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I’ve left it a little bit late to review 'Company of Liars – A Novel of the Plague’ by Karen Maitland. I thought about just letting it go, as I always knew I wouldn’t have time to review every book here, but after a few weeks away from this humungous hardback I can still clearly remember most of twists in the storyline, the characters and the excellent creation of the historical atmosphere. This isn’t always the case when I read modern novels; I retain an impression of many novels but often forget lots about their plots. So ‘ Company of Liars’ earns itself a late review spot by being especially memorable.
‘Company of Liars’ is a supernatural thriller, a murder mystery and a historical novel that strives to replicate authentic historical beliefs. A scarred peddler, who sells religious relics, unwillingly becomes attached to two travelling musicians. The band of men are travelling at a time when the first plague is sweeping through Europe and the first cases are just appearing in Britain, prompting people to run from the plague as if it is a physical pursuer. As the story progresses more people attach themselves to the group, much to the frustration of the peddler narrator, named Camelot. A white haired child called Narigorm, who Camelot has met previously and her companion join the group. Narigorm is decidedly creepy and Camelot feels her malevolent influence on the group as they try to find somewhere safe from the plague. The members of the company find themselves compelled to reveal the secrets that chase them as hard as the plague and one by one they begin to die mysteriously. Despite her small stature it’s hard not to see the sinister, rune reading child as the agent of their deaths.
If you’re looking for a genuinely scary historical novel this book is for you. It rains continuously for much of the book, making travelling dangerous and unpleasant. At night the group constantly hears wolf calls and is soon unable to sleep as they wait to hear if the wolf is still following them. Through these devices Karen Maitland sets up a gloomy, claustrophobic atmosphere for most of the book. Neither day nor night offers any respite for the travelers, who are already worried about avoiding the plague. The characters all spend much of the book on edge, adding to the tense feel of the novel. Both the plague and the wolf seem to herd them in particular directions, so that the characters have no control over their destiny and this fills the book with a sense of foreboding about their eventual destination.
The addition of a quietly violent child, with strange hair gives the reader something else to fear, especially as the narrator does not trust her. In my opinion, if people start getting murdered the first suspect should always be the creepy kid with odd hair (in the absence of a snooty butler) so from the moment she entered the book I was afraid of what Narigorm would do. Narigorm reads the runes which predict the company’s misfortune, but it is unclear how she is actually involved in the deaths that occur later. Runes predict the future, they do not control it so Narigorm is not blamed when her readings come true. Although she takes pleasure in killing small animals it seems unlikely that she could commit the murders as she is too small to confront a grown man. Yet she definitely controls the group by ensuring that their secrets are revealed, which leads to terrible consequences. When it’s revealed how she has been influencing the company, making some of them commit horrible acts, the solution was satisfyingly plausible in the context of the novel.
Each member of the company has a secret. Most are taboo in twelfth century society, but are really harmless. The members of the company keep these secrets so that they can hide their true natures from society and continue to survive. Anyone who has read a reasonable amount of books where secrets are discovered will know what some of the secrets are after the author’s first, gentle clue. However some of the secrets are not so easy to find out and there is a nice balance between secrets the reader can discover before the narrator and secrets that can be dramatically revealed.
The one thing I didn’t enjoy was the book’s ending, which was similar to the ending of some well known horror films. It lacked subtlety and I didn’t think that it really created the effect the author was going for. Ssssh no spoilers.
‘Company of Liars’ has been nominated for the Sue Feder Memorial Award and Karen Maitland’s new novel 'The Owl Killers’ is now out in hardback, sporting the same kind of cool cover art as ‘Company of Liars’.
‘Company of Liars’ is a supernatural thriller, a murder mystery and a historical novel that strives to replicate authentic historical beliefs. A scarred peddler, who sells religious relics, unwillingly becomes attached to two travelling musicians. The band of men are travelling at a time when the first plague is sweeping through Europe and the first cases are just appearing in Britain, prompting people to run from the plague as if it is a physical pursuer. As the story progresses more people attach themselves to the group, much to the frustration of the peddler narrator, named Camelot. A white haired child called Narigorm, who Camelot has met previously and her companion join the group. Narigorm is decidedly creepy and Camelot feels her malevolent influence on the group as they try to find somewhere safe from the plague. The members of the company find themselves compelled to reveal the secrets that chase them as hard as the plague and one by one they begin to die mysteriously. Despite her small stature it’s hard not to see the sinister, rune reading child as the agent of their deaths.
If you’re looking for a genuinely scary historical novel this book is for you. It rains continuously for much of the book, making travelling dangerous and unpleasant. At night the group constantly hears wolf calls and is soon unable to sleep as they wait to hear if the wolf is still following them. Through these devices Karen Maitland sets up a gloomy, claustrophobic atmosphere for most of the book. Neither day nor night offers any respite for the travelers, who are already worried about avoiding the plague. The characters all spend much of the book on edge, adding to the tense feel of the novel. Both the plague and the wolf seem to herd them in particular directions, so that the characters have no control over their destiny and this fills the book with a sense of foreboding about their eventual destination.
The addition of a quietly violent child, with strange hair gives the reader something else to fear, especially as the narrator does not trust her. In my opinion, if people start getting murdered the first suspect should always be the creepy kid with odd hair (in the absence of a snooty butler) so from the moment she entered the book I was afraid of what Narigorm would do. Narigorm reads the runes which predict the company’s misfortune, but it is unclear how she is actually involved in the deaths that occur later. Runes predict the future, they do not control it so Narigorm is not blamed when her readings come true. Although she takes pleasure in killing small animals it seems unlikely that she could commit the murders as she is too small to confront a grown man. Yet she definitely controls the group by ensuring that their secrets are revealed, which leads to terrible consequences. When it’s revealed how she has been influencing the company, making some of them commit horrible acts, the solution was satisfyingly plausible in the context of the novel.
Each member of the company has a secret. Most are taboo in twelfth century society, but are really harmless. The members of the company keep these secrets so that they can hide their true natures from society and continue to survive. Anyone who has read a reasonable amount of books where secrets are discovered will know what some of the secrets are after the author’s first, gentle clue. However some of the secrets are not so easy to find out and there is a nice balance between secrets the reader can discover before the narrator and secrets that can be dramatically revealed.
The one thing I didn’t enjoy was the book’s ending, which was similar to the ending of some well known horror films. It lacked subtlety and I didn’t think that it really created the effect the author was going for. Ssssh no spoilers.
‘Company of Liars’ has been nominated for the Sue Feder Memorial Award and Karen Maitland’s new novel 'The Owl Killers’ is now out in hardback, sporting the same kind of cool cover art as ‘Company of Liars’.
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