false<![CDATA[Land of Marvels: A Novel]]>39527957A thriller set in 1914 as the Western nations are making a grab for political power and oil in the Middle East, by a writer with an "almost magical capacity for literary time travel" (<i>The New York Times Book Review</i>).
Somerville, a British archaeologist, is excavating a long-buried Assyrian palace. The site lies directly in the path of a new railroad to Baghdad, and he watches nervously as the construction progresses, threatening to destroy his discovery. The expedition party includes Somerville's beautiful, bored wife, Christine; Patricia, a smart young graduate student; and Jehar, an Arab man-of-all-duties whose subservient manner belies his intelligence and ambitions. Posing as an archaeologist, an American geologist from an oil company arrives one day and insinuates himself into the group. But he's not the only one working undercover to stake a claim on Iraq's rich oil fields.
Historical fiction at its finest, LAND OF MARVELS opens a window on the past and reveals its lasting impact.3998450612009Land of Marvels: A Noveltotal:107|5:8|4:28|3:51|2:18|1:2|1073432404912falsetrueWed Jan 21 00:00:00 -0800 2009Wed Jan 21 09:01:22 -0800 2009Wed Jan 21 09:46:58 -0800 2009
more...]]>
30falsefalseFri Jan 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009Sun Jan 04 04:45:21 -0800 2009Sun Jan 04 04:45:53 -0800 2009
more...]]>
00falsefalseFri Jun 19 20:52:05 -0700 2009Fri Jun 19 20:52:26 -0700 2009
more...]]>
30falsefalseWed May 13 12:18:52 -0700 2009Wed May 13 12:53:15 -0700 2009
more...]]>
30falsefalseThu Feb 05 10:02:06 -0800 2009Thu Feb 05 10:02:06 -0800 2009
Most critics praised this historical novel; differences in opinion centered on execution rather than subject matter. All agreed that Land of Marvelsoffers a compelling portrait of the Iraq of nearly a century ago, with reverberations for our own involvement in the region today. Unsworth expertly set...more...]]>
40falsefalseTue Jul 21 07:19:36 -0700 2009Tue Jul 21 07:19:36 -0700 2009
this is the reason I became obsessed with the Booker Prize (and now I cannot. wait. to read Sacred Hunger). My mind thrills to finding symmetry in diffe...more...]]>
40falsefalseSun Aug 09 18:47:48 -0700 2009Sun Aug 09 18:48:01 -0700 2009
more...]]>
30falsefalseFri Feb 06 10:13:07 -0800 2009Mon Feb 23 10:58:44 -0800 2009
more...]]>
30falsefalseFri Feb 06 00:00:00 -0800 2009Fri Jan 16 07:53:01 -0800 2009Fri Feb 06 13:43:30 -0800 2009
more...]]>
40falsefalseSun Nov 08 00:00:00 -0800 2009Wed Nov 04 22:57:33 -0800 2009Sun Nov 08 13:23:32 -0800 2009 initially it's hard to keep people straight, but you get sucked...more...]]>
40falsefalseSun Mar 08 00:00:00 -0800 2009Mon Feb 09 23:27:47 -0800 2009Mon Mar 09 23:28:02 -0700 20091
Land of Marvels is a two-sided statement. Taking place primarily at an archaeological dig, where hope reigns that there will be vast historic value to be discovered. There is also a separate, secondary love story runni...more...]]>
30falsefalseFri May 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009Fri May 15 09:21:20 -0700 2009Fri May 15 09:27:33 -0700 2009
more...]]>
50falsefalseThu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009Fri Jan 30 11:26:44 -0800 2009Fri Jan 30 11:27:28 -0800 2009
more...]]>
00falsefalseTue Nov 17 17:26:06 -0800 2009Tue Nov 17 17:36:19 -0800 2009 Oil was becoming the major commodity in the world, rail and river rout...more...]]>
40falsefalseSat Apr 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009Sat Apr 04 13:21:53 -0700 2009Sat Apr 04 13:34:52 -0700 2009
more...]]>
40falsefalseTue Jan 20 10:35:42 -0800 2009Tue Jan 20 10:39:47 -0800 2009
more...]]>
30falsefalseThu Apr 16 20:33:29 -0700 2009Thu Apr 16 20:35:47 -0700 2009
more...]]>
30falsefalseThu Sep 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009Fri Feb 13 13:47:48 -0800 2009Sun Sep 27 07:30:35 -0700 2009
Land of Marvels is set in Mesopotamia in the summer of 1914, when an amateur British archaeologist seems on the brink of startling new discoveries about the Assyrian Empire, only to come into conflict with the geopolitical imperatives of the impending war with Germany.
In...more...]]>
10falsefalseThu May 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009Thu May 07 13:42:30 -0700 2009Thu May 07 13:44:10 -0700 2009
Well. Just finished it. Neither Peabody-esque nor Austen-esque. Just dull-esque and with a terrible ending. ]]>
30falsefalseFri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008Tue Mar 17 09:47:07 -0700 2009Tue Mar 17 09:50:40 -0700 2009
http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3952795