Sign in with FacebookLiviu's Reviews > John Saturnall's Feast
John Saturnall's Feast
by Lawrence Norfolk
by Lawrence Norfolk
Liviu's review
bookshelves: 2012_release_read, mainstream, read_2012, top_25_2012_novels
May 07, 12
bookshelves: 2012_release_read, mainstream, read_2012, top_25_2012_novels
Read from May 07 to 08, 2012
Since his very notable debut some 20 years ago with Lempriere's Dictionary, Mr. Norfolk has written only one another major novel, Pope's Rhinoceros which was what I expected and more - I read it only twice across the years, but I am rereading it too now starting when I heard a few days ago about his upcoming new novel, this one, John Saturnall's Feast; as for Lempriere, maybe this time (it's at least my 10th try at it) I will manage to get into it...
Anyway, I saw the upcoming John Saturnall's Feast a few days ago on Net Galley and I obtained a review copy which I expected to take me a while to read (see above why, noting that Pope's Rhinoceros is also a pretty dense and almost 700 pages long though quite a rewarding novel that makes one understand life in Europe ~1520's better than many historical treatises, such is its superb atmosphere and the powerful style of the author).
To my surprise I almost breezed through John Saturnall's Feast as it was very hard to put down, but also it stood at about "only" 400 pages and was written in a much more accessible style - a pretty straight forward and more or less chronological narrative interspersed by fanciful "feast recipes" according to particular events of importance in the book. Actually, the style is almost sensuous in a way, though the grime and harsh realities of England from around 1630's till 1662 (with an epilogue set a decade or so later) are very much in evidence also.
The book is clearly John's story and the blurb is generally accurate, but despite that the main hero is only a "cook" rather than a knight or such, there is adventure, heroism, seduction, battles, fanatics...
The novel is also very visual - I was picturing quite a lot of it as a Peter Greenaway movie, more precisely the mixture of the period of Draughtsman's Contract and the feasting of The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover - both movies I've watched a number of times...
Though now the cook is the lover too and he does not end on the dinner table...
Anyway a highly, highly recommended novel and a top 25 of mine for this year, while i expect I will reread it quite a few times to enjoy its atmosphere...
I also expect this one to appear on this year Booker prize longlist at the least.
Anyway, I saw the upcoming John Saturnall's Feast a few days ago on Net Galley and I obtained a review copy which I expected to take me a while to read (see above why, noting that Pope's Rhinoceros is also a pretty dense and almost 700 pages long though quite a rewarding novel that makes one understand life in Europe ~1520's better than many historical treatises, such is its superb atmosphere and the powerful style of the author).
To my surprise I almost breezed through John Saturnall's Feast as it was very hard to put down, but also it stood at about "only" 400 pages and was written in a much more accessible style - a pretty straight forward and more or less chronological narrative interspersed by fanciful "feast recipes" according to particular events of importance in the book. Actually, the style is almost sensuous in a way, though the grime and harsh realities of England from around 1630's till 1662 (with an epilogue set a decade or so later) are very much in evidence also.
The book is clearly John's story and the blurb is generally accurate, but despite that the main hero is only a "cook" rather than a knight or such, there is adventure, heroism, seduction, battles, fanatics...
The novel is also very visual - I was picturing quite a lot of it as a Peter Greenaway movie, more precisely the mixture of the period of Draughtsman's Contract and the feasting of The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover - both movies I've watched a number of times...
Though now the cook is the lover too and he does not end on the dinner table...
Anyway a highly, highly recommended novel and a top 25 of mine for this year, while i expect I will reread it quite a few times to enjoy its atmosphere...
I also expect this one to appear on this year Booker prize longlist at the least.
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read John Saturnall's Feast.
sign in »
