“Joy.  Safety.  They can be present for us, more often are not.” — Written on the Dark, by Guy Gavriel Kay

In Guy Gavriel Kay’s brilliant, beautifully-written new novel, Written on the Dark,  he deftly infuses the narrative with bits of verse and philosophy. The book is part literary fantasy, part historical novel, set in a reimagined Middle Ages.

Kay, a prize-winning Canadian writer, is difficult to classify. He won the World Fantasy Award in 2008 and was named to the Order of Canada in 2014.  Despite the ghettoization of SF/fantasy, his work has been reviewed in The Washington Post and The New Yorker. And that automatically wins him a larger audience.

The Library of Congress, however, categorizes Written on the Dark as “Fantasy fiction./ Novel,”  and, indeed, it is both. You will find it in the SF/fantasy fiction section at the bookstore, but it could easily be shelved in the literature section, with Kurt Vonnegut, Alice Hoffman, and Yoko Ogawa.  Then our favorite snob friends might read it.  Of course, the reverse is also true: the fantasy fans wouldn’t be able to find it.

I assure you, this is not a “romantasy”.  Perhaps the word for it should be “histori-antasy.”

Kay’s fantasy novels are rooted in history and often inspired by poetry. My favorite of his novels, Under Heaven, was inspired by the poets of the Tang Dynasty.  Written on the Dark, set in a beautiful city, Orane, in an alternate Middle Ages, has been decimated by the Plague, but is slowly recovering.  This is, however, a time of social unrest. Thugs are abroad in the city at night, and there are political plots afoot.

Most of the main characters are based on historical personages. The protagonist, Thierry Villar, a raucous, satiric, witty tavern poet, is based on the poet Francois Villon in medieval France. And, yes, you may see a bit of  Christine de Pizan in the character Marina, a successful female poet. Other characters are based on Joan of Arc, Henry V, and the Burgundian duke Fearless John. In the Acknowlegements, Kay recommends several volumes of poetry, history, and biographies he read while researching the novel.

This vigorous novel is plot- and character-driven. It brims with excitement: it starts as a murder mystery.  One dark night a brutal murder occurs. Thierry is coerced by the Provost and other Guards to help investigate the murder of a powerful Duke. In the investigation that follows, it is Thierry’s job to talk to common people in shops and taverns and report back what is being said. He is smart and cunning, but not a cop: he runs into danger.  Eventually, he must flee for his life, but resents being in the country. So he finds more trouble when he insults his host, a rich poet, at a large dinner party: he tells him that he has no talent. Thierry is thrown out of the house, and encounters yet more trouble. All he wants is to return home to the city.

Kay describes the city of Orane, beloved by Thierry, who hates living outside the city limits. The novel begins in winter.

The city was harder to love in the dead of winter, easier when spring came.  Very easy, in fact. It was a glory of the world, Orane.  Fewer people than it had held before the worst years of the Plague – which was why there were places with young trees and open meadows in the walls. But it was growing again.

And there is much more about the city, but you’ll have to read the book.

Such an entertaining read! Perfect for August. I hope you’ve been enjoying your summer reading.

Any great summer books to recommend? I will dutifully try to round up some of the better ones I’ve been reading soon.