Hild (The Hild Sequence, #1) in The Alternative Worlds

Nov 14, 2013 Wealhtheow rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical, queer-characters

Before she was even born, Hild's mother prophesied that she would be "the light of the world." Hild turned out not to be the boy her parents expected, but her mother trains her to become an important figure nevertheless. As a child, Hild's sharp mind merits her a reputation as a seer and inclusion in her uncle, King Edwin's, household. Through observation, curiosity, and never-ceasing reflection, Hild's mind continues to expand amidst never ending political (and physical) battles.

Every moment f Before she was even born, Hild's mother prophesied that she would be "the light of the world." Hild turned out not to be the boy her parents expected, but her mother trains her to become an important figure nevertheless. As a child, Hild's sharp mind merits her a reputation as a seer and inclusion in her uncle, King Edwin's, household. Through observation, curiosity, and never-ceasing reflection, Hild's mind continues to expand amidst never ending political (and physical) battles.

Every moment felt authentic. Hild's society is as real and lived-in as our own. Griffith has done a truly prodigious amount of research to create this utterly believable window into the past, but she doesn't dump information onto the reader, or use it simply as window-dressing. The characters feel that gods and spirits are close and might intervene at any time--they're confused by Christ, who doesn't seem to get drunk or make jokes or be involved in any of the daily labor and war that make up their lives. Literacy is a game-changer, but one that takes a while to make its influence known. Matters of the body, like sex or urination, aren't private in the same way they are today. Family connections and webs of relationships are of huge importance. Foreignness and class status are marked in their own, distinctly medieval, ways. All of this is conveyed on the sly, so that the reader doesn't quite realize how much they've learned about Hild's world until its over. I loved the way Griffith wove in trade routes, weather patterns, and all manner of other considerations into her tale, without ever losing focus.

Hild is based on Saint Hilda of Whitby, but so little is known about her that Griffith is free to invent a great deal to explain how she went from fatherless noble lady to esteemed Christian abbess. I loved much of her inventions. I've seen other reviews question the gemæcca concept--the formal pairing of two women, in the same sense as a lady and her lady-in-waiting. It's true that I haven't seen it described elsewhere, but then, women's life is so rarely described in extant sources that invention of some kind is necessary. Too, the concept fits with the society as another strand in the peace-weaving web; seventh century Britain had all sorts of oath-based relationships that involved men, so why not one for women? Other readers question whether sex between women would have been accepted the way it is in Hild, but A)this is pre-Christianity, and B)early Christianity wasn't all that down on sex between women anyway. These creations, like Griffith's other choices in the novel, didn't startle me or seem strange in the least; she fits them in well with the rest of the narrative. One invention only bothered me: (view spoiler)

That aside, I absolutely loved this book. The language is beautiful, without a wasted word or awkward phrase. Every single image comes into play somehow; every experience shapes Hild or informs our understanding of her world. Hild is so present, so utterly real, from the unstated loneliness of her early childhood (never more poignant than when she threatens a priest to get him to teach her sister to read, so she can maintain a connection with one of her sole relatives even across great distances) to her slow awakening sexuality (ahh that scene with the milk!) to her coming to terms with ruthlessness against the bandits of Elmet. In her, and in all the characters who oppose, help, and surround her, Griffith has created something truly special and uniquely human. The ending bothered me, because it felt like I'd been in the middle of a stream and then abruptly was plucked out of it. To strain the metaphor further, I expected a waterfall, or to end in a peaceful pond, but instead the stream--er, narration, just stops. I hear that Griffith is working on a sequel to this novel, which explains why we leave Hild when she is still a young adult, still nowhere near founding any abbeys or becoming a saint. ...more

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Nov 14, 2013 Terry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: that-northern-thing, historical-fiction

2020 re-read: There's not much I can add to my original review below aside to say that this is still a great book, and has definitely made it to the re-read list. I only wish I could expect the sequel to be out sooner than currently projected!

Original review:
The bottom line is that this was a wonderfully engrossing read and I can’t give it less than 5 stars. Time will tell if it becomes a perennial favourite added to the re-read queue (though it likely will), but regardless of this it was a fant 2020 re-read: There's not much I can add to my original review below aside to say that this is still a great book, and has definitely made it to the re-read list. I only wish I could expect the sequel to be out sooner than currently projected!

Original review:
The bottom line is that this was a wonderfully engrossing read and I can’t give it less than 5 stars. Time will tell if it becomes a perennial favourite added to the re-read queue (though it likely will), but regardless of this it was a fantastic example of how to do an excellent work of historical fiction...or just fiction period. It was a long-ish book at 546 pages, but I found myself feeling that I could have read another 500 pages in Hild’s life and am therefore eagerly anticipating the proposed sequel(s). Perhaps that alone says it all (especially given that I don’t always have a great track record with long books unless they really capture my imagination).

The story takes place in 7th century England (or pre-England as this is the era when the Anglo-Saxons, or Anglisc as Griffith has it, were beginning to establish their kingdoms which would, one day, become the united kingdom of England). Now, however, we have many rival cultural groups: from the Anglisc who have moved from invaders to overlords of several competing kingdoms, the Britons of Celtic descent native to the island and still holding out in a few independent domains, to the Celtic Irish who have their own designs on the Isle of Britain. The centre of the tale from a historical context is the rise of the Yffing clan under the overlordship of Edwin who would come to consolidate the tribal lands of Deira and Bernicia into the kingdom of Northumbria with designs on becoming the King of all the English. Our central character, however, is the titular Hild, the daughter of Edwin’s nephew Hereric, a previous contender for Edwin’s throne who died under mysterious circumstances while in exile (a not uncommon situation for many of these ‘athelings’, or royal candidates, in the period).

One would imagine that the position of the daughter of a slaughtered rival would have made Hild’s continued existence precarious with the rising Edwin. Thankfully for Hild her mother Breguswith was a woman of great ability and foresight. Through careful cultivation of the mystique surrounding her purported ‘vision’ of the then-unborn Hild as “the light of the world”, in tandem with her careful planning and political manoeuvering, Breguswith manages to secure a place for herself and her children in the household of the newly installed king Edwin. Thankfully for Breguswith her daughter is precocious from a young age and able to pick up quickly on the lessons of her wily mother and we come to see how an intelligent and perceptive young girl who pays close attention to all that goes on around her, when paired with a sly (or some might even say conniving) mother willing to pull any necessary strings, can fairly easily find herself considered a seer of remarkable powers. Of course a good dose of luck at the right time doesn’t hurt either.

Hild as depicted by Griffith is a fascinating character. Her most obvious trait being her perceptiveness, her ability to be still and observe what goes on in the world around her, whether it be the natural changes of the seasons and the signs of weather, flora, and fauna that she can use to her advantage, or the cues that those around her drop as to their desires and intentions of which they are not even aware. If I may take a short digression into nerd-dom I would say that she is almost like a toned-down Bene Gesserit from Frank Herbert’s Dune (fitting perhaps given that some in the book call her haegtes or witch) reading the subtle cues of human nature and drawing from them astute inferences and conclusions. This ability to observe implies that Hild is often living at the edge of things looking in from the outside and in many ways, especially given her growing reputation as seer to the king, this separation from others comes to define her. The role of seer may bring with it a certain prestige, and even a tenuous safety in the politically uncertain world of Edwin’s court, but it is a double-edged sword that also brings with it a separation from others. As a result Hild gathers around herself many admirers and devotees (in addition to rivals and outright enemies), but relatively few friends. Most see her as “…not human, more like a wall, a tide, the waxing of the moon. A force of nature. Implacable, untouchable.”

It is not only Hild who fascinates however, and Griffith does an excellent job with all of her characters. Hild’s mother Breguswith stands out for me in particular as an intriguing picture of a strong and capable woman, nearly as perceptive as her daughter and paired with a ruthless cunning that never quite borders on evil, but always makes us wonder about where she stands in any given situation. Cian, the half-British (or wealh the Anglo-Saxon term for any ‘foreigner’ or non-Anglisc person which eventually became the term ‘Welsh’ as applied to the people of Wales) foster-brother with whom Hild shares her childhood and who dreams of nothing so much as being a great warrior, but who carries his own secret without even knowing it and acts as on of the seers most constant anchors to the 'merely' human world. There are far too many to cover in detail, but I found all of the characters in the book, no matter how minor, interesting and well-rounded, from Cian’s hard-headed but loving mother Onnen, and even Begu the seemingly simple-minded though often perceptive childhood friend of Hild, to Paulinus the grasping and clever Christian Bishop seeking power and influence, and Edwin himself an often hard and harsh ruler, though not without intelligence and the perceptiveness to use a soft hand when he needs to.

So, Griffith has a deft hand with characters; how was the story? All I can say is that I felt fully immersed in the Anglo-Saxon world of 7th century Britain without being overwhelmed by the details. It is definitely true that Griffith peppers her book with many particulars about the daily life and manners of the time, but I for one never felt that these were misplaced or slowed down the story. Rather I felt that they were integrated quite naturally into the tale and helped to build the verisimilitude I want, and expect, when I visit a time and place not our own. (It is also possible that my own personal interest in, and knowledge of, the cultural milieu helped in this regard.) We thus follow Hild as she navigates the sometimes tumultuous world of Anglo-Saxon politics at a time when not only was Edwin trying to consolidate political power, but the new religion of Christianity was beginning to push out the old ways and gods and an added complexity of power and influence was brought into the mix. Amidst these ‘high matters’ Hild tries to grasp something purely human that can anchor her to the day-to-day world of her people; thus she does her best to nurture those friendships that can be formed for one marked out as a member of the political, and sometimes spiritual, elite.

Women are definitely front and centre in the novel and display their various strengths, and weaknesses, in all levels of society. For those to whom it matters Griffith is also something of an iconoclast, portraying her heroine, who would eventually become an abbess and saint, as a bi-sexual woman perhaps more pragmatic than she is spiritual, though she is not without a certain idealism. All in all this was a great read and I highly recommend it to lovers of historical fiction, especially of the Anglo-Saxon era. ...more

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Aug 02, 2013 Sarah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction_non_genre, historical-fiction, fantasy, wwe-women-of-genre-fiction

This is a magnificent book. I have a habit of sometimes reading to finish a book, rather than reading to experience it. I lived this novel, the grit and the grime as well as the glamour. It is a lush imagining, an act of deft, from-the-ground-up worldbuilding. I love how everyone has things to do, whether they are men, women, nobles, farmhands: there are herbs to collect, sheep to shear, cows to be milked, people to be healed, cloths to be woven. I love that the women have purpose and agency, an ...more

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Jun 06, 2015 Sharman Russell rated it it was amazing

A description of the main character Hild worrying about all she has to worry about--which is quite a bit: "On and on...like a cat licking her mind." Writing like this made me really love this book. It's a tour de force of seventh century Anglo-Saxon England, and you don't find too many of those. This is a gift to the reading world. Yes, okay, sometimes I found myself skimming just a bit (I do that, a bad habit, and this is a long book) and I also didn't always bother keeping track of all the nam ...more

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Feb 12, 2014 Lori rated it really liked it

In some ways this reminded me of Kristin Lavransdatter, one of my very favorite books. Not only does it take place in place in medieval times, it paints "a richly detailed backdrop, Undset immerses readers in the day-to-day life, social conventions, and political and religious undercurrents of the period." - taken from GRs blurb of KL. So we get many descriptions of the natural world, where people lived closer to the simple moments of the natural world. I was far more transported with the poetic ...more

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