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The Book of Saladin: A Novel (Islam Quintet 2): A Novel
by: Tariq Ali

List Price: £10.00

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Used Price: £5.89
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Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9781859842317
ISBN: 1859842313
Label: Verso Books
Manufacturer: Verso Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 367
Publication Date: December 02, 1999
Publisher: Verso Books
Studio: Verso Books
Sales Rank: 24300

Related Items:

Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree (Islam Quintet 1)

The Stone Woman: A Novel (Islam Quintet 3): A Novel

The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (Saqi Essentials)

The Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity

Editorial Review:

Amazon.co.uk Review:
Tariq Ali has been one of our national treasures for almost five decades: revolutionary, writer, broadcaster, film maker, polemicist--fighter in the street (the title of his vivid Sixties memoir)--and general all-round trouble-maker (in the nicest possible sense) he's been them all, and usually at the same time. Since 1990 Ali has also worked in fiction, firstly with Redemption, and now with a planned quartet of historical novels, of which The Book of Saladin is the second. (The first was the award-winning, Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree).

Ali's passion for life, and his humour, are found all over this latest work which is set in the 12th century--with eerily prescient echoes of modern times. It shows us the conflict between Christian and Islamic civilisations set to a humorous, sometimes bawdy, sometimes brutal background where all of life is in flux.

As with his previous novel Ali shows the depth and breadth of his learning and humanity on every page. Like his central character Saladin, or Salah-al-Din (the Kurdish liberator of Jerusalem), Ali has been a fighter of many causes, a maker of alliances, who has made an impact on the world around him; unlike his hero Ali has never been a Sultan, nor a warrior, except a class one, of course. But between them--Ali and his warrior King-- readers can discover much of both history and contemporary life in the melting pot of world religion. --Robin Hunt

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Most disappointed.
I bought this book to read about Saladin and how he managed his empire. I was warned beforehand that this is a work of fiction but did not realise it is nothing but a work of fiction with almost no statement of facts.

If anything, the writer Tariq Ali wants to tell his own version of history of how it must have been back then. Fornication, homosexuality and how people might have amused themselves then seem to be the main theme. Saladin himself comes across as soneone who is most troubled and very one dimensional character. More space is given to the various characters around him and how they go about trying to satisfy their sexual appetite than Saladin himself.

If you want to find out about Saladin, I very much doubt ... Read More:

Rating:

- The Book of Saladin
Please make no mistake this is a work of ‘FICTION’. The title is very disingenuous (to be polite); the book is mostly based around the fictional characters thought up by Tariq Ali. I was very disappointed as one is never certain where the fiction ends and reality begins.
Tariq Ali has tried to mix fiction with reality and has got it very wrong; his portrayal of Saladin as a sexually charged individual is scandalous.
I think Tariq Ali has done the greatest disservice to one of Islam’s greatest sultan and military leader.

Rating:

- A surprise - simple and beautiful
I'd heard of Tariq Ali as a political animal and didnt know what to expect. I was surprised. This book is written in style, almost like a story your mother might have told you when putting you to pbed, except of course no mother would read a child this particular story so full of life, sex and death.

The story of how a man through sheer force of will united the squabbling emirs to re-take Jerusalem (Al-Kuds) is breath-taking. I kept on putting off my job, my family until I could finish this book.

It is not a history book. It is a heroic tale - one which deserves to be told over and over again. Highly recommended.

Rating:

- A very human tale
This is a very human novel. Its a simple story of peoples lives, their day to day problems and concerns, their loves and losses. It is so easy to read like a soap opera where you are drawn into wanting to know what happens next. The fact that the concerns of the characters include a jealous lesbian whose lover has been sleeping with a eunuch, planning the strategy of the crusade against the infidels or political letter writing are made to seem matter of fact. The easy style of writing however hides an eternal truth which is that human nature doesn't change over time and one can always learn from the experience of human interaction.

An excellent evocation of a slice of human life and an easy and enjoyable read. My only critisism ... Read More:

Rating:

- Historical fiction at its best deserves more than five stars
It is difficult to put this book down once started. After some time the characters become a part of the reader’s own life. Ali, with his genius in play writing, knows how to keep the reader glued to the pages while finishing each chapter— in the Arabian Nights tradition—there is more to come. This novel is historical fiction at its best!

The Book of Saladin is Mr Tariq Ali’s second in his series of Islamic fiction and by par the most historical. The other two titles are “Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree” and “The Stone Woman”.

“The Book of Saladin”, as the title suggests, is the life of Salah-Al-Din, Saladin to the Western ear, the Great Muslim leader whose name and legend goes parallel with the Crusades ... Read More:

Books : The Book of Saladin: A Novel (Islam Quintet 2): A Novel