's also MUCH darker than the first. A lot of the horrible things foreshadowed in "Habitation of the Blessed" play out here. It's tragic and infuriating, and I can't even be mad Prester John for most of them. His biggest misunderstanding was to think people were better than they were,...more

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Jan 15, 2012 Niall519 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-high-low-urban-and-horrific

Not quite sure what to write about this. Catherynne Valente's style is as gorgeous as always: lush, flowing, hovering around that border between prose and poetry, and yet (generally) easily readable.

I love the style, but uncertain of what to make of the substance. Perhaps it's because I've read other novels that deal with medieval myth and myth-making, such as Umberto Eco's Baudolino prior to this, and was not unfamiliar with the story of Prester John or trees that bear strange fruit to begin w...more Not quite sure what to write about this. Catherynne Valente's style is as gorgeous as always: lush, flowing, hovering around that border between prose and poetry, and yet (generally) easily readable.

I love the style, but uncertain of what to make of the substance. Perhaps it's because I've read other novels that deal with medieval myth and myth-making, such as Umberto Eco's Baudolino prior to this, and was not unfamiliar with the story of Prester John or trees that bear strange fruit to begin with. Perhaps it's just that I've been reading it late into the night between health sciences textbooks. Regardless, the blending left me entranced on one hand, and feeling colder or more removed than I would have expected on another. To reverse my critique/complaint, the reveal of who certain characters were at the end of the book had been telegraphed from a long way prior, and yet was done with a disarming and cheerful cheek that still made it a pleasure to move through. Maybe the author has it right there: breaking things (big or small) can be fun.

Pentexore and its population of marvels do seem more broken in this one. In the preceding The Habitation of the Blessed the only things that felt like they were teetering on the edge were John and Brother Hiob. In this book the disorder is more widely spread, as are the injuries suffered, with the possibility of significantly more to come in the third book. Bloody humans: they always seem to upset the apple cart wherever they roam. One of the lessons I took from studying the history of the crusades was that one should never trust a Pope named Pious, Innocent, Urban or anything else innocuous-sounding. After these two books I think I'll add characters named John to that list! Like the one on Mars, they're just trouble.

It's always fascinating to read what others make of the idea of God. I'm certainly not the most orthodox or observant of Christians, and have become more inured to dealing with potentially heretical explorations of the nature and purpose of God over the years, but I suspect that these ones will still prove challenging for some. God is described or puzzled over in a variety of abstract or unflattering ways by the Pentexorans. The confessions of Brothers Hiob and Alaric add a certain flawed but compassionate human perspective to belief; but those small redemptions seem greatly outweighed by the disastrous comings of Johns, the Jewish/Christian/Islamic conflict, and actions of other monks and priests displayed in latter half of the book. In contrast, the author portrays the Pentexorans as being true to their natures (generally, and not without difficulty sometimes) and living the more graceful lives as result - coherent with Prester John's conclusion that they still live in what remains of Eden, and/or are perhaps not affected by Eve and Adam's original sin being something other than 'human'. The similarities and contrasts to the characters and conclusions in Mary Doria Russel's The Sparrow and Children of God on similar issues are interesting to contemplate.

I'm now curious, and worried, to see what Valente will do to all her world and characters in the The Spindle of Necessity, which is perhaps a sign that I engaged with this more than I thought.(less)

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Mar 23, 2013 Nancy O'Toole rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, audiobook

Prester John has ruled as king of Pentexore for a few years now, spending much of his time trying to reconcile his religious views with the wonders that exist around him. Then he finds himself summoned to Constantinople, where the patriarch has called for his help in a holy war against Islam. John agrees, and brings half the population of Pentexore as his army. But for Hagia and the other citizens of Pentexore, it has been so long since they have seen true war. Now, it is nothing more than a gam...more Prester John has ruled as king of Pentexore for a few years now, spending much of his time trying to reconcile his religious views with the wonders that exist around him. Then he finds himself summoned to Constantinople, where the patriarch has called for his help in a holy war against Islam. John agrees, and brings half the population of Pentexore as his army. But for Hagia and the other citizens of Pentexore, it has been so long since they have seen true war. Now, it is nothing more than a game, and they are completely unprepared for the consequences that await them.

The Folded World is the second book in Catherynne M. Valente's Dirge for Prester John Series. Once more drawing inspiration from medieval Christianity, The Folded World is an imaginative tale filled with wondrous characters, both lovable and strange. Like Habitation of the Blessed, The Folded World is divided into four parts. One of these sections is narrated by Hagia alongside John's warlike daughter Anglitora. A second storyline focuses on the meaning of love, and John's conflicted second daughter, Sepharlet. (I apologize if I misspell any of these names, I listened to the audio version). A third storyline shows us another John, John Mandeville, and his adventures. These are tied together by a frame story centering around one of the translators of these three fantastic texts,

In all honesty, I didn't connect to The Folded World as well as I did with The Habitation of the Blessed. There were times when I found the book to be incredibly beautiful, but I also found that I greatly preferred some narrators over others. My favorite parts would have to be the main story, involving Anglorita and Hagia as they ride off to war. I found the innocence of the Pentexorens to be quite fascinating. They are such old and wise people, yet the concept of war is something so foreign to them. I also enjoyed Sepharlet's story, and found her a character that it was very easy to feel sympathy for. The story lines that worked less for me was the frame story, and John Mandeville's tale. John's story in particular was so rambling that I found it very hard to concentrate on it. I even found myself nodding off while listening to it once (admittedly, this was right before bedtime). This is interesting, because Valente's stories have always had a bit of a rambling quality to them, and I usually don't mind getting lost in them. This is one situation where it just didn't work for me.

Thoughts on the Audiobook: Like Habitation of the Blessed, The Folded World is narrated by Ralph Lister and he does a rather good job at narration. At the same time, I'm not sure if this is the best book for the audio format. The chapters involving Hagia and Anglitora are actually a conversation between the two women, and it was hard to keep track of who was speaking at what times. Also, there is a part in John's chapters that is a question and answer section. The problem here is you get a giant list of questions, followed by a giant list of answers. It doesn't take too long before you forget what questions John is answering.

Final Thoughts: I feel a little guilty giving The Folded World such a low raiting because in truth, I still think it's a decent book. The writing is strong, the world building imaginative, and the characters complex. At the same time, out of the four storylines found in this book, I only really connected with two of them, and quite struggled with the other two. Regardless of this, do I plan on finishing up the series once book three, The Spindle of Necessity, is published.(less)

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Oct 11, 2012 Jeremy Preacher rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

This is an immensely sad book - it's the story of the last days of innocence, and the fall is inevitable and tragic and dammit, why isn't the third book out yet? It does a really good job carrying forward the narrative from the first book with some different voices and in different enough ways that it's still very fresh - John Manderville in particular is charming and facile and his stories are delightful up until they turn horrifying. The language is deft and gorgeous - although it's Cat Valent...more

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Mar 10, 2012 Jenny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook, sff-audio, sci-fi-fantasy, read2012

It is essential to first read The Habitation of the Blessed (read my review here), because The Folded World starts off right where the last book left off. The mythology of this trilogy is thick, and it would be harder to find yourself without reading the first book.

The Folded World follows three more books from the tree, and reveals more of the story of Prester John, particularly his years of being married and being the king of this unknown land. His people are in the midst of the crusades, and...more

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Nov 30, 2011 Jenny J rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2011

See my review for The Habitation of the Blessed. A re-imagining of the stories of Prester John and the Crusades, but our protagonists are creatures from legend: a blemmye, a great white lion, and a tormented young woman whose hands speaks with two voices at once.

Ms. Valente's prose is poetic, odd, full of surprises, and at times so beautiful I literally cried. She intertwines four tales seamlessly, and the result is a book I'll be holding onto.

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Feb 27, 2012 Shara (Calico Reaction) rated it 4 of 5 stars

The premise: ganked from BN.com: When the mysterious daughter of Prester John appears on the doorstep of her father''s palace, she brings with her news of war in the West--the Crusades have begun, and the bodies of the faithful are washing up on the shores of Pentexore. Three narratives intertwine to tell the tale of the beginning of the end of the world: a younger, angrier Hagia, the blemmye-wife of John and Queen of Pentexore, who takes up arms with the rest of her nation to fight a war they b...more

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May 31, 2012 Meggan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, myths-legends

The Folded World continues to explore themes brought up in the first novel, this time in sharper relief. Now we see how evangelical Christianity is ill-equipped to humanize (and convert) the grotesque (or, from the Christian's POV, the demonic and the damned). Valente uses a voice that allows the inexplicable to patiently explain itself and the fantastical to write its memoirs.

It's not as good as the first, but I'm still enraptured by Hagia, and this time lioness Mom and swan-girl. The one fault...more

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Nov 07, 2011 Meghan Tracy rated it 5 of 5 stars

This story is magic, but not magic in the clinical sense spoken between adults who don’t believe any more. This story is the word whispered between two small children who believe will all their little hearts. It’s myths and histories and imagination swirling together into a riotous storm of color and fantasy. Valente has once again woven a tale of such rich depth that you’ll want to put it on and wear it the next ball.

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Nov 03, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Folded World is as beautiful, fantastic, and unflinching as Habitation of the Blessed, the first book in this universe. I wish I had re-read Habitation before I started this one; this world is so rich and textured that I found myself almost swooning with it. I also found it really sad - the characters in this universe are so real and flawed and terrible to each other (and themselves) that it hurts my heart.

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Feb 22, 2012 A.C. Wise rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Folded World might be best described as life, death, love, loss, philosophy, religion, war, and history, all wrapped in beauty. As usual, Valente weaves a tale filled with lush prose than makes you want to sink into her world and never leave. Aside from the sheer poetry and joy in language, there are several moments in the book that might just make you pause for a moment and see the world in a different way.

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Dec 25, 2011 Benjamin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

The second Prestor John book started off well, but turned into a bit of slog. Part of that may just be that life was a little hectic due to Christmas and therefore partially my fault. Still, Valente has always been bigger on prose than plot and there is very little plot here. I don't think she really has enough for a trilogy.

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May 16, 2012 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

A beautiful story. Everything I could ask for in a book is in this series. It is inspiring, uplifting, and tragic all rolled into one. It's a walking dream and a waking nightmare. I look forward to the conclusion of what befalls the people of this beautiful world filled with shadows.

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Jan 13, 2013 Isana rated it 5 of 5 stars

A stunning follow-up to Habitation of the Blessed. This one doesn't disappoint, and Valente shows no sign of losing steam throughout, as sequels tend to do.

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Mar 25, 2012 !Tæmbuŝu marked it as to-read

Shelves: fantasy-scifi

Reviewed by Fantasy Literature

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May 26, 2012 Kate Sherrod rated it 4 of 5 stars

Weird and wonderful and beautifully sad, if not quite as good as THE HABITATION OF THE BLESSED.

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Oct 30, 2011 Bridgett rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy

Beautiful writing and a very creative story, though a bit complex linguistically and difficult to follow at times.

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Dec 29, 2012 Mewhooo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Richly imaginative, fun to read.

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Apr 19, 2012 H. Anne Stoj rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Just absolutely brilliant.

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Jan 23, 2013 Ezzy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, library-books

Every phrase in this book is beautiful enough to break my heart.

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Feb 17, 2012 Eileen rated it 3 of 5 stars

This one was not as good as the first, but there's no question that I'll read the next one when it comes out. Then I may need to read all three of them in a row to pick up the story and figure out what really happened. That being said, the writing and language are as beautiful as anything she's written -- it's just that I struggled to follow the story.

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Feb 26, 2012 Chris rated it 1 of 5 stars

I tried reading the first couple of chapters but the story did not entertain me at all. The paragraphs were confusing and the sentences seemed to all run together. I reserve the right to try this book again so I might try the first book in the series.

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Dec 01, 2011 Karyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

LOVE.

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About Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente was born on Cinco de Mayo, 1979 in Seattle, WA, but grew up in in the wheatgrass paradise of Northern California. She graduated from high school at age 15, going on to UC San Diego and Edinburgh University, receiving her B.A. in Classics with an emphasis in Ancient Greek Linguistics. She then drifted away from her M.A. program and into a long residence in the concrete and cam...more

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Books by Catherynne M. Valente

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland, #1)

In the Night Garden (The Orphan's Tales, #1)

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There (Fairyland, #2)

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“I hope, in years to come, I shall hold my heart up and it will be a pane of clear glass, through which I see all, but nothing is distorted.” — 8 people liked it

“One of the many quotes on love..."Love can come only with time and sentience. We learn it as we learn language--and some never learn it well. Love is like a tool, though it is not a tool; something strange and wonderful to use, difficult to master, and mysterious in its provenance.” — 6 people liked it

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The Folded World (A Dirge for Prester John #2)

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