The Divining stands alone yet also works as the sequel to Soul Flame
(1987), which followed a Roman healer named Selene. In 54 CE, Ulrika,
Selene’s 19-year-old daughter, begins seeing mysterious visions that
draw her away from Rome. She joins a caravan to Germania, her father’s
homeland, in hopes of saving his people from a Roman ambush and learning
more about her heritage. She falls in love with the caravan’s leader,
Galician trader Sebastianus Gallus, although their romance must wait
until their separate missions are over. As Ulrika travels on to Antioch
and Babylon on her quest to control her gift, Sebastianus obtains orders
from the despotic new emperor, Nero, to open diplomatic ties with
distant China, a trip marked by deception.Oddly for a novel about a journey, little time is spent on the road; one would expect travel to be more complicated and arduous than it is here. Despite the narrative’s jumpiness, though, it provides a nice panoramic view of the era. “Deities, Ulrika realized, were as diverse and various as the people who worshipped them,” Wood writes, which captures the book’s greatest strength. The cultures Ulrika encounters are fascinating, and her openness to spiritual discovery means the reader approaches their beliefs – some ancient and others newly born – in a similar way at first. Everyone Ulrika meets has a tale worth hearing, and her story creatively intertwines with that of the earliest Christian saints.
For those who share the author’s wide-ranging interest in women’s lives through history, Turner has also reissued sixteen titles from her backlist, all with gorgeous covers (see on Amazon).
The Divining appeared from Turner Publishing in May at $26.95, or $29.95 in Canada (hb, 373pp). This review appeared first in August's Historical Novels Review. In looking through my review index, I discovered I'd reviewed her Woman of a Thousand Secrets, set in 14th-century Mesoamerica, almost exactly four years ago.
This sounds fascinating. Added to the TBR list!
ReplyDeleteAlso, her covers are gorgeous. Thank you for the link!
I'm so glad they're reprinting so much of Wood's backlist... there are some I don't already own (or have as old ratty paperbacks), and the covers are very enticing!
DeleteI find the interplay of different ancient religious traditions an interesting theme, coupled with a woman as central character, doubly so. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteIt's a unique novel in that respect; in many ways it's a story about the origins of Christianity, but seen from the viewpoint of a spiritual seeker rather than someone who was already certain about which religious path to follow.
DeleteOooh - totally new-to-me author (and with a nice backlist for me to work thru should I fall in love...) -- this sounds promising. I'll keep in mind the jumpy feel, though, and hopefully that won't disappoint.
ReplyDeleteThe novel worked fine on its own, although a little ways through, I got a sense of "hmm, this may be a sequel" due to what seemed like a lot of emphasis on Ulrika's mother. Then I checked her backlist and saw the description for Soul Flame, which I *may* have read years ago. I've also read The Blessing Stone and Woman of a Thousand Secrets and enjoyed the last one the most, due to the setting (how many historicals are women's perspectives on Mesoamerica) and the colorful characters.
DeleteYou should read some more of Wood's books. Her best were done sometime around the nineties.
ReplyDeleteGreen City in the Sun
Dreaming
Soul Flame
Domina
Virgins of Paradise
are this author at her best.
I read them as long as 20 years ago, and still remember the "feeling" of those stories today.
They all have a medical background somehow, because Barbara Wood is/was dental assistant at one time, or so I read.These books make excellent vacation reads.
The sad thing is I've had copies of some of these around since the '90s but haven't gotten to them yet. Green City in the Sun and Virgins of Paradise looked especially interesting.
Delete