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A Novel
by Leigh Bardugo
Book Reviewed by:From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo comes a spellbinding novel set in the Spanish Golden Age.
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2024 by The Washington Post, NPR, Goodreads, LitHub, The Nerd Daily, Paste Magazine, Today.com, and so much more!
In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to improve the family's social position.
What begins as simple amusement for the nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen―and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor.
Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive―even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santángel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.
Chapter One
If the bread hadn't burned, this would be a very different story.
If the cook's son hadn't come home late the night before, if the cook hadn't known he was hanging around that lady playwright, if she hadn't lain awake fretting for his immortal soul and weeping over the future fates of possible grandchildren, if she hadn't been so tired and distracted, then the bread would not have burned and the calamities that followed might have belonged to some other house than Casa Ordoño, on some other street than Calle de Dos Santos.
If, on that morning, Don Marius had bent to kiss his wife's cheek before he went about the day's business, this would be a happier story. If he had called her my darling, my dove, my beauty, if he had noted the blue lapis in her ears, or the flowers she had placed in the hall, if Don Marius hadn't ignored his wife so that he could ride out to Hernán Saravia's stables to look over horses he could never afford to buy, maybe Doña Valentina ...
Here are some of the comments posted about The Familiar in our legacy forum.
You can see the full discussion here.
Are there any quotes you found particularly memorable, and if so, what about them rang true for you?
"There are different types of suffering. Valentia thought. The kind that takes you by surprise and the kind you live with so long, you stop noticing it." p. 368 Survive is essential, but to thrive is a bonus. Blindspots to some suffering is... - robinsb
Did the language used by the characters seem appropriate to the time period of the novel?
Not having read a lot of books during this time frame, I felt the language was appropriate. Bardugo's research is pretty extensive, so I am sure she also delved into what words were appropriate for the time frame. - taking.mytime
Do you think each of the characters deserved their fate? Who, in your opinion, deserved better, who deserved worse, and why?
I enjoy an ending where the author gives you detail about each character However by the time I got to this point I was just done with this book - taking.mytime
Do you think Santángel was a good man? Do you think Luzia loves him because he’s good in some respects, or in spite of it?
I think Luzia found the good in Santángel that she wanted to see. He started out as self serving, but as we got to know him he was no worse than any other. - taking.mytime
How much control do you think Luzia has over her circumstances?
She was a woman during the Spanish Inquisition - she had no control. She was controlled in every aspect of her life. - taking.mytime
Although she appears to be just an ordinary servant, Luzia can perform simple magic — unburning a loaf of bread, fixing torn clothing, turning six eggs into a dozen. She does her best to keep this talent hidden; it's the age of the Spanish Inquisition, and she fears coming to the institution's attention, well aware that her gift would be viewed with mistrust. Bardugo's prose is lovely throughout, with lush descriptions that bring each scene to life. She brilliantly conjures up a sense of magical wonder while casting it against the menacing shadow of the Inquisition. It's this tension that drives the plot and keeps the pages turning...continued
Full Review
(540 words)
(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
Deborah Harkness, #1 bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches
A richly imagined, intricate tale... I loved every word of this novel, and it's a must-read for those who are seeking a little magic in their lives. Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Outlander
Riveting... Leigh Bardugo's characters are so three-dimensional you want to reach through the page. Katherine Arden, author of The Warm Hands of Ghosts
A wonderful, transporting ride through a moment in history, where you can see the height of Spanish power but also sense the rot underneath. I really enjoyed it, it definitely made me think, and, of course, it's deeply romantic.
The fictional heroine of Leigh Bardugo's novel The Familiar interacts with several characters based on people who really did live in Spain during the 16th century. One of these is a young woman based on the figure Lucrecia de León, also known as "Lucrecia the Dreamer." Like the main character Luzia, Lucrecia comes under government suspicion for having certain abilities that are not easily explained, a detail that is consistent with the facts of De León's life.
Spain's ruler, Philip II, moved his court and imperial residence to Madrid in 1561, and by the end of the decade the city had become a hotbed of political intrigue. Conspiracies and rumors ran rampant and talk against the king was common. Many felt the monarchy had ...
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