false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165444666m/4517.jpg 4517 9 <p>Set in the Middle Ages during the brief yet glittering rule of the Norman kings, <i>The Ruby in Her Navel</i> is a tale in which the conflicts of the past portend the present. The novel opens in Palermo, in which Latin and Greek, Arab and Jew live together in precarious harmony. Thurstan Beauchamp, the Christian son of a Norman knight, works for Yusuf, a Muslim Arab, in the palace&#8217;s central finance office, a job which includes the management of blackmail and bribes, and the gathering of secret information for the king. <br>But the peace and prosperity of the kingdom is being threatened, internally as well as externally. Known for his loyalty but divided between the ideals of chivalry and the harsh political realities of his tumultuous times, Thurstan is dispatched to uncover the conspiracies brewing against his king. During his journeys, he encounters the woman he loved as a youth; and the renewed promise of her love, as well as the mysterious presence of an itinerant dancing girl, sends him on a spiritual odyssey that forces him to question the nature of his ambition and the folly of uncritical reverence for authority. <br>With the exquisite prose and masterful narrative drive that have earned him widespread acclaim, Barry Unsworth transports the reader to a distant past filled with deception and mystery, and whose racial, tribal, and religious tensions are still with us today.</p> 2112203 2006 The Ruby in Her Navel: A Novel of Love and Intrigue in the 12th Century total:95|5:10|4:19|3:36|2:24|1:6| 95 288 191 21 4 0 false false Tue Mar 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 14:51:42 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 14:52:49 -0700 2009
This book is telling story about 12th century Sicily during the rule of Normans. Curiously I watched few days ago on History channel one series about this subject and it ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Mar 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 21 13:52:46 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 06:16:10 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Sep 17 22:54:27 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 19 07:14:38 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false true Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 09 12:51:15 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 09 12:57:05 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Apr 26 16:28:04 -0700 2007 Thu May 10 17:28:58 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Nov 05 15:37:29 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 05 15:41:03 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Thu Jul 09 11:10:22 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 09 11:14:54 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sun Jul 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 19:58:36 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 16:59:04 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Apr 26 12:20:03 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 28 01:36:39 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Aug 28 22:39:05 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 28 22:40:16 -0700 2007 0 0 false false Wed Feb 20 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 20 13:08:31 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 20 13:10:03 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Tue Jul 29 17:33:40 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 29 17:34:41 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Tue May 22 17:10:01 -0700 2007 Tue May 22 17:10:58 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Sep 22 10:46:19 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 22 10:50:47 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Jun 13 19:35:28 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 13 19:36:24 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Thu Aug 28 12:23:10 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 28 12:23:44 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Wed Jun 17 19:09:54 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 23 12:43:01 -0700 2009 1 0 false false Sat Dec 06 20:21:30 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 04 20:53:53 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Wed Mar 12 21:39:03 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 04 17:51:38 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Jun 28 18:43:03 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 28 18:43:03 -0700 2008 http://allconsuming.net/entry/view/40786]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=4517