Review - The Bird King by G Willow Wilson

The Bird King
G Willow Wilson
Grove Press, 4 July 2019
HB, 416pp

I'm grateful to the publisher for an advance e-copy of this book via NetGalley.

I loved G Willow Wilson's last novel, Alif the Unseen so was pleased to see The Bird King forthcoming. Set in the Muslim Empire of El Andalusia shortly before is was finally defeated by the Catholic forces of Ferdinand and Isabella, The Bird King follows Fatima, a concubine of the Sultan in the last days of the Empire. Forced to make a terrible choice in order to protect her friend, Fatima has to leave the palace where she has lived her whole life and navigate numerous dangers - from the invading Catholics, the supernatural, and her own lack of experience.

Fatima and her friend Hassan are wonderful characters - complex and spiky with their own faults and their own problems fitting into the new world that is coming. Fatima's concubinage marks her out as a sinner in that new world, not that she had any choice in the matter. Wilson's writing is at its best in conveying the nuances of Fatima's feelings here - there is no romanticising of the vanishing order. Fatima has been compelled, her mother was trafficked as a slave, yet the palace and the harem are all she knows and have in some respects protected her. Leaving all that behind is I think a process of growing up, of choosing what she wants and it is at times a painful one. Offers are made to her, but if she accepts them, will they bring the freedom she now releases she needs?

Hassan is gay - or would be so described in modern terms, I don't know if the term should be used for a man in the 15th/ 9th centuries - something that has been tolerated, or at least ignored, in his life so far. He also has a rare, magical talent that is at the heart of this book. Wilson uses that ability cleverly to flag early on that there will be an element of the fantastical here, but she only introduces that slowly with the central part of the story being one of pursuit, endurance and evasion which also explores the consequences of two cultures - Islamic and Christian - in contention here. Towards the beginning, Hassan comments that, following surrender by the Sultan, things will go on much the same, won't they? It's just that the key to the city will be held by someone else? A Christian envoy, Luz, replies sadly that, no, they won't and the tragic details of what is to come work out from there.

Luz is another magnificent creation in this book. I don't think I can say much about her because the exact role she will play only emerges some way in. Just keep an eye on her, that's all. Complex, contradictory and in a sense, free, she is a counterpoint to Fatima and the two seem to have an attraction for one another.

This book is, in the end, a glorious story, one where I found the pages zooming by on my Kindle and I was left at the end wanting to know much more. It is very sad in places but also shot through with hope. Definitely recommended and I'll be looking out for a paper copy to get on my shelves as soon as I can - that cover looks glorious!

For more information about The Bird King see the publisher's website here.