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A review by rharriskay
Tigana: Anniversary Edition by Guy Gavriel Kay
medium-paced
4.5
Tigana is a beautiful book.
There is a lot to love in Tigana, and I understand why so many see it as Guy Gavriel Kay’s magnum opus. From its world to its characters to its themes, this novel is so rich with so much to take away from it.
The story of a group of individuals trying to restore the memory of the country they lost, Tigana frames the generational trauma of war in a way I’ve never seen done before, and one particular passage early on, about the need to reclaim that lost memory, truly made me cry in a wholly unexpected way.
Add on to that fascinating and rich characters that feel so very human, a long-running strength of Kay’s, and a rich, magical world with a history and people I wish I could see more of, and this novel truly becomes a classic.
For those sensitive to such things, I do need to point out that there is an unexpected subplot involving seemingly uncritically called outincest and this is a case where I’d actually recommend people read the anniversary edition of the book, which includes an afterward by the author explaining some of the themes of the work and how various elements, like the aforementioned one, tie in in a way that makes me understand it and see what they were going for.
The only downsides against this book, preventing it from being a 5 star for me, is it’s pacing around the middle, particularly involving Dianora, which is great but can drag a bit compared to the other characters.
But a fascinating world and such a strong ending really makes this an easy recommend for any fans of literary fantasy
There is a lot to love in Tigana, and I understand why so many see it as Guy Gavriel Kay’s magnum opus. From its world to its characters to its themes, this novel is so rich with so much to take away from it.
The story of a group of individuals trying to restore the memory of the country they lost, Tigana frames the generational trauma of war in a way I’ve never seen done before, and one particular passage early on, about the need to reclaim that lost memory, truly made me cry in a wholly unexpected way.
Add on to that fascinating and rich characters that feel so very human, a long-running strength of Kay’s, and a rich, magical world with a history and people I wish I could see more of, and this novel truly becomes a classic.
For those sensitive to such things, I do need to point out that there is an unexpected subplot involving seemingly uncritically called out
The only downsides against this book, preventing it from being a 5 star for me, is it’s pacing around the middle, particularly involving Dianora, which is great but can drag a bit compared to the other characters.
But a fascinating world and such a strong ending really makes this an easy recommend for any fans of literary fantasy