The Hand of Fatima by Ildefonso Falcones

Just when you think that things are about to be resolved, yet another twist occurs…and hence the nearly 900 pages. But overall, it is a rather driven narrative, which barely takes a breath. I found this part rather tedious and I’m not sure that it was really necessary to the story. It is his facility with both Christianity and Islamic that drives him to a project to unite the two faiths through the figure of Mary, who is revered by both traditions. These two streams of belief, which he can call on when he needs to, mean that he is distrusted by both sides as he moves between the two cultures. He is shunned by the Christians who educate him into their beliefs, and he secretly visits Hamid, an old teacher who educates him into the Islamic beliefs.

His stepfather despises him, and he kidnaps Hernando’s one love, Fatima, and takes and mistreats her as a second wife to spite him. Hernando is the son of an Arab woman and the Christian priest who raped her. The Islamic Morisco people in 16th century Spain are defeated, but restive, and uprisings erupt across Al Andalus, put down violently with massacres and enslavement on both sides. However, as we see all too often in the midst of the sectarian wars that still afflict us, mere conquest is not enough to expunge the beliefs, stories and world view of a conquered people. It is set in 1564, long after the reconquest of Spain by the Christian Kings. I heard about it from a guide who took me on a historic walk in Cordoba last year, and I very much enjoyed reading about places that I had been in Granada, Seville and of course Cordoba. Perhaps it’s that I often read trilogies and suchlike as they are released, several years apart.

I loved Kristin Lavransdatter, I eagerly await the final volume of Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy, and I really enjoyed Amitav Ghosh’s Ibis trilogy. Oooffgghh!! That was a long read! I was about to write that I rarely read big chunky historical fiction books but on reflection, that’s not true. Translated from the Spanish by Nick Caistor

The Hand of Fatima by Ildefonso Falcones