Books Set in Europe, Lisbon, Portugal

The Day of Atonement, by David Lisa (2014)

This novel takes place in 1755, the year of the Great Lisbon Earthquake.  The Inquisition is still alive and well and going after the New Christians.  Ten years earlier, 13-year-old Sebastião Raposa was whisked out of Lisbon, but his parents were killed by the Inquisition.  When Sebastião Raposa returns, he poses as the Englishman Sebastian Foxx, and vows to seek vengeance on those who harmed his parents.

Sebastian also wants to help Charles Settwell, an English trader who smuggled him out of Portugal.  Settwell has now fallen on hard times with the English after having converted to Catholicism.  Sebastian, upon learning of Settwell's circumstances vows to avenge Settwell, as well.

The novel is full of twists and turns.  Who is actually the villain, and who is to be trusted.  A satisfying historical novel.

Read: December 16, 2024

3 Stars

Benjamin Weaver Series:

    A Conspiracy of Paper; August 28, 2003

    A Spectacle of Corruption; June 28, 2010

    The Day of Atonement; December 16, 2024

    

    

Books Set in Europe, Barcelona, Spain

Cathedral of the Sea, by Ildefono Falcones (2006)

Cathedral of the Sea is a historical novel set in 14th Century Barcelona.  The novel spans from 1320 to 1384 and follows the life of Arnau, who was born into a serfdom.  His mother was brutally raped by the landowner on her wedding night and was later forced to become wetnurse to the lord’s family.  Arnau’s father escapes with his son to the free city Barcelona where they attempt to make a life together.

Life is not easy, but Arnau and his father find contentment.  Arnau became friends with a young boy near his age who becomes his adopted brother, Joan.  As children, the two boys were inseparable.  They find comfort worshiping at the foot of the Virgin Mary in the cathedral that is being built.  Arnau joins the stone-worker’s guild, called bastaixos, while his brother joins the Church.  Ultimately, Arnau becomes very wealthy and is instrumental in providing funds to the king for protecting the city.  In exchange for providing funds, the king forces Arnau into a marriage with Eleanor, a spiteful baroness.  It is a loveless marriage that was never consummated and could be Arnau's downfall.

Arnau befriends members of the city’s Jewish community.  This puts him at odds with the Church and the inquisition.  Joan has become an inquisitor, Arnau is hauled before his brother to answer for his sins.

[Spoiler Alert: The reader was led to believe that Arnau's mother had died.  She appears deep into the novel as a prostitute in Barcelona.

This is a very long novel and was originally written in Spanish.  I liked it, but didn’t love it.  Perhaps something was lost in translation.

Read:  May 27, 2023

3.5 Stars

Books Set in England; London

The Weight of Ink, by Rachel Kadish (2017)

In late 2000, British academic Helen Watts come across a cache of Jewish papers written in the 1660s.  She quickly realized that they might be important and enlists the assistance of an American graduate student, Aaron Levy, to review the documents before turning them over to the university for preservation.  In their initial review, they realize that the documents contain scholarly writings between the Sephardic communities in London and Amsterdam. They soon discover, too, that the documents are written by a scribe who is a woman, very unusual for the 1660.

The novel goes back in time between the early 2000s and the 1660, where we are introduced to Ester Velesquez, the scribe.  The Jewish communities in the 1660s were still in the midst of the Inquisition.  The Amsterdam Jewish community had recently excommunicated Baruch Spinoza. Additionally, at this period in time the Jewish community was confronted by Sabbetai Zev, a Sephardic rabbi who claimed to be the Messiah.

Ester, being a woman, had been educated, hence her ability to serve as the scribe for the aged and blind rabbi.  The rabbi had Ester copy the letters he sent to Amsterdam, hence the newly found documents contain both the rabbi’s correspondence as well as the return replies. The letters seem to discuss arguments regarding the Sabbetai Zev’s influence throughout Europe, especially Florence.

A good portion of the beginning of this novel provides a concise history of Sephardic Jews.  This portion of the novel is very interesting and very readable.  Later portions of the novel, however, become bogged down with too many people and too many details that are seemingly irrelevant to the main ark of the story.  Ester becomes a companion to Mary, a spoiled rich young woman, who herself becomes involved with a rowdy cast of British actors.  This portion could have been trimmed down into another book, as I found this to be a distraction to the thesis of the novel.

Ultimately, we learn that Ester had taken the name of one of the British actors and written theological arguments to many Jewish thinkers, including Spinoza.  Her letters showed her intellectual curiosity and thirst for learning in her well-laid out arguments.  Some of the thinkers responded.  We also learn that her letters, written under the name of Thomas Fallow, presented Spinoza’s arguments.  The aged rabbi for who Ester was acting as scribe, would respond to Fallow’s letters with his own theological arguments.  Only as the old rabbi is dying does he confess to Ester that he knew she was Thomas Fallow.

I started reading this book several months ago, but had to put it down because it is so busy.  Then, one of my book groups selected this as a reading, so I picked it up again.   I liked it better on the second try, but it is still too busy.  There is simply too much going on in this novel.

Read: August 18, 2019

3.5 Stars

Books Set in Europe; Spain

By Fire, By Water, by Mitchell James Kaplan (2010)

By Fire, By Water is a historical novel about the Spanish Inquisition.  Many of the characters in the novel, including the main character, Luis de Santágel, Hernando de Talavera, and Cristóbal Colón, were real people.

Luis de Santágel was the royal chancellor of Aragon, and a converso, a Jew forced to convert to Christianity.  De Santágel retained an interest in his Jewish heritage, although that was becoming more dangerous with Tomás de Torquemada’s views on anyone not believing in the “true faith.”

De Santágel was influential in the court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, however, he knew that his role in the court was tenuous due to his Jewish background. After the murder of the Inquisition’s Chief Inquisitor, Pedro de Arbués, de Santágel realizes that Torquemada’s tactics are much more horrific than previously encountered.  After the Inquisitors arrest both Luis’ son, Gabriel, and his brother, Estefan, Luis sees just how far Torquemada will take his pursuit to extract confessions of faith from non-Christians.

Religious issues become even more complicated when the Catholic monarchs descend into Granada and force out the Moors, who had built a large and peaceful society.  Spurred on by religious fervor, Queen Isabella issued an edict expelling all Jews from the kingdom.

In the meantime, Cristóbal Colón, has De Santágel ear and needs an advocate to convince the Court to help fund an exploration to India across the expanse of the ocean.

No story would be complete without a love story.  De Santágel met the beautiful Judith Midgel, and her nephew, Levi, who are secret Jews.  All of this leads him to explore his abandoned Jewish faith.

This novel brings this period of history to life and the characters are seem very real.

As a side note, in the novel, Levi accompanied Cristóbal Colón on his voyage to be a translator.  He was the only non-sailor on the voyage.  In fact, there was a non-sailor translator listed in Colón’s logs whose name was listed as Luis de Torres, a transliteration of the Hebrew name, Levi Midgel.

Read: September 16, 2018

4 Stars

Books Set in Europe: Spain and Portugal

The Mapmaker's Daughter, by Laurel Corona (2014)

Read: July 25, 2017

3 Stars

Books Set in Europe: Spain

The Last Jew, by Noah Gordon (2000)

I had actually read this book almost exactly 6 years ago, but had forgotten.  The book begins at the time of the Spanish Inquisition and the Jews are either forced out of Spain or forced to convert to New Christians, where their faith is continued to be questioned.  

The novel follows young Yonah, whose older brother was murdered while delivering a valuable silver Christian article, made by his silversmith father, to the local church.  The religious item is lost and the  murder was unsolved.

Shortly thereafter, the Inquisitors come for the Jews and New Christians.  Yonah's sibling are sent to escape Spain with distant relatives.  His father is killed during a raid on the family home by Frey Bonestruca, a brutal Inquisition.  Yonah is left to fend for himself.  He knows he must leave his home town to escape the Inquisitors.  He adopts the name Ramon Callico and begins his travels throughout Spain.  Although he knows he must pose as a Christian, he privately tries to adhere to the religious of his birth, thus becomes the "last Jew" living in Spain.

Through out his travels, he learns various trades, from working on a ship, doing physical labor, becoming a shepherd, and finally, finding a mentor who teaches him to be a physician.  His mentor knows Yonah/Ramon's true identity, but never betrays him.  Yonah finds a home in a remote town of Spain where he practices medicine.  Frey Bonestruca had been living too rich a live and, as punishment, the Church sent him to the same town where Yonah lived.  Yonah must confront the man he believes killed his father.

Noah Gordon crafted a fascinating history of life in Spain during the 1500s.

Read:  August 31, 2010; September 3, 2016

4 Stars

Books Set in Europe: Spain

The Sisterhood, by Helen Bryan (2012).

Read:  October 22, 2013