Mention Containing Books By Fire, By Water
Title | : | By Fire, By Water |
Author | : | Mitchell James Kaplan |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 284 pages |
Published | : | May 18th 2010 by Other Press (NY) |
Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. Cultural. Spain. Literature. Jewish. Religion |
Mitchell James Kaplan
Paperback | Pages: 284 pages Rating: 3.74 | 1045 Users | 191 Reviews
Interpretation Conducive To Books By Fire, By Water
Luis de Santángel, chancellor to the court and longtime friend of the lusty King Ferdinand, has had enough of the Spanish Inquisition. As the power of Inquisitor General Tomás de Torquemada grows, so does the brutality of the Spanish church and the suspicion and paranoia it inspires. When a dear friend’s demise brings the violence close to home, Santángel is enraged and takes retribution into his own hands. But he is from a family of conversos, and his Jewish heritage makes him an easy target. As Santángel witnesses the horrific persecution of his loved ones, he begins slowly to reconnect with the Jewish faith his family left behind. Feeding his curiosity about his past is his growing love for Judith Migdal, a clever and beautiful Jewish woman navigating the mounting tensions in Granada. While he struggles to decide what his reputation is worth and what he can sacrifice, one man offers him a chance he thought he’d lost…the chance to hope for a better world. Christopher Columbus has plans to discover a route to paradise, and only Luis de Santángel can help him. Within the dramatic story lies a subtle, insightful examination of the crisis of faith at the heart of the Spanish Inquisition. Irresolvable conflict rages within the conversos in By Fire, By Water, torn between the religion they left behind and the conversion meant to ensure their safety. In this story of love, God, faith, and torture, fifteenth-century Spain comes to dazzling, engrossing life.List Books As By Fire, By Water
ISBN: | 1590513525 (ISBN13: 9781590513521) |
Edition Language: | English |
Literary Awards: | Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) for Historical Fiction (Gold) (2011), Eric Hoffer Book Award Nominee for General Fiction (Honorable Mention) (2011), New York Book Festival, Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Historical Fiction (2010), Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award for Historical (Adult Fiction) (Bronze) (2010) |
Rating Containing Books By Fire, By Water
Ratings: 3.74 From 1045 Users | 191 ReviewsJudge Containing Books By Fire, By Water
"He had fought his entire life for acceptance and dignity in a society where neither was his birthright. To abandon that struggle, to walk away from his achievements, would be to hand a victory to those who wished to deny his humanity." Luis de Santángel is chancellor to King Ferdinand, but he is also a Conversos - of Jewish heritage but converted to Christianity - and with the Spanish inquisition in full force that's not always the safest thing to be. Luis decides to explore his Jewish heritageBy Fire, By Water is a wonderful and devastating look at the unification of Spain in the late 15th Century. The novel centers on the growth of the Spanish Inquisition, the Catholic conquest of the Islamic kingdom of Granada, and the discovery of the New World, told through the perspective of two disparate characters. Luis de Santangel is the Aragonese chancellor of King Fernando and Queen Ysabel of Spain, los Reyes Catolicos. He looks to be prosperous and powerful, yet he cannot shake the stigma
Mitchell James Kaplan has certainly tackled a complicated subject with his first novel in By Fire, By Water. It deals primarily with the Spanish Inquisition that was being sponsored by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella as it spread throughout Spain as they attempted to unify the kingdom of Spain. The story is being told through King Ferdinand's chancellor's eyes, Luis de Santangel, who was a converso himself. A converso was someone who was not trusted completely because of the fact they had once
Set in Spain during the 15th Century, BY FIRE, BY WATER is a gorgeously executed book that exemplifies historical fiction at its finest. Written with intelligence and beautifully rendered prose, the story is as vivid and complex as a medieval tapestry. Mitchell Kaplan has seamlessly brought together themes of love, theology, politics, brutality and the deepest longings and treacheries of highly complex characters. He does this while remaining true to the most delicate (and horrific) historical
This was a very satisfying read. A story that connects The Spanish Inquisition, Cristobel Colon (aka Christopher Columbus) and the exiling of the Jewish population from Spain.Mitchell James Kaplan took 6 years to write this book, and the end product deserves praise. For such a weighty subject, the writing flows and the story grabs you by the hand and leads you through the medieval world of what we now consider Spain.The main protagonist, Luis de Santangel, Chancellor to the court of Isabel and
I received this book from the author for review, with no idea of what to expect. I ended up loving this book! By Fire, By Water, Mitchell James Kaplans debut novel, had me interested from the start. It started right in with the suspense, and steadily kept my attention to the end. The characters struggles were vividly depicted and realistic.Its taken for granted that historical fiction takes facts and twists them to fit in with the plot line and drum up a little drama. I love how at the end of
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