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A review by lauraadriana78
The General and the Elephant Clock of Al-Jazari by Sarah Black
5.0
I’ve said it before and I will say it again, Sarah Black in this genre is HER OWN STANDARD.
I’ve never ever wanted to be a writer, but when I read her books, I almost want to. Just so I could know what it feels like to make something so lovely, that can move people like her books move me.
The General and the Elephant Clock of A–Jazari is the sequel to The General and The Horse Lord. The book that gave us General John Mitchell, and his longtime lover, fellow warrior helicopter pilot and all purpose badass, Gabriel Sanchez. John and Grabriel have been lovers for over two decades, but because of DADT they had to keep their relationship a secret. In retirement, they’ve decided to step out into the light and live like they’ve always wanted to. Not everything is rosy though, Gabriel has a very unhappy ex-wife, and his teenage boy is struggling with the changes in his family. John is trying to find excitement and purpose out of military life, and thus far it’s been hard to find what fits.
Then there’s his little tribe of young men. Kim his beloved nephew (and one of the best things I’ve read in years!) who is forever exploring and pushing the boundaries, looking for his own love, his own path. Billy the boy he’s taken in after he was badly assaulted in a past relationship. Abdullah the son of his mentor and oldest friend. All these boys are looking to John and Gabriel for guidance, to show them what it should look like to live and love proudly. John is not a man who has ever shied away from doing the things that need to be done. But this time of his life proves more difficult than he ever imagined, he is feeling a sense of futility, like what he was born to do, is being done by someone else and they’re fucking it up. I mean he’s happy, happier than he’s ever been, just to be able to wake up next the love of his life every morning, to love Gabriel in the light of day is like every dream come true. But still he is restless. He is BORED. So, when he gets the call to come on a mission to get two ex-military boys out of Tunisia who’ve been imprisoned while on vacation. John (and Gabriel), jump on the opportunity. What they’ve been wanting, a mission, the chance to do something great and purposeful.
This book is a complete adventure, the pace is fast and entertaining. We hit the ground running in Carthage. We move with John and Gabriel in Tunisia, doing whatever it takes to get the boys home safe, and while we’re there we meet amazing characters that all make this world that she draws for us more colorful and kinder. Sarah Black has a style, a depth that is incomparable in this genre, she puts forth hard things, flawed people, harsh realities…But also she shows us the real strength behind friendship, loyalty, love, beliefs, passion…The things that make this world kinder and better. The ways she blends them, and makes a story that is foremost about people and love, it just leaves me enthralled. The thought that above all the differences there are amongst people, the common ground is always more vast, we just have to make the choice of stepping on to it. To see the world through the eyes that see where we can BE a better world than we have, wheere we can take the time to finds the places where we did good things.
That’s all on top of Gabriel and John themselves and that love they have. Gabriel was like some sort avenging angel, and John was righteous and heroic. It’s not easy this life they are living at times, their love has costs. High costs, scary ones. But the choice of not having each other, is one that they can never take. I love these men, loved this book, the adventures were vivid, the things I learned enriching. I feel in love even more with the General, the Horse Lord and their tribe. I hope above ALL HOPE I will get to read about Abdullah and Kim’s love story.
The special thing about Sarah Black is that she things about important complex things. Like the faces of young gangbangers, or the plight of women in the Middle East, and shows them to us in the same vein, with a face so much like our own struggles. About learning to walk in our own paths, of deciding when and where we must be adults, and how hard it is to finally let our children stand on their own two feet. She takes all that and strips it down to basic human things. That hard or difficult all the things in this world come down to basic feelings and solitary decisions. We either chose to the right thing, or we don’t. We choose hate, or we choose love. We run away, or we stand up and face the consequences of that we’ve done.
Beatiful book. Sarah Black, you leave without words sometimes.Totally and completely recommend. I’d MAKE people read it if I could.
If you'd like to see what wine and food I paired this beaut of a book with, go to my full review at The Tipsy Bibliophile
I’ve never ever wanted to be a writer, but when I read her books, I almost want to. Just so I could know what it feels like to make something so lovely, that can move people like her books move me.
The General and the Elephant Clock of A–Jazari is the sequel to The General and The Horse Lord. The book that gave us General John Mitchell, and his longtime lover, fellow warrior helicopter pilot and all purpose badass, Gabriel Sanchez. John and Grabriel have been lovers for over two decades, but because of DADT they had to keep their relationship a secret. In retirement, they’ve decided to step out into the light and live like they’ve always wanted to. Not everything is rosy though, Gabriel has a very unhappy ex-wife, and his teenage boy is struggling with the changes in his family. John is trying to find excitement and purpose out of military life, and thus far it’s been hard to find what fits.
Then there’s his little tribe of young men. Kim his beloved nephew (and one of the best things I’ve read in years!) who is forever exploring and pushing the boundaries, looking for his own love, his own path. Billy the boy he’s taken in after he was badly assaulted in a past relationship. Abdullah the son of his mentor and oldest friend. All these boys are looking to John and Gabriel for guidance, to show them what it should look like to live and love proudly. John is not a man who has ever shied away from doing the things that need to be done. But this time of his life proves more difficult than he ever imagined, he is feeling a sense of futility, like what he was born to do, is being done by someone else and they’re fucking it up. I mean he’s happy, happier than he’s ever been, just to be able to wake up next the love of his life every morning, to love Gabriel in the light of day is like every dream come true. But still he is restless. He is BORED. So, when he gets the call to come on a mission to get two ex-military boys out of Tunisia who’ve been imprisoned while on vacation. John (and Gabriel), jump on the opportunity. What they’ve been wanting, a mission, the chance to do something great and purposeful.
This book is a complete adventure, the pace is fast and entertaining. We hit the ground running in Carthage. We move with John and Gabriel in Tunisia, doing whatever it takes to get the boys home safe, and while we’re there we meet amazing characters that all make this world that she draws for us more colorful and kinder. Sarah Black has a style, a depth that is incomparable in this genre, she puts forth hard things, flawed people, harsh realities…But also she shows us the real strength behind friendship, loyalty, love, beliefs, passion…The things that make this world kinder and better. The ways she blends them, and makes a story that is foremost about people and love, it just leaves me enthralled. The thought that above all the differences there are amongst people, the common ground is always more vast, we just have to make the choice of stepping on to it. To see the world through the eyes that see where we can BE a better world than we have, wheere we can take the time to finds the places where we did good things.
That’s all on top of Gabriel and John themselves and that love they have. Gabriel was like some sort avenging angel, and John was righteous and heroic. It’s not easy this life they are living at times, their love has costs. High costs, scary ones. But the choice of not having each other, is one that they can never take. I love these men, loved this book, the adventures were vivid, the things I learned enriching. I feel in love even more with the General, the Horse Lord and their tribe. I hope above ALL HOPE I will get to read about Abdullah and Kim’s love story.
The special thing about Sarah Black is that she things about important complex things. Like the faces of young gangbangers, or the plight of women in the Middle East, and shows them to us in the same vein, with a face so much like our own struggles. About learning to walk in our own paths, of deciding when and where we must be adults, and how hard it is to finally let our children stand on their own two feet. She takes all that and strips it down to basic human things. That hard or difficult all the things in this world come down to basic feelings and solitary decisions. We either chose to the right thing, or we don’t. We choose hate, or we choose love. We run away, or we stand up and face the consequences of that we’ve done.
Beatiful book. Sarah Black, you leave without words sometimes.Totally and completely recommend. I’d MAKE people read it if I could.
If you'd like to see what wine and food I paired this beaut of a book with, go to my full review at The Tipsy Bibliophile