I did tell you I was on a magic realism kick, didn’t I? G. Willow Wilson’s The Bird King is the perfect follow-up to last month’s selection.
The Spanish conquistadors are about to invade the Iberian peninsula and negotiate the sultan’s surrender. Join Fatima on the adventure of a lifetime as she must choose whether to remain in service to the castle or flee the kingdom in order to save her best friend Hassan’s life.
Hassan is no ordinary palace mapmaker. He possesses a secret magical talent. Simply by touching his pen to paper, he can alter reality to create maps of places that have never been. The conquistadors have labeled him a sorcerer and deemed his gift a threat to the monarchy.
Will Fatima and Hassan escape and will their friendship survive? What will freedom cost them in the end?
Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of this book is the jinni who guides Fatima and Hassan as they contemplate making their escape.
I am a sucker for jinnis, whether they pop out of a magic lamp or not.
This was the first book of G. Willow Wilson’s that I have read and it won’t be the last. Her prose is fluid. The lavish description and elegant characterization will linger in your imagination for days.
Give this book a read. You won’t be sorry.
Then drop me a line and let me know what you loved most about it!