A powerful and moving story about Muslim Spain
This story is so captivating, so well-written, and so, so important in terms of historical repression and those who have to hide their inner most dreams and true selves. Fatima is a concubine in 15th century Muslim Spain, who befriends a kind and generous man named Hassan that has a closely-kept secret; he can draw maps that conjure doors without needing to have traveled there, and together, the two develop a deep personal relationship to each other as they explore and expand the bonds of their limitations, free to be themselves without the risk of wrath or punishment. Yet when Fatima befriends another woman visiting the Sultan who is a position of power, the woman deems Hassan's gift as witchcraft and an insult to the true Church.
This book is so beautifully crafted, even from the first few chapters the author's descriptions just bring the characters and the setting to life, and you are already drawn into their story and the hints of magic this historical novel promises to deliver a story of love, friendship, oppression, and what it means to be different in a time where those who were had no voice.
This book is so beautifully crafted, even from the first few chapters the author's descriptions just bring the characters and the setting to life, and you are already drawn into their story and the hints of magic this historical novel promises to deliver a story of love, friendship, oppression, and what it means to be different in a time where those who were had no voice.