"THE PRINCES OF IRELAND" Edward Rutherfurd

This New York Times bestseller is a story of Dublin written in the mode of James Michener. The author is a master storyteller because I felt like I was right there viewing the significant events from 430 through 1535 A.D.  The book begins with a couple of maps and a family tree which comes in handy to keep track of the tribes and their movements. Each character is well defined physically and mentally which defines their purposes and intentions.  While the reader is caught up in the immediate character, it's the events going on around him or her (or in the background) that reveal how the country evolved.
The Celtic tribes were pagans with many gods.  Some priests were druids, and human sacrifice was
 not taboo. They were hunters, then farmers, then merchants and artisans.

It is fun to read about customs that are strange to us. For instance, the warriors striped naked for battle. " A tattooed warrior, his muscles bulding, his hair raised in great spikes, and his face distorted in war frenzy was a frightening sign, even to trained Roman legionaries."

Early in the book, a character, Goibniu, appears who has an eye injury that closed one eye but as if in trying to see for both, the other eye seemed large and looming.  It was as if he had only one large eye.  Having set the appearance, the author then carries that theme throughout the generations of that family. While not as startling, the following generations of men in the family have a protruding, and later prominent eyes. It is a clever writing tool that makes the reader feel a part of the story.  For instance,
 when 500 years later, and then 900 years later, the author introduces MacGowen, a man with "large, penetrating eyes," the reader immediately recognizes that he is a descendant of Goibniu.

St. Patrick is introduced, the power of the monasteries ebb and flow, the powerful families jockey for power, and the Vikings and English influences are all here in this great story.   King Henry Tudor tries to take the country to keep it from becoming a launching place for the French or the Spain who hate England.  But the long awaited Spanish Armada never showed up to throw the English out of Ireland
So it continued with one leader or another trying to gain the loyalty and tribute from the others. But no one held the position for long.  As we know today, the English are still there and the peace is unsteady, but holding.

I can't do it justice in this short review.  If you enjoy history and exciting characters, you'll love "The Princes of Ireland."  And when you finish it, reach for "Sarum" also by Rutherfurd.  It is even better than this novel although I may feel that way because it was my first historical novel.  9/30/10