Samarkand
Amin Malouf
About Omar Khayam. (Caroline said it had made her realise how
ignorant she was about Persia and that period in history). Khayam
wrote his verses after his life was spared by a man who was
judging him. Highly recommended.
Jean 29/9/02
Seaán thought the historical centre of this book
absolutely brilliant. It deals with the Islam and Byzantine world
in the 11/12th centuries. It's the story of the life of Omar
Khayam (author of The Rubaiyat). An involved and complex history
of a place and time that's not documented in general western
history books. The context is that a modern American is in search
of the original text of Khayam's book and this is the annoyingly
weak part of the book, bracketing the hugely enjoyable middle
section.
Seán 23/5/04
The frames have
gone all funny - click to make it good.