A Song for Arbonne

by Guy Gavriel Kay

No cover — Guy Gavriel Kay: A Song for Arbonne (2002, Earthlight)

Paperback, 608 pages

Published Nov. 4, 2002 by Earthlight.

ISBN:: 978-0-7434-5007-2
OCLC Number:: 59499674

(15 reviews)

Based on the troubadour culture that rose in Provence during the High Middle Ages, this panoramic, absorbing novel beautifully creates an alternate version of the medieval world.

The matriarchal, cultured land of Arbonne is rent by a feud between its two most powerful dukes, the noble troubador Bertran de Talair and Urte de Miraval, over long-dead Aelis, lover of one, wife of the other and once heir to the country's throne.

To the north lies militaristic Gorhaut, whose inhabitants worship the militant god Corannos and are ruled by corrupt, womanizing King Ademar. His chief advisor, the high priest of Corannos, is determined to eradicate the worship of a female deity, whose followers live to the south.

Based on the troubadour culture that rose in Provence during the High Middle Ages, this panoramic, absorbing novel beautifully creates an alternate version of the medieval world.

Into this cauldron of brewing disaster comes the mysterious Gorhaut mercenary Blaise, who takes service with Bertran and averts an attempt on his life. The revelation of Blaise's lineage and a claim for sanctuary by his sister-in-law sets the stage for a brutal clash between the two cultures. Intertwined is the tale of a young woman troubadour whose role suggests the sweep of the drama to come.

13 editions

Sean Gursky reviewed A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay

Review of 'A Song for Arbonne' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I learn more sometimes from questions I know the answers to

Incredible, beautiful, dense and a little hard to follow.

When starting a Guy Gavriel Kay book there are some ground rules that have to be established between reader and book.

The book demands your attention. You need to absorb every word and sentence because his words are art and slowly paint a very vivid picture with complex characters and story.

Guy Gavriel Kay's books aren't conducive to a quick read here or there. The longer reading session the better. Kay is a master of his work and the enjoyment of the book shines when you can read a chapter in a single sitting (which clock in at 45+ minutes).

Even following my ground rules I found A Song for Arbonne to be a challenge.

A lesson for you to learn if you can: anger and hatred have limits that are reached too soon

The story is incredibly written and I wanted more of the world and story but I was unclear on several characters at the start of the book (especially from the prologue to main story) and I never recovered. This seems like an issue I had with The Lions of Al-Rassan too. I looked for a character summary or Wiki for Arbonne to help clarify who was who but I didn't and I continued to struggle.

My failure to understand relationships and history of characters detracted from character POV's and the story was impacted because of this. My motivation would take a dive during these pages and I would question if it was worth reading for another 8+ hours when I was only absorbing half the story.

Hatred...could be as powerful as love, though the singers might try to tell you otherwise.

I pushed through and, yes, even with holes in my understanding this book is a beautiful story. The ending still had an emotional hit and put a beautiful bow on this story, and for those that followed the plot more carefully, would have found the final pages even more gut wrenching.

I don't typically check my mental stamina and enthusiasm for a heavy read before starting a book so in some ways A Song for Arbonne was a bit like a chore, yet with a payoff. The books are only 500-600 pages but the amount of time it takes me to read them they are equivalent to a 1000 page tome.

Kay has an extensive catalogue of books and I'd love to work through them but I need to pick my next story carefully. I don't want to commit to a trilogy but a multiple book series could help reinforce the characters for me, or leave me struggling over the period of two books instead of one.

fiainros reviewed A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay

Review of 'A Song for Arbonne' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Whew! It took me awhile to get to this book and quite a few weeks to get through it. I should have been able to read this book in an average week. I'd been a slightly slower reader at the time, so that played a part. It took some time for the story to pick up, and I found it very predictable. The writing is fairly standard. I know some people love GGK, but I am not inspired to read more by this author. I don't know that I would have ever gotten through this had I not had several hours on a car trip with little else to do but read.