"The Ruby in Her Navel"
(Reviewed by Mary Whipple JAN 28, 2007)
"Young man, be warned, I do not like contradiction. Friends, enemies, it is all one, it is like the ocean, all one salt. Do you search for sweet water among the billows? You are young, take the advice…Do not trouble yourself with such useless distinctions. They weaken your eyes and spoil your aim. Know the flight of the duck and where to wait for its passing."
Author of strong historical novels containing well developed themes, Barry Unsworth focuses here on life in 1149 in Palermo, Sicily. Power struggles between east and west have left King Roger of Sicily hard pressed to maintain his throne. The Bishop of Rome and the Pope do not recognize his rule, and both Conrad Hohenstaufen (ruler of the west) and Manuel Comnenus (ruler of the east) are threatening to invade Sicily to secure their own power. Palermo has always been a tolerant, multi-ethnic center, with many Muslims working for the king, but as palace intrigues become more complex, a faction promoting a unified Christian front has been making false accusations, not only against Muslims but against Jews and other "outsiders."
Thurstan Beauchamp, who narrates this tale, is a young Christian, the son of a Norman knight and a Saxon mother, who moved to Italy in 1125. When his father joins a monastery, leaving Thurstan landless and without the opportunity to become a knight, Thurstan accepts work in the Diwan of Control, the central financial office at the palace. His patron is Yusuf Ibn Mansur, a politically savvy and honest official, who teaches Thurstan the protocol which will enable him, eventually, to become an influential employee of the king, if he can only avoid the pitfalls of the numerous factions and their plots.
Since Thurstan is also "Purveyor of Pleasures and Shows," responsible for finding entertainments for the king and the court, he travels throughout Europe, and it is in this role that he finds and hires a group of five Middle Eastern performers, including Nesrin, a belly dancer extraordinaire, to come to Palermo to perform for the king. Thurstan's attraction to Nesrin becomes complicated when on the same trip he also reconnects with Lady Alicia, a young woman with whom he was in love when they were teenagers being trained for court life. Forced to marry when she was still a young teenager, she is now a widow of considerable wealth, and Thurstan finds that all his old feelings for her have returned.
Unsworth's inclusion of fine details of twelfth century life give vibrancy to his story. The intrigues and court politics, the machinations and jousting for power, and the deceits and betrayals, however complicated they become in the course of the novel, are no more complicated than the relationships Thurstan maintains with Nesrin and Lady Alicia, and as the women move in different circles from Thurstan, Unsworth uses these women to expand his picture of life at court in all its ethnic complexity. Wonderful scenes such as those in which Thurstan visits the king's church in Palermo to observe the stunning mosaic work being created by Byzantine craftsmen, and in which he must obtain and bring back to Palermo the small white herons that the king's falcons like to hunt, add color and excitement to his picture of mid-twelfth century life. The language is formal, with an "archaistic" tone befitting the period, and the continuing imagery of light and shadow emphasizes the ethnic and cultural differences among the competing ethnic groups and the conflicts within Thurstan's soul.
Though Unsworth tells a fascinating story, full of excitement, he telegraphs much of the action through obvious foreshadowing. In addition, Thurstan's naivete, which makes him a sympathetic "hero" and provides excuses for some of his blunders, is a bit unrealistic, considering his high level of responsibility in the king's court. Still, The Ruby in Her Navel, more complex than some of Unsworth's most recent novels, is filled with vivid detail within a fascinating historical context, and its emphasis on Thurstan's political and romantic coming-of-age will make it popular with lovers of historical novels with well-developed themes and images.
- Amazon readers rating:
from 6 reviews
Read a chapter excerpt from The Ruby in Her Navel at Nan A. Talese
(back to top)
Bibliography: (with links to Amazon.com)
- The Partnership (1966; 2001 in U.S. )
- The Greeks Have a Word For It (1967)
- The Hide (1970)
- Mooncranker's Gift (1973)
- The Big Day (1976)
- Pascali's Island (1980) (originally The Idol Hunter)
- The Rage of the Vulture (1982)
- Stone Virgin (1985)
- Sugar and Rum (1988)
- Sacred Hunger (1992)
- Morality Play (1995)
- After Hanibal (1996)
- Losing Nelson (1999)
- The Songs of the Kings (2002)
- A Ruby in Her Navel (October 2006)
Nonfiction:
- Crete (2004)
Movies from Books:
- Pascali's Island (1990)
(back to top)
Book Marks:
- British Council arts page on Barry Unsworth
- Reader's Guide for Morality Play
- Bold Type excerpt from After Hannibal
- Bold Type on Losing Nelson
- Independent review of The Songs of Kings
- Guardian Unlmited review of A Ruby in Her Navel
- PopMatters review of A Ruby in Her Navel
(back to top)
About the Author:
Barry Unsworth was born in 1930. He grew up in a small mining community in County Durham, in the north of England. After studying English at Manchester University and completing two years national service, he lived in France for a year where he taught English. He travelled extensively in Greece and Turkey during the 1960s, teaching at the Universities of Istanbul and Athens.
Pascali's Island, later made into a film, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1980. In 1992 Unsworth was joint winner of the Booker Prize for Sacred Hunger which tied with Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient. Morality Play, published in 1995, was also shortlisted for the Booker. He was awarded an honorary Litt.D. by Manchester University in 1998. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
He lives in Umbria Italy.
