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Daughters of Babylon
“Sometimes, the only way to the future is through the present of someone else’s past.”
Confused? So is Silvina Kestral when she agrees to clear out the house of an eccentric dead actress amidst the ruins of a medieval priory in the French Pyrenees. Speaking of confusion, who were the Daughters of Babylon, and what does a tall dark stranger in the attic have to do with Creation’s mightiest secrets? To find out, you’d have to ask either a Mexican cane cutter with a party of witches and a sense of rhyme, or a 19-year-old, badly married queen named Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Problem is, where to start? And once started, what if the task never, ever ends…
Literary historical mysteries, split timeline puzzle mysteries, magical realism mystery: whatever term you choose to label them, the ability of these genre-blending books to trap the reader in a labyrinth of intrigue and wonder has won them many fans in recent years. With Daughters of Babylon, Elaine Stirling pushes to the front rank of literary mystery authors.
Crusader battles in the Holy Land, painful love affairs and courtly romance, a remote French community not far from Carcassonne where events in the time of Eleanor of Aquitaine still resonate powerfully today: some of the ingredients of Daughters of Babylon might appear familiar at first. But spiced with Gabo-style Mesoamerican magical realism courtesy of the Mexican nagual and his witches, the resulting brew has a rich flavor unique to this book.
Three timelines appear at first to be faint echoes of each other, but as we begin to learn from the understanding of cyclical deep time known to the Incas, Aztecs and Mayans, we see that at some level these times are not separated at all.
And the links between these times have been induced for a noble purpose; they are not coincidences, nor contrived ‘leakage’ across time due to a dramatic event. This book describes a maniobra, a magical deep time maneuver of extraordinary complexity.
One that continues to this day.
Confused? So is Silvina Kestral when she agrees to clear out the house of an eccentric dead actress amidst the ruins of a medieval priory in the French Pyrenees. Speaking of confusion, who were the Daughters of Babylon, and what does a tall dark stranger in the attic have to do with Creation’s mightiest secrets? To find out, you’d have to ask either a Mexican cane cutter with a party of witches and a sense of rhyme, or a 19-year-old, badly married queen named Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Problem is, where to start? And once started, what if the task never, ever ends…
Literary historical mysteries, split timeline puzzle mysteries, magical realism mystery: whatever term you choose to label them, the ability of these genre-blending books to trap the reader in a labyrinth of intrigue and wonder has won them many fans in recent years. With Daughters of Babylon, Elaine Stirling pushes to the front rank of literary mystery authors.
Crusader battles in the Holy Land, painful love affairs and courtly romance, a remote French community not far from Carcassonne where events in the time of Eleanor of Aquitaine still resonate powerfully today: some of the ingredients of Daughters of Babylon might appear familiar at first. But spiced with Gabo-style Mesoamerican magical realism courtesy of the Mexican nagual and his witches, the resulting brew has a rich flavor unique to this book.
Three timelines appear at first to be faint echoes of each other, but as we begin to learn from the understanding of cyclical deep time known to the Incas, Aztecs and Mayans, we see that at some level these times are not separated at all.
And the links between these times have been induced for a noble purpose; they are not coincidences, nor contrived ‘leakage’ across time due to a dramatic event. This book describes a maniobra, a magical deep time maneuver of extraordinary complexity.
One that continues to this day.
300 pages, Paperback
First published July 14, 2014
8 people are currently reading
390 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 23, 2014
The novel tells three stories: Eleanor of Aquitaine in the mid 1100's, Nagual Lupo Sanchez in the early 1970's and Silviana in present time. The stories separately are well developed and very interesting, captivating even.
But when the author pulls the stories together in the last chapters, nothing makes sense...Confusing and nonsensical. Really too bad since the first part was so very good.
But when the author pulls the stories together in the last chapters, nothing makes sense...Confusing and nonsensical. Really too bad since the first part was so very good.
April 3, 2015
Daughters of Babylon-A very interesting story
It took me a little while to get into the story with all the different timelines, but once I did, it was so interesting and grabbed my attention from then on. Don't give up on this story. Give it a few chapters and then, Wow, it gets good!
It took me a little while to get into the story with all the different timelines, but once I did, it was so interesting and grabbed my attention from then on. Don't give up on this story. Give it a few chapters and then, Wow, it gets good!
September 8, 2014
I enjoyed this book for the most part. It was slow for a lot of the book, but would pick up here and there. I enjoyed the relationship dynamics that were built. I also enjoyed the poems throughout the book.
August 7, 2014
I just love it. I am still reading it and couldn't put it down until after noon, when I just had to start doing something with my day. It is clever, erudite, compelling and charming.
September 6, 2014
I found this book to be a fascinating picture showing us the lives of some rather well-known historical figures - as well as a modern day woman. This is set in and around the ruins of a priory.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews