Friday, May 09, 2008

Company of Liars - Karen Matiland

Company of Liars - Karen Maitland (2008)
I was sucked in by the added title on the cover - you know the bit, where it says "a novel of the plague". I love me a good plague novel, but this book skirted around it, nobody got boils or died with blackened tongues. Instead a group of misfits, thrown together travels around England at the time of the plague, searching for work, pay and food.

Through this long novel (552 pages) we discover that each of the characters is hiding a lie, deceiving each other and not telling all the truth. A wee girl with the power of reading the runes and conjuring spirits is able to discover each secret by the tales end.

Usually I likes a good historical novel, but I am not convinced this is one. Oh well, that is what happens when you are sucked in by the cover at Borders. At least the library was pretty good at having this one on the shelves soon after release. A timid 2/5.

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