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Book Reviewed by:
Kim Kovacs
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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.
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?
At the very end of the book, "Each city is new to them, each shore a strange one. Time has that effect on places, when enough of it has passed."
Haven't we all gone back to someplace and been surprised how our visual... - lorrained
Do you think each of the characters deserved their fate? Who, in your opinion, deserved better, who deserved worse, and why?
Hualit was not a "perfect" aunt to Luzia as she was too concerned with her own survival but certainly did not deserve her fate. The king was slowly dying from gout and suffering from loneliness and that was a just reward. Valentina ... - gloriam
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?
Santangel was a spoiled young man who didn't know to value his gifts until he carelessly gave them away in exchange for immortality. Foolish and young but not yet bad or evil. When he was betrayed, he lost what was most dear to him; his ... - greenpetal22
How much control do you think Luzia has over her circumstances?
Women had very little power in those times. Even though Valentina was married to a moderately wealthy man, she had no control over her life despite better quality basics-food and clothes and shelter (as compared to Luiza), she still did ... - gloriam
How would Luzia's life have been different if she'd refused Valentina's demand to perform for guests?
Valentina would have been so embarrassed in front of her husband and guests that I think she would have thrown her out and Luzia would probably asked her aunt to let her work for her. But Luzia's empathy for Valentina, and maybe even stronger ... - greenpetal22
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
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(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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