Overview

"1347. Late September. Messina, Sicily. Twelve Genoese galleys arrive unannounced, and drop anchor in its bay. A few sailors struggle ashore, bearing a cargo on their backs; a terrible cargo that the world had never known before; a cargo of 'death' so virulent nothing could withstand or allay it: not fortress walls, not the swords and arrows of armies; not charms, herbs, or desperate flight; not the relics of Saints; not the prayers of the devout. Thus begins the greatest pandemic in recorded history, one of apocalyptic, Biblical proportions that men would believe was God's judgment of their iniquities; leaving nearly half of Europe dead in the wake of its wrathful scourge. Brother Ludovico has researched and painted a graphic, lurid picture of the 'Black Death', and the Great Famines that preceded it, as they swept through 14th century Italy. He has painted it with the rhyming descriptions of two men with antithetical natures: one, a learned theologian, an eminent abbot and scholar; the other, a friend of the abbot's youth, an apostate who is a lover of wine, taverns, and the arms of women. Both men find themselves faced with the harsh immediacy of death, and both strive to find meaning in the gruesome havoc with which God is ending Man's world. A story of the soul, told with the voice of the soul, a poignant poetry that tells the existential dilemma in each of us.....a story of the battles of flesh with spirit, belief with its abandon, the fragility of life with the iron certainty of death.....the myths of love with our first and final, utter aloneness. When asked about 'Brother Maria': ""A kind of poetic reliquary of Man's Past; a kind of allegory of the plagues loosed on his Present; a kind of hope, perhaps the only hope for his Future."""

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9781421835419

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"I have a thing, a soft spot, for big, sprawling, atmospheric historical novels. There is something singularly rewarding about getting lost in a hefty tome that impeccably evokes ages and people of long ago in a striking, impactful manner. And ""striking"" and ""impactful"" are just the right words to give readers an idea of what the doorstopper I am about to review is all about. ""Brother Maria"", for this is the title of this bold, brash, beautiful brick of a book, is a historical novel with a difference. I can honestly, wholeheartedly state that I have never read anything precisely like this book. I had a feeling I was in for an experience like no other from the minute I saw the book on Amazon, with its striking, simple black cover with only the title ""BROTHER MARIA"", and the author ""Brother Ludovico"" listed, and the more I read about the description, the more I wanted to read this book. So I eventually reached out to Mr. Rodney Charles, from 1st World Publishing, and expressed my interest. I was promptly told that I could be among the early readers of this sprawling epic, which comes out on September 1st. And of course, I jumped at the chance. And I am SO glad I did. ""Brother Maria"" is without a doubt one of my all-time favorite pieces of Medieval historical fiction. It is a hefty tome, full of intensity, and thus, it may not be for everyone, but it is certainly one of the most rewarding novels that I have ever read. The book tells the sprawling, striking story of two people with very different viewpoints, in a North-Central Italian Abbey, Father Giovanni(who will advance in rank throughout the novel), a devout, scholarly Franciscan monk, and Brother Maria, a charming, roguish, very worldly younger monk who ends up leaving his life of faith. The background? The Black Plague, the deadliest pandemic known to man at that time. There are many reasons for which the novel is special, and is more than just a novel about a catastrophic period in mankind's long and troubled history. For one thing, the author is shrouded in mystery, which I believe gives the book a special kind of vibe. For another, it is chock-full of poetry and songs written by the rebellious troubadour, Brother Maria, sure to delight the hearts and minds of those who love verse(with the deft hand of our mysterious Brother Ludovico, of course). I will say one thing very clearly: the book is not for everyone. The page count may be daunting, and the subject matter is certainly no light reading either. There is a lot of graphic content(which one should expect in a novel about a deadly pandemic of apocalyptic proportions), and there are also strong elements of eroticism(which are the most finely nuanced such scenes I have ever read in any book). In fact, I will go ahead and say that in my view, the novel shines the brightest at nuancing things, and I think that is its central message: nuance is everything in life. There are points throughout the book where it may be easy for"

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