Company of Liars: A Novel

This book shows the other side of the medieval age that has been overlooked by so many authors who regurgitate novels of royal families, fair maidens, and chivalrous knights. Those who enjoy these books should avoid this one as A Company of Liars portrays the life of the common man, warts and all. It is a dark time filled with shadows, both real and imagined. There are a few grisly scenarios not for the squeamish, but there is also a humble beauty of the human spirit. It is a story of survival, betrayal, and yet one of compassion. Not all the characters are likeable, but most have redeemable qualities. Readers may find themselves examining human frailty in a new light. A Company of Liars is also a real page-turner as the reader attempts to uncover the secret each character is hiding. Some are obvious, others are not. It ends brilliantly on a very dramatic note. This is the first book by Karen Maitland that I have read. Reading previous reviews it is considered by some as her best, however I will definitely read more off her novels.

The Camelot, a peddler “of hopes and crossed finger,” sells faith in a bottle, false talismans and relics that bring hope to believers and doubters, carries a horrible scar where the nose and eye have been slashed in some long ago battle. The Camelot collects a rather motley group of ‘liars’ who are entertainers, generally, a man with mysterious collection including a ‘mermaid’, who does sleight-of-hand and shell game tricks, a young story teller with one arm as the wing of a swan, a puzzling couple of less than streetwise demeanor, a pair of minstrels from Italy, and a scary little girl who reads the future in her runes. Nothing is what it appears to be, and all have told lies, but these characters are gradually revealed as the skillfully plotted tale unfolds and unfolds, and unfolds upon itself, all the occasionally chilling scenes slinking toward the astounding revelations at the very end. Brace yourself, Reader, this company of liars is just what their name promises.

This is a fascinating book on multiple levels. I liked it and disliked it at the same time, but I will say that I found it compelling and always looked forward to reading it. It is well written and interesting, although not always enjoyable. There are many twists and turns in the plot and that keeps the interest level high, but much of the subject matter is dark and at times unbelievable. Perhaps people during medieval times were more prone to believing in magic and mystical matters, but that element of this book was somewhat of a detractor for me. The characters were an interesting mix, covering a wide array of human frailties and dysfunctional relationships, thrown together for the sake of survival during a dark and dangerous time. All factors considered, this book is definitely worth reading and will hold your interest. Just be prepared for some dark topics.

When it comes to dredging the dark reaches of Europe during the 12th to 16th century, no better wicked guide can found for this intrepid reader than Ms Maitland and her fantastic imagination and way with a presenting a complex enigma. With a wave of her pen, the beginning of human paranoia and fascinating superstitions appear in an opening scene that immediately transports me back to uncertain and evil times where innocence is beyond lost. It sets the tone perfectly for what is to come as the strands of a mystery slowly twist around 9 souls fleeing a deadly scourge they cannot see and journey forth to possible salvation or utter ruin. The shared details along this trek are quite impressive overall and as the world burns and collapses upon itself, faith, love and credibility are tested for those all invested in this story. In truth, it may become obvious at certain crucial points what final secrets will be eventually revealed but don't let that stop the pages to turn on Company of Liars as the writing is sharp and never overly graphic regarding different subjects (so hushabye gentle reader and come closer to learn about The Great Mortality). On that last note, specific chapters within this novel have an additional special purpose to enlighten and encourage further study on its shared topics and it honestly becomes difficult to pull the lamp chain for the night or fight the urge to read just one more passage (or even not scratch at an imaginary flea bite). Without giving away any more, just wait and see what this tale has in store for the curious reader and harbours for its Company of Liars; you won't forget this one.

It is very hard for a modern mind to understand the middle ages. They had a different orientation to the world, understanding it through magic, superstition, spells, potions, quackery, amulets, holy relics, werewolves, witches, and more. This book plunges right down into this world. It is superbly written, very descriptive and vivid. The characters are all misfits of one kind or another. They band together to survive the pestilence sweeping England in 1348/1349. The difficulties of finding food and shelter in such a harsh environment is brought vividly to life. And one must enter into the spirit of the adventures rather than trying to logically parse them. From a modern perspective, the characters are just superstitious and ignorant. But once you accept their stories as complex allegory, then it makes sense. A very good book indeed.

The wording on the cover 'A Novel of the Plague' is misleading, because this really isn't about the plague, that's just the vehicle for the characters. This book is really about a disparate group of travellers that try to outrun the plague and in doing so find themselves bound together. But each has a secret and as the story progresses and the secrets come out, the story takes an unexpected twist and you will not see the final twist coming. Brilliantly written - not the sort of book I would normally choose but I couldn't put it down! Read it!!

In this extraordinary novel, Karen Maitland delivers a dazzling reinterpretation of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales--an ingenious alchemy of history, mystery, and powerful human drama.The year is 1348. The Black Plague grips the country. In a world ruled by faith and fear, nine desperate strangers, brought together by chance, attempt to outrun the certain death that is running inexorably toward them.Each member of this motley company has a story to tell. From Camelot, the relic-seller who will become the group's leader, to Cygnus, the one-armed storyteller . . . from the strange, silent child called Narigorm to a painter and his pregnant wife, each has a secret. None is what they seem. And one among them conceals the darkest secret of all – propelling these liars to a destiny they never saw coming.Magical, heart-quickening, and raw, Company of Liars is a work of vaulting imagination from a powerful new voice in historical fiction.

This is the first book I ever read by Karen Maitland, and since then have purchased and read nearly all of her books.She is a fantastic story teller, from the first page to the very last she sucks you in to the characters stories and you literally can not put the book down till you have finished!Set in 1348, the time of the Black Death, an era of Religion, Suspicion, and Witchcraft, this book tells the tale of a group of people, a holy relics trader, a midwife, a young couple, a conjourer, an apprentice and his master and a strange young girl, all bound together on an unusual journey to escape the plague and their own pasts.What then ensues, birth, death, lies, intrigue and magic, is all told in a maginificent tale, which keeps you doubting and guessing until the last page.I felt the last chapter wrapped up the story perfectly, leaving you satisfied and terrified at the same time, it was heartbreaking to come to the end.All in all this book was a joy to read, and happily introduced me to a new author of historical fiction, by far my favourite genre.

It is 1348 and the dreaded pestilence has arrived on England's shores. Coming on the back of years of bad harvests and cold and rainy summers, it spreads like wildfire through the country. People flee before it, and strangers are forced to group together for survival. One such group is the titular company of liars, composed of nine misfits which include of a one-eyed peddler of relics, a conjuror, a midwife, an Italian musician and his apprentice, a young couple on the run, a one-armed storyteller and a rune-reading girl, each one harbouring a secret they don't want the others to know about. Very quickly animosities develop and alliances are forged between the travellers. As one after another of their number falls victim to a violent death, and with the pestilence hard on their heels, secrets are revealed...The story is told from the viewpoint of Camelot, an old, well-seasoned traveller and trader in relics of more or less dubious origins. He is an astute observer but from the start it becomes clear that we can't trust any one person from the company, happy to bend the truth to meet their needs as they are. Some are more likeable than others, but with the rune-reading girl, Narigorm, Karen Maitland has created a singularly spiteful and malicious character, even more so as she is still only a child. The characterisation is excellent, each person a damaged individual, but where the author excels is in the descriptions of the dripping and frosty landscape and in creating an atmosphere of absolute dread and fear amongst the population in the wake of the ever advancing pestilence. This is a populace well accustomed to hardship and starvation, yet in the face of this seeming apocalypse they are at a loss and are clutching at any straw they can think of: amulets, supposedly holy relics, even a cripples' wedding to ward off the inevitable. This is an age where superstition, faith and witchcraft were still happily sitting side by side, and Karen Maitland succeeds in making us understand the medieval mind-set, not least with the fairly extensive historical notes and glossary in the appendix. It is debatable if the supernatural element that appears to occur in each of her books was necessary to the degree as it's found in this novel, and so opinions will always differ in that respect. The pestilence is always in the background, and we get glimpses of heartbreaking human tragedies that must have happened a thousandfold during those years, thereby enhancing my understanding of this period of history and putting flesh on the historic dates and statistics. I raced through the 500+ pages as I wanted to know what happened next, but the secrets that were revealed by each of the characters were pretty obvious to the attentive reader, and even the supposed final twist came as no surprise, thus falling just short of five stars.An intelligent and well-researched account of a time in history that now appears almost alien to us with our scientific knowledge and technologies. As always, it amazes me that my and my husband's ancestors managed to live through it or we wouldn't be alive today. Thoroughly recommended.