Tariq Ali has been one of our national treasures for almost five decades: revolutionary, writer, broadcaster, film maker, polemicist--fighter in the street (the title of his vivid Sixties memoir)--and general all-round trouble-maker (in the nicest possible sense) he's been them all, and usually at the same time. Since 1990 Ali has also worked in fiction, firstly with Redemption, and now with a planned quartet of historical novels, of which The Book of Saladin is the second. (The first was the award-winning, Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree).

Ali's passion for life, and his humour, are found all over this latest work which is set in the 12th century--with eerily prescient echoes of modern times. It shows us the conflict between Christian and Islamic civilisations set to a humorous, sometimes bawdy, sometimes brutal background where all of life is in flux.

As with his previous novel Ali shows the depth and breadth of his learning and humanity on every page. Like his central character Saladin, or Salah-al-Din (the Kurdish liberator of Jerusalem), Ali has been a fighter of many causes, a maker of alliances, who has made an impact on the world around him; unlike his hero Ali has never been a Sultan, nor a warrior, except a class one, of course. But between them--Ali and his warrior King-- readers can discover much of both history and contemporary life in the melting pot of world religion. --Robin Hunt

Most disappointed., 16 Mar 2008
I bought this book to read about Saladin and how he managed his empire. I was warned beforehand that this is a work of fiction but did not realise it is nothing but a work of fiction with almost no statement of facts.

If anything, the writer Tariq Ali wants to tell his own version of history of how it must have been back then. Fornication, homosexuality and how people might have amused themselves then seem to be the main theme. Saladin himself comes across as soneone who is most troubled and very one dimensional character. More space is given to the various characters around him and how they go about trying to satisfy their sexual appetite than Saladin himself.

If you want to find out about Saladin, I very much doubt you could do worse than this.

The Book of Saladin, 13 Mar 2006
Please make no mistake this is a work of ‘FICTION’. The title is very disingenuous (to be polite); the book is mostly based around the fictional characters thought up by Tariq Ali. I was very disappointed as one is never certain where the fiction ends and reality begins.
Tariq Ali has tried to mix fiction with reality and has got it very wrong; his portrayal of Saladin as a sexually charged individual is scandalous.
I think Tariq Ali has done the greatest disservice to one of Islam’s greatest sultan and military leader.

A surprise - simple and beautiful, 10 Oct 2004
I'd heard of Tariq Ali as a political animal and didnt know what to expect. I was surprised. This book is written in style, almost like a story your mother might have told you when putting you to pbed, except of course no mother would read a child this particular story so full of life, sex and death.

The story of how a man through sheer force of will united the squabbling emirs to re-take Jerusalem (Al-Kuds) is breath-taking. I kept on putting off my job, my family until I could finish this book.

It is not a history book. It is a heroic tale - one which deserves to be told over and over again. Highly recommended.

A very human tale, 21 Sep 2002
This is a very human novel. Its a simple story of peoples lives, their day to day problems and concerns, their loves and losses. It is so easy to read like a soap opera where you are drawn into wanting to know what happens next. The fact that the concerns of the characters include a jealous lesbian whose lover has been sleeping with a eunuch, planning the strategy of the crusade against the infidels or political letter writing are made to seem matter of fact. The easy style of writing however hides an eternal truth which is that human nature doesn't change over time and one can always learn from the experience of human interaction.

An excellent evocation of a slice of human life and an easy and enjoyable read. My only critisism is that the novel is relatively expensive - and therefore doesn't have the wide distribution accorded to other far less worthy tomes.

Historical fiction at its best deserves more than five stars, 21 May 2002
It is difficult to put this book down once started. After some time the characters become a part of the reader’s own life. Ali, with his genius in play writing, knows how to keep the reader glued to the pages while finishing each chapter— in the Arabian Nights tradition—there is more to come. This novel is historical fiction at its best!

The Book of Saladin is Mr Tariq Ali’s second in his series of Islamic fiction and by par the most historical. The other two titles are “Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree” and “The Stone Woman”.

“The Book of Saladin”, as the title suggests, is the life of Salah-Al-Din, Saladin to the Western ear, the Great Muslim leader whose name and legend goes parallel with the Crusades after he re-conquered Jerusalem in 1187. The principal characters of the novel, Saladin, his father, sons and nephews, and Ibn Maymun (Maimonides to the Western ear), the Jewish historian are all historical characters. The narrator, Ibn Yakub, Shadi, Jamila and Halima, Amjad the eunuch et al are fictional characters.

The book is divided into three main sections depicting Salah-Al-Din’s life in Cairo, Damascus and Jerusalem. The last section is personal letters of Ibn Yakub to Ibn Maymun. Each chapter describes events like old chronicles with the grace of fairy tales from the Arabian Nights. At the same time, the book describes life of the time.

The book starts with the narrator, Isaac ibn Yakub, sharing a light meal and deep conversation with his friend, Ibn Maymun. They are interrupted by a knock at the door. Salah-Al-Din, whom Ibn Yakub does not recognise, has come with an extraordinary request to ask Ibn Yakub to be his personal chronicler. Salah-Al-Din does not trust his court chroniclers as they are known for writing what they think will please the Sultan.

Thus starts the remarkable story of Ibn Yakub, the Jewish Chronicler’s amazing journey into the life of one of the greatest Muslim Rulers ever. Ibn Yakub is granted the wish to ask the Sultan any question although the Sultan reserves the right to answer! He is also granted permission to every sphere of the Sultan’s daily life, including access to his Harem, but not to any war counselling for his own safety.

Saladin is depicted as a wise and careful leader. Although ruthless in battle, lenient and generous in every day life and in his legal rulings. This was a time in the Muslim world when Jews and Muslims lived in peace. Animosity between the two faiths was virtually unknown. Even the Christians, although political enemies of Muslims received their fair share of life under Salah-Al-Din. This is further shown by the Sultan’s choice of Maimonides, a Jew, as his personal physician and his decision to choose a Jew as his personal chronicler.

Ali does proper justice by showing Salah-Al-Din as human. Salah-Al-Din’s fondness for women, art, music, intellectual debates characterises many Muslim Rulers of the day.

The Christians holding Jerusalem are shown as cruel leaders. Upon conquering the city, they massacred all the Jewish and Muslim inhabitants, sparing neither women nor children in their quest to establish the Authority of the Holy Trinity. Their leaders are unwilling and unable to recognise Muslims as anything but an inferior cult. Ali reminds us that even the military power of the Crusaders’ was overrated, and that Richard the Lion Heart was much despised—and his military skills questioned—by even Christians of the day.

Written in the metaphor of the Arabian nights, The Book of Saladin immediately transforms the reader into a fairy tale world. Salah-Al-Din is the force of just against evil. Ali has researched facts very well and done proper justice towards providing an alternative interpretation to Middle Eastern history. The novel does further justice by providing a description of the court life of Muslim rulers where many taboos, unthinkable even in today’s western democracy and freedom of speech, are beautifully narrated...

This book deserves more than five stars!

Asrar Chowdhury
Girton College
Cambridge
May 2002

Most disappointed., 16 Mar 2008
I bought this book to read about Saladin and how he managed his empire. I was warned beforehand that this is a work of fiction but did not realise it is nothing but a work of fiction with almost no statement of facts.

If anything, the writer Tariq Ali wants to tell his own version of history of how it must have been back then. Fornication, homosexuality and how people might have amused themselves then seem to be the main theme. Saladin himself comes across as soneone who is most troubled and very one dimensional character. More space is given to the various characters around him and how they go about trying to satisfy their sexual appetite than Saladin himself.

If you want to find out about Saladin, I very much doubt you could do worse than this.

The Book of Saladin, 13 Mar 2006
Please make no mistake this is a work of ‘FICTION’. The title is very disingenuous (to be polite); the book is mostly based around the fictional characters thought up by Tariq Ali. I was very disappointed as one is never certain where the fiction ends and reality begins.
Tariq Ali has tried to mix fiction with reality and has got it very wrong; his portrayal of Saladin as a sexually charged individual is scandalous.
I think Tariq Ali has done the greatest disservice to one of Islam’s greatest sultan and military leader.

A surprise - simple and beautiful, 10 Oct 2004
I'd heard of Tariq Ali as a political animal and didnt know what to expect. I was surprised. This book is written in style, almost like a story your mother might have told you when putting you to pbed, except of course no mother would read a child this particular story so full of life, sex and death.

The story of how a man through sheer force of will united the squabbling emirs to re-take Jerusalem (Al-Kuds) is breath-taking. I kept on putting off my job, my family until I could finish this book.

It is not a history book. It is a heroic tale - one which deserves to be told over and over again. Highly recommended.

A very human tale, 21 Sep 2002
This is a very human novel. Its a simple story of peoples lives, their day to day problems and concerns, their loves and losses. It is so easy to read like a soap opera where you are drawn into wanting to know what happens next. The fact that the concerns of the characters include a jealous lesbian whose lover has been sleeping with a eunuch, planning the strategy of the crusade against the infidels or political letter writing are made to seem matter of fact. The easy style of writing however hides an eternal truth which is that human nature doesn't change over time and one can always learn from the experience of human interaction.

An excellent evocation of a slice of human life and an easy and enjoyable read. My only critisism is that the novel is relatively expensive - and therefore doesn't have the wide distribution accorded to other far less worthy tomes.

Historical fiction at its best deserves more than five stars, 21 May 2002
It is difficult to put this book down once started. After some time the characters become a part of the reader’s own life. Ali, with his genius in play writing, knows how to keep the reader glued to the pages while finishing each chapter— in the Arabian Nights tradition—there is more to come. This novel is historical fiction at its best!

The Book of Saladin is Mr Tariq Ali’s second in his series of Islamic fiction and by par the most historical. The other two titles are “Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree” and “The Stone Woman”.

“The Book of Saladin”, as the title suggests, is the life of Salah-Al-Din, Saladin to the Western ear, the Great Muslim leader whose name and legend goes parallel with the Crusades after he re-conquered Jerusalem in 1187. The principal characters of the novel, Saladin, his father, sons and nephews, and Ibn Maymun (Maimonides to the Western ear), the Jewish historian are all historical characters. The narrator, Ibn Yakub, Shadi, Jamila and Halima, Amjad the eunuch et al are fictional characters.

The book is divided into three main sections depicting Salah-Al-Din’s life in Cairo, Damascus and Jerusalem. The last section is personal letters of Ibn Yakub to Ibn Maymun. Each chapter describes events like old chronicles with the grace of fairy tales from the Arabian Nights. At the same time, the book describes life of the time.

The book starts with the narrator, Isaac ibn Yakub, sharing a light meal and deep conversation with his friend, Ibn Maymun. They are interrupted by a knock at the door. Salah-Al-Din, whom Ibn Yakub does not recognise, has come with an extraordinary request to ask Ibn Yakub to be his personal chronicler. Salah-Al-Din does not trust his court chroniclers as they are known for writing what they think will please the Sultan.

Thus starts the remarkable story of Ibn Yakub, the Jewish Chronicler’s amazing journey into the life of one of the greatest Muslim Rulers ever. Ibn Yakub is granted the wish to ask the Sultan any question although the Sultan reserves the right to answer! He is also granted permission to every sphere of the Sultan’s daily life, including access to his Harem, but not to any war counselling for his own safety.

Saladin is depicted as a wise and careful leader. Although ruthless in battle, lenient and generous in every day life and in his legal rulings. This was a time in the Muslim world when Jews and Muslims lived in peace. Animosity between the two faiths was virtually unknown. Even the Christians, although political enemies of Muslims received their fair share of life under Salah-Al-Din. This is further shown by the Sultan’s choice of Maimonides, a Jew, as his personal physician and his decision to choose a Jew as his personal chronicler.

Ali does proper justice by showing Salah-Al-Din as human. Salah-Al-Din’s fondness for women, art, music, intellectual debates characterises many Muslim Rulers of the day.

The Christians holding Jerusalem are shown as cruel leaders. Upon conquering the city, they massacred all the Jewish and Muslim inhabitants, sparing neither women nor children in their quest to establish the Authority of the Holy Trinity. Their leaders are unwilling and unable to recognise Muslims as anything but an inferior cult. Ali reminds us that even the military power of the Crusaders’ was overrated, and that Richard the Lion Heart was much despised—and his military skills questioned—by even Christians of the day.

Written in the metaphor of the Arabian nights, The Book of Saladin immediately transforms the reader into a fairy tale world. Salah-Al-Din is the force of just against evil. Ali has researched facts very well and done proper justice towards providing an alternative interpretation to Middle Eastern history. The novel does further justice by providing a description of the court life of Muslim rulers where many taboos, unthinkable even in today’s western democracy and freedom of speech, are beautifully narrated...

This book deserves more than five stars!

Asrar Chowdhury
Girton College
Cambridge
May 2002

A good read., 17 Jun 2008
I enjoyed this book. I was a bit put off by the 'propaganda' review and I did expect some knee-jerk anti-westernism from a left wing intellectual like Ali, but this wasn't as bad as I expected. Yeah, sure, there was a bit of Muslims:good, Christians:bad but not let's forget that it was the Christian Church that gave us the Inquisition and the Crusades!

Stylistically the story was good though the writing was a bit clunky in places but this was a good evocation of Moorish Spain.

I'd say worth a read. Next up : volume 2.

A compelling story simply written, 28 Jan 2006
This tale of a muslim family facing the 'reconquest' of Spain by the Christian rulers is a compelling read that combines a number of threads, as we follow the idealistic oldest son, the hero-worshipping younger son, and a number of particularly strong female characters, in their reactions to the threat of forced conversions.

The reactions vary, and are treated without judgement, in a style that is surprisingly plain and without hyperbole. In some ways it would be good to have a more vivid picture of this little-described age of Moorish Spain, but the clarity leaves the story to force itself through without being muddied. An enjoyable story that makes you seek out the sequels.

A well written and balanced historical novel., 15 Oct 2005
Having just read Kagen's Spanish Inquisitiion it was a joy to read this sensitive story of a noble Spanish muslim family embroiled in the final conquest of Granada. Tariq Ali writes beautifuly and this story has everything, love, wisdom, humour, poetry and tragedy. I was impressed how closely the story follows the known events and characters of the time. Tariq Ali puts human faces to this calamatous period of Spanish history through his well drawn characters.

A well written and balanced historical novel., 15 Oct 2005
Having just read Kagen's Spanish Inquisition, it was a joy to read this sensitive story of a noble Spanish muslim family embroiled in the final conquest of Granada. Tariq Ali writes beautifuly and this story has everything, love, wisdom, humour, poetry and tragedy. I was impressed how closely the story follows the known events and characters of the time. Tariq Ali puts human faces to this calamatous period of Spanish history through his very well drawn characters.

Poorly written propaganda, 22 Apr 2004
I was delighted to find the book, loving the area of Spain that Tariqwrites about and because there is a real shortage of good literature aboutMuslim Spain. Unfortunately the writing is weak. Characters are poorlydeveloped, the plot lacks grip and worst of all it smells strongly ofpropaganda.
Mr Ali works far too hard to tell us that Iberian Muslims were very veryclean, had a wonderful food culture, centuries of intellectual endeavourto be proud of, and were very badly treated by the Christians. All of thisis fair enough, but he lays it on so thick that the suspicion developed inthis reader that here is A MESSAGE. Towards the end the characterisationof most Muslims as noble and sensitive, and most Christians gross andbrutal rams home the point. In case you don't get it, a very unsubtle linkis explicitly drawn on the last page to the brutal the Spanish conquest ofthe Americas.
If you like history, you may be disappointed by the simple reading ofcomplex issues of conquest, race, borderlands and culture on display here.

Most disappointed., 16 Mar 2008
I bought this book to read about Saladin and how he managed his empire. I was warned beforehand that this is a work of fiction but did not realise it is nothing but a work of fiction with almost no statement of facts.

If anything, the writer Tariq Ali wants to tell his own version of history of how it must have been back then. Fornication, homosexuality and how people might have amused themselves then seem to be the main theme. Saladin himself comes across as soneone who is most troubled and very one dimensional character. More space is given to the various characters around him and how they go about trying to satisfy their sexual appetite than Saladin himself.

If you want to find out about Saladin, I very much doubt you could do worse than this.

The Book of Saladin, 13 Mar 2006
Please make no mistake this is a work of ‘FICTION’. The title is very disingenuous (to be polite); the book is mostly based around the fictional characters thought up by Tariq Ali. I was very disappointed as one is never certain where the fiction ends and reality begins.
Tariq Ali has tried to mix fiction with reality and has got it very wrong; his portrayal of Saladin as a sexually charged individual is scandalous.
I think Tariq Ali has done the greatest disservice to one of Islam’s greatest sultan and military leader.

A surprise - simple and beautiful, 10 Oct 2004
I'd heard of Tariq Ali as a political animal and didnt know what to expect. I was surprised. This book is written in style, almost like a story your mother might have told you when putting you to pbed, except of course no mother would read a child this particular story so full of life, sex and death.

The story of how a man through sheer force of will united the squabbling emirs to re-take Jerusalem (Al-Kuds) is breath-taking. I kept on putting off my job, my family until I could finish this book.

It is not a history book. It is a heroic tale - one which deserves to be told over and over again. Highly recommended.

A very human tale, 21 Sep 2002
This is a very human novel. Its a simple story of peoples lives, their day to day problems and concerns, their loves and losses. It is so easy to read like a soap opera where you are drawn into wanting to know what happens next. The fact that the concerns of the characters include a jealous lesbian whose lover has been sleeping with a eunuch, planning the strategy of the crusade against the infidels or political letter writing are made to seem matter of fact. The easy style of writing however hides an eternal truth which is that human nature doesn't change over time and one can always learn from the experience of human interaction.

An excellent evocation of a slice of human life and an easy and enjoyable read. My only critisism is that the novel is relatively expensive - and therefore doesn't have the wide distribution accorded to other far less worthy tomes.

Historical fiction at its best deserves more than five stars, 21 May 2002
It is difficult to put this book down once started. After some time the characters become a part of the reader’s own life. Ali, with his genius in play writing, knows how to keep the reader glued to the pages while finishing each chapter— in the Arabian Nights tradition—there is more to come. This novel is historical fiction at its best!

The Book of Saladin is Mr Tariq Ali’s second in his series of Islamic fiction and by par the most historical. The other two titles are “Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree” and “The Stone Woman”.

“The Book of Saladin”, as the title suggests, is the life of Salah-Al-Din, Saladin to the Western ear, the Great Muslim leader whose name and legend goes parallel with the Crusades after he re-conquered Jerusalem in 1187. The principal characters of the novel, Saladin, his father, sons and nephews, and Ibn Maymun (Maimonides to the Western ear), the Jewish historian are all historical characters. The narrator, Ibn Yakub, Shadi, Jamila and Halima, Amjad the eunuch et al are fictional characters.

The book is divided into three main sections depicting Salah-Al-Din’s life in Cairo, Damascus and Jerusalem. The last section is personal letters of Ibn Yakub to Ibn Maymun. Each chapter describes events like old chronicles with the grace of fairy tales from the Arabian Nights. At the same time, the book describes life of the time.

The book starts with the narrator, Isaac ibn Yakub, sharing a light meal and deep conversation with his friend, Ibn Maymun. They are interrupted by a knock at the door. Salah-Al-Din, whom Ibn Yakub does not recognise, has come with an extraordinary request to ask Ibn Yakub to be his personal chronicler. Salah-Al-Din does not trust his court chroniclers as they are known for writing what they think will please the Sultan.

Thus starts the remarkable story of Ibn Yakub, the Jewish Chronicler’s amazing journey into the life of one of the greatest Muslim Rulers ever. Ibn Yakub is granted the wish to ask the Sultan any question although the Sultan reserves the right to answer! He is also granted permission to every sphere of the Sultan’s daily life, including access to his Harem, but not to any war counselling for his own safety.

Saladin is depicted as a wise and careful leader. Although ruthless in battle, lenient and generous in every day life and in his legal rulings. This was a time in the Muslim world when Jews and Muslims lived in peace. Animosity between the two faiths was virtually unknown. Even the Christians, although political enemies of Muslims received their fair share of life under Salah-Al-Din. This is further shown by the Sultan’s choice of Maimonides, a Jew, as his personal physician and his decision to choose a Jew as his personal chronicler.

Ali does proper justice by showing Salah-Al-Din as human. Salah-Al-Din’s fondness for women, art, music, intellectual debates characterises many Muslim Rulers of the day.

The Christians holding Jerusalem are shown as cruel leaders. Upon conquering the city, they massacred all the Jewish and Muslim inhabitants, sparing neither women nor children in their quest to establish the Authority of the Holy Trinity. Their leaders are unwilling and unable to recognise Muslims as anything but an inferior cult. Ali reminds us that even the military power of the Crusaders’ was overrated, and that Richard the Lion Heart was much despised—and his military skills questioned—by even Christians of the day.

Written in the metaphor of the Arabian nights, The Book of Saladin immediately transforms the reader into a fairy tale world. Salah-Al-Din is the force of just against evil. Ali has researched facts very well and done proper justice towards providing an alternative interpretation to Middle Eastern history. The novel does further justice by providing a description of the court life of Muslim rulers where many taboos, unthinkable even in today’s western democracy and freedom of speech, are beautifully narrated...

This book deserves more than five stars!

Asrar Chowdhury
Girton College
Cambridge
May 2002

A good read., 17 Jun 2008
I enjoyed this book. I was a bit put off by the 'propaganda' review and I did expect some knee-jerk anti-westernism from a left wing intellectual like Ali, but this wasn't as bad as I expected. Yeah, sure, there was a bit of Muslims:good, Christians:bad but not let's forget that it was the Christian Church that gave us the Inquisition and the Crusades!

Stylistically the story was good though the writing was a bit clunky in places but this was a good evocation of Moorish Spain.

I'd say worth a read. Next up : volume 2.

A compelling story simply written, 28 Jan 2006
This tale of a muslim family facing the 'reconquest' of Spain by the Christian rulers is a compelling read that combines a number of threads, as we follow the idealistic oldest son, the hero-worshipping younger son, and a number of particularly strong female characters, in their reactions to the threat of forced conversions.

The reactions vary, and are treated without judgement, in a style that is surprisingly plain and without hyperbole. In some ways it would be good to have a more vivid picture of this little-described age of Moorish Spain, but the clarity leaves the story to force itself through without being muddied. An enjoyable story that makes you seek out the sequels.

A well written and balanced historical novel., 15 Oct 2005
Having just read Kagen's Spanish Inquisitiion it was a joy to read this sensitive story of a noble Spanish muslim family embroiled in the final conquest of Granada. Tariq Ali writes beautifuly and this story has everything, love, wisdom, humour, poetry and tragedy. I was impressed how closely the story follows the known events and characters of the time. Tariq Ali puts human faces to this calamatous period of Spanish history through his well drawn characters.

A well written and balanced historical novel., 15 Oct 2005
Having just read Kagen's Spanish Inquisition, it was a joy to read this sensitive story of a noble Spanish muslim family embroiled in the final conquest of Granada. Tariq Ali writes beautifuly and this story has everything, love, wisdom, humour, poetry and tragedy. I was impressed how closely the story follows the known events and characters of the time. Tariq Ali puts human faces to this calamatous period of Spanish history through his very well drawn characters.

Poorly written propaganda, 22 Apr 2004
I was delighted to find the book, loving the area of Spain that Tariqwrites about and because there is a real shortage of good literature aboutMuslim Spain. Unfortunately the writing is weak. Characters are poorlydeveloped, the plot lacks grip and worst of all it smells strongly ofpropaganda.
Mr Ali works far too hard to tell us that Iberian Muslims were very veryclean, had a wonderful food culture, centuries of intellectual endeavourto be proud of, and were very badly treated by the Christians. All of thisis fair enough, but he lays it on so thick that the suspicion developed inthis reader that here is A MESSAGE. Towards the end the characterisationof most Muslims as noble and sensitive, and most Christians gross andbrutal rams home the point. In case you don't get it, a very unsubtle linkis explicitly drawn on the last page to the brutal the Spanish conquest ofthe Americas.
If you like history, you may be disappointed by the simple reading ofcomplex issues of conquest, race, borderlands and culture on display here.

One for the summer nights!, 23 Mar 2008
This book is beautiful to read: the prose is simple and light, articulate and cadenced. This combined with the half-familiar, half-strange historical and geographical material it treats, the characters who are fallible, partial, wistful, thoughtful, sharp or humerous, and the lack of a trite plot make this a very profound as well as a stylish read. It falls just short of five stars because it can at times (too me at least) lack a robust approach, there isn't quite enough grit, quite so vividly realised as it could be. Certainly the protagonist is a very serene character, but you also feel some of this is Tariq Ali himself, the academic and intellectual, wise but a little removed and dispassionate despite his melancholy turns and bed-side prowess (the protagonist that is!). This book will enchant and sway you, but somehow it does not blow you away.

Most disappointed., 16 Mar 2008
I bought this book to read about Saladin and how he managed his empire. I was warned beforehand that this is a work of fiction but did not realise it is nothing but a work of fiction with almost no statement of facts.

If anything, the writer Tariq Ali wants to tell his own version of history of how it must have been back then. Fornication, homosexuality and how people might have amused themselves then seem to be the main theme. Saladin himself comes across as soneone who is most troubled and very one dimensional character. More space is given to the various characters around him and how they go about trying to satisfy their sexual appetite than Saladin himself.

If you want to find out about Saladin, I very much doubt you could do worse than this.

The Book of Saladin, 13 Mar 2006
Please make no mistake this is a work of ‘FICTION’. The title is very disingenuous (to be polite); the book is mostly based around the fictional characters thought up by Tariq Ali. I was very disappointed as one is never certain where the fiction ends and reality begins.
Tariq Ali has tried to mix fiction with reality and has got it very wrong; his portrayal of Saladin as a sexually charged individual is scandalous.
I think Tariq Ali has done the greatest disservice to one of Islam’s greatest sultan and military leader.

A surprise - simple and beautiful, 10 Oct 2004
I'd heard of Tariq Ali as a political animal and didnt know what to expect. I was surprised. This book is written in style, almost like a story your mother might have told you when putting you to pbed, except of course no mother would read a child this particular story so full of life, sex and death.

The story of how a man through sheer force of will united the squabbling emirs to re-take Jerusalem (Al-Kuds) is breath-taking. I kept on putting off my job, my family until I could finish this book.

It is not a history book. It is a heroic tale - one which deserves to be told over and over again. Highly recommended.

A very human tale, 21 Sep 2002
This is a very human novel. Its a simple story of peoples lives, their day to day problems and concerns, their loves and losses. It is so easy to read like a soap opera where you are drawn into wanting to know what happens next. The fact that the concerns of the characters include a jealous lesbian whose lover has been sleeping with a eunuch, planning the strategy of the crusade against the infidels or political letter writing are made to seem matter of fact. The easy style of writing however hides an eternal truth which is that human nature doesn't change over time and one can always learn from the experience of human interaction.

An excellent evocation of a slice of human life and an easy and enjoyable read. My only critisism is that the novel is relatively expensive - and therefore doesn't have the wide distribution accorded to other far less worthy tomes.

Historical fiction at its best deserves more than five stars, 21 May 2002
It is difficult to put this book down once started. After some time the characters become a part of the reader’s own life. Ali, with his genius in play writing, knows how to keep the reader glued to the pages while finishing each chapter— in the Arabian Nights tradition—there is more to come. This novel is historical fiction at its best!

The Book of Saladin is Mr Tariq Ali’s second in his series of Islamic fiction and by par the most historical. The other two titles are “Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree” and “The Stone Woman”.

“The Book of Saladin”, as the title suggests, is the life of Salah-Al-Din, Saladin to the Western ear, the Great Muslim leader whose name and legend goes parallel with the Crusades after he re-conquered Jerusalem in 1187. The principal characters of the novel, Saladin, his father, sons and nephews, and Ibn Maymun (Maimonides to the Western ear), the Jewish historian are all historical characters. The narrator, Ibn Yakub, Shadi, Jamila and Halima, Amjad the eunuch et al are fictional characters.

The book is divided into three main sections depicting Salah-Al-Din’s life in Cairo, Damascus and Jerusalem. The last section is personal letters of Ibn Yakub to Ibn Maymun. Each chapter describes events like old chronicles with the grace of fairy tales from the Arabian Nights. At the same time, the book describes life of the time.

The book starts with the narrator, Isaac ibn Yakub, sharing a light meal and deep conversation with his friend, Ibn Maymun. They are interrupted by a knock at the door. Salah-Al-Din, whom Ibn Yakub does not recognise, has come with an extraordinary request to ask Ibn Yakub to be his personal chronicler. Salah-Al-Din does not trust his court chroniclers as they are known for writing what they think will please the Sultan.

Thus starts the remarkable story of Ibn Yakub, the Jewish Chronicler’s amazing journey into the life of one of the greatest Muslim Rulers ever. Ibn Yakub is granted the wish to ask the Sultan any question although the Sultan reserves the right to answer! He is also granted permission to every sphere of the Sultan’s daily life, including access to his Harem, but not to any war counselling for his own safety.

Saladin is depicted as a wise and careful leader. Although ruthless in battle, lenient and generous in every day life and in his legal rulings. This was a time in the Muslim world when Jews and Muslims lived in peace. Animosity between the two faiths was virtually unknown. Even the Christians, although political enemies of Muslims received their fair share of life under Salah-Al-Din. This is further shown by the Sultan’s choice of Maimonides, a Jew, as his personal physician and his decision to choose a Jew as his personal chronicler.

Ali does proper justice by showing Salah-Al-Din as human. Salah-Al-Din’s fondness for women, art, music, intellectual debates characterises many Muslim Rulers of the day.

The Christians holding Jerusalem are shown as cruel leaders. Upon conquering the city, they massacred all the Jewish and Muslim inhabitants, sparing neither women nor children in their quest to establish the Authority of the Holy Trinity. Their leaders are unwilling and unable to recognise Muslims as anything but an inferior cult. Ali reminds us that even the military power of the Crusaders’ was overrated, and that Richard the Lion Heart was much despised—and his military skills questioned—by even Christians of the day.

Written in the metaphor of the Arabian nights, The Book of Saladin immediately transforms the reader into a fairy tale world. Salah-Al-Din is the force of just against evil. Ali has researched facts very well and done proper justice towards providing an alternative interpretation to Middle Eastern history. The novel does further justice by providing a description of the court life of Muslim rulers where many taboos, unthinkable even in today’s western democracy and freedom of speech, are beautifully narrated...

This book deserves more than five stars!

Asrar Chowdhury
Girton College
Cambridge
May 2002

A good read., 17 Jun 2008
I enjoyed this book. I was a bit put off by the 'propaganda' review and I did expect some knee-jerk anti-westernism from a left wing intellectual like Ali, but this wasn't as bad as I expected. Yeah, sure, there was a bit of Muslims:good, Christians:bad but not let's forget that it was the Christian Church that gave us the Inquisition and the Crusades!

Stylistically the story was good though the writing was a bit clunky in places but this was a good evocation of Moorish Spain.

I'd say worth a read. Next up : volume 2.

A compelling story simply written, 28 Jan 2006
This tale of a muslim family facing the 'reconquest' of Spain by the Christian rulers is a compelling read that combines a number of threads, as we follow the idealistic oldest son, the hero-worshipping younger son, and a number of particularly strong female characters, in their reactions to the threat of forced conversions.

The reactions vary, and are treated without judgement, in a style that is surprisingly plain and without hyperbole. In some ways it would be good to have a more vivid picture of this little-described age of Moorish Spain, but the clarity leaves the story to force itself through without being muddied. An enjoyable story that makes you seek out the sequels.

A well written and balanced historical novel., 15 Oct 2005
Having just read Kagen's Spanish Inquisitiion it was a joy to read this sensitive story of a noble Spanish muslim family embroiled in the final conquest of Granada. Tariq Ali writes beautifuly and this story has everything, love, wisdom, humour, poetry and tragedy. I was impressed how closely the story follows the known events and characters of the time. Tariq Ali puts human faces to this calamatous period of Spanish history through his well drawn characters.

A well written and balanced historical novel., 15 Oct 2005
Having just read Kagen's Spanish Inquisition, it was a joy to read this sensitive story of a noble Spanish muslim family embroiled in the final conquest of Granada. Tariq Ali writes beautifuly and this story has everything, love, wisdom, humour, poetry and tragedy. I was impressed how closely the story follows the known events and characters of the time. Tariq Ali puts human faces to this calamatous period of Spanish history through his very well drawn characters.

Poorly written propaganda, 22 Apr 2004
I was delighted to find the book, loving the area of Spain that Tariqwrites about and because there is a real shortage of good literature aboutMuslim Spain. Unfortunately the writing is weak. Characters are poorlydeveloped, the plot lacks grip and worst of all it smells strongly ofpropaganda.
Mr Ali works far too hard to tell us that Iberian Muslims were very veryclean, had a wonderful food culture, centuries of intellectual endeavourto be proud of, and were very badly treated by the Christians. All of thisis fair enough, but he lays it on so thick that the suspicion developed inthis reader that here is A MESSAGE. Towards the end the characterisationof most Muslims as noble and sensitive, and most Christians gross andbrutal rams home the point. In case you don't get it, a very unsubtle linkis explicitly drawn on the last page to the brutal the Spanish conquest ofthe Americas.
If you like history, you may be disappointed by the simple reading ofcomplex issues of conquest, race, borderlands and culture on display here.

One for the summer nights!, 23 Mar 2008
This book is beautiful to read: the prose is simple and light, articulate and cadenced. This combined with the half-familiar, half-strange historical and geographical material it treats, the characters who are fallible, partial, wistful, thoughtful, sharp or humerous, and the lack of a trite plot make this a very profound as well as a stylish read. It falls just short of five stars because it can at times (too me at least) lack a robust approach, there isn't quite enough grit, quite so vividly realised as it could be. Certainly the protagonist is a very serene character, but you also feel some of this is Tariq Ali himself, the academic and intellectual, wise but a little removed and dispassionate despite his melancholy turns and bed-side prowess (the protagonist that is!). This book will enchant and sway you, but somehow it does not blow you away.

masterful writing, 16 Nov 2008
The Stone Woman is a superb book: voluptuous, exotic - with relevant political savvy thrown in. Here is an example of Tariq's wisdom: "He was excited by the events of the day. He spoke of the young officer who had made what was really difficult sound possible, namely to make progressive ideas a reality. So often in the past, lofty ideas had been transformed into their opposites, when those who had proclaimed them actually came to power. This had happened in France after the revolution, but it had happened here (Turkey) as well. Whenever the reformers had been made Viziers, their ideas disappeared and they were compelled to govern the Empire in the only way they knew, which was the old way." T. Ali reminds me of another evocative writer from whom one learns much - Amin Maalouf.



Buy this book, you won't just read it once!, 21 Jun 2005
Very moving, very informative, stunning language, believeable characters, great story - we reviewed this book in our village bookclub - no one had a bad word to say about it! I found this book to be story and character driven, not politically motivated at all, and very well written.

Ali loses the plot, 24 Jun 2004
Prior to reading this novel, I had read Tariq Ali's 'Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree', which had set some high expectations. However I found the book to be quite disappointing. It seems to be nothing more than a collection of short stories loosely strung together, which neither move or inspire and seem almost irrelevant to each other.
The novel is also spoilt by the blatant creation of certain characters that are nothing more than a vehicle for the writer's own political opinions. There are many heavy-handed political interludes more in the nature with the author trying to lecture the reader, than part of the story's intrinsic motif.
If you enjoyed Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree then this novel will disappoint you.

Luxurious, colourful, sensual drama of an Ottoman family, 02 Jul 2000
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, 26 June 200O: The Ottoman Empire, known as the 'sick man of Europe' in the 19th century, continues its slow, steady decline in the summer of 1899 as elderly Iskander Pasha (a descendant of gthe Sultan's favourite courtier) and his well-born family gather outside their sea-side palace outside Istanbul. Ali explores the complexities of the Ottoman mentality in his fifth outing, a colourful sensual drama of families, sexual intrigue and rebellion...... Ali's epic combines the luxuriant pacing of the old-fashioned novel of ideas with the 20th century relish for sexual detail to conjure up an almost Chekhovian mileu.

Most disappointed., 16 Mar 2008
I bought this book to read about Saladin and how he managed his empire. I was warned beforehand that this is a work of fiction but did not realise it is nothing but a work of fiction with almost no statement of facts.

If anything, the writer Tariq Ali wants to tell his own version of history of how it must have been back then. Fornication, homosexuality and how people might have amused themselves then seem to be the main theme. Saladin himself comes across as soneone who is most troubled and very one dimensional character. More space is given to the various characters around him and how they go about trying to satisfy their sexual appetite than Saladin himself.

If you want to find out about Saladin, I very much doubt you could do worse than this.

The Book of Saladin, 13 Mar 2006
Please make no mistake this is a work of ‘FICTION’. The title is very disingenuous (to be polite); the book is mostly based around the fictional characters thought up by Tariq Ali. I was very disappointed as one is never certain where the fiction ends and reality begins.
Tariq Ali has tried to mix fiction with reality and has got it very wrong; his portrayal of Saladin as a sexually charged individual is scandalous.
I think Tariq Ali has done the greatest disservice to one of Islam’s greatest sultan and military leader.

A surprise - simple and beautiful, 10 Oct 2004
I'd heard of Tariq Ali as a political animal and didnt know what to expect. I was surprised. This book is written in style, almost like a story your mother might have told you when putting you to pbed, except of course no mother would read a child this particular story so full of life, sex and death.

The story of how a man through sheer force of will united the squabbling emirs to re-take Jerusalem (Al-Kuds) is breath-taking. I kept on putting off my job, my family until I could finish this book.

It is not a history book. It is a heroic tale - one which deserves to be told over and over again. Highly recommended.

A very human tale, 21 Sep 2002
This is a very human novel. Its a simple story of peoples lives, their day to day problems and concerns, their loves and losses. It is so easy to read like a soap opera where you are drawn into wanting to know what happens next. The fact that the concerns of the characters include a jealous lesbian whose lover has been sleeping with a eunuch, planning the strategy of the crusade against the infidels or political letter writing are made to seem matter of fact. The easy style of writing however hides an eternal truth which is that human nature doesn't change over time and one can always learn from the experience of human interaction.

An excellent evocation of a slice of human life and an easy and enjoyable read. My only critisism is that the novel is relatively expensive - and therefore doesn't have the wide distribution accorded to other far less worthy tomes.

Historical fiction at its best deserves more than five stars, 21 May 2002
It is difficult to put this book down once started. After some time the characters become a part of the reader’s own life. Ali, with his genius in play writing, knows how to keep the reader glued to the pages while finishing each chapter— in the Arabian Nights tradition—there is more to come. This novel is historical fiction at its best!

The Book of Saladin is Mr Tariq Ali’s second in his series of Islamic fiction and by par the most historical. The other two titles are “Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree” and “The Stone Woman”.

“The Book of Saladin”, as the title suggests, is the life of Salah-Al-Din, Saladin to the Western ear, the Great Muslim leader whose name and legend goes parallel with the Crusades after he re-conquered Jerusalem in 1187. The principal characters of the novel, Saladin, his father, sons and nephews, and Ibn Maymun (Maimonides to the Western ear), the Jewish historian are all historical characters. The narrator, Ibn Yakub, Shadi, Jamila and Halima, Amjad the eunuch et al are fictional characters.

The book is divided into three main sections depicting Salah-Al-Din’s life in Cairo, Damascus and Jerusalem. The last section is personal letters of Ibn Yakub to Ibn Maymun. Each chapter describes events like old chronicles with the grace of fairy tales from the Arabian Nights. At the same time, the book describes life of the time.

The book starts with the narrator, Isaac ibn Yakub, sharing a light meal and deep conversation with his friend, Ibn Maymun. They are interrupted by a knock at the door. Salah-Al-Din, whom Ibn Yakub does not recognise, has come with an extraordinary request to ask Ibn Yakub to be his personal chronicler. Salah-Al-Din does not trust his court chroniclers as they are known for writing what they think will please the Sultan.

Thus starts the remarkable story of Ibn Yakub, the Jewish Chronicler’s amazing journey into the life of one of the greatest Muslim Rulers ever. Ibn Yakub is granted the wish to ask the Sultan any question although the Sultan reserves the right to answer! He is also granted permission to every sphere of the Sultan’s daily life, including access to his Harem, but not to any war counselling for his own safety.

Saladin is depicted as a wise and careful leader. Although ruthless in battle, lenient and generous in every day life and in his legal rulings. This was a time in the Muslim world when Jews and Muslims lived in peace. Animosity between the two faiths was virtually unknown. Even the Christians, although political enemies of Muslims received their fair share of life under Salah-Al-Din. This is further shown by the Sultan’s choice of Maimonides, a Jew, as his personal physician and his decision to choose a Jew as his personal chronicler.

Ali does proper justice by showing Salah-Al-Din as human. Salah-Al-Din’s fondness for women, art, music, intellectual debates characterises many Muslim Rulers of the day.

The Christians holding Jerusalem are shown as cruel leaders. Upon conquering the city, they massacred all the Jewish and Muslim inhabitants, sparing neither women nor children in their quest to establish the Authority of the Holy Trinity. Their leaders are unwilling and unable to recognise Muslims as anything but an inferior cult. Ali reminds us that even the military power of the Crusaders’ was overrated, and that Richard the Lion Heart was much despised—and his military skills questioned—by even Christians of the day.

Written in the metaphor of the Arabian nights, The Book of Saladin immediately transforms the reader into a fairy tale world. Salah-Al-Din is the force of just against evil. Ali has researched facts very well and done proper justice towards providing an alternative interpretation to Middle Eastern history. The novel does further justice by providing a description of the court life of Muslim rulers where many taboos, unthinkable even in today’s western democracy and freedom of speech, are beautifully narrated...

This book deserves more than five stars!

Asrar Chowdhury
Girton College
Cambridge
May 2002

A good read., 17 Jun 2008
I enjoyed this book. I was a bit put off by the 'propaganda' review and I did expect some knee-jerk anti-westernism from a left wing intellectual like Ali, but this wasn't as bad as I expected. Yeah, sure, there was a bit of Muslims:good, Christians:bad but not let's forget that it was the Christian Church that gave us the Inquisition and the Crusades!

Stylistically the story was good though the writing was a bit clunky in places but this was a good evocation of Moorish Spain.

I'd say worth a read. Next up : volume 2.

A compelling story simply written, 28 Jan 2006
This tale of a muslim family facing the 'reconquest' of Spain by the Christian rulers is a compelling read that combines a number of threads, as we follow the idealistic oldest son, the hero-worshipping younger son, and a number of particularly strong female characters, in their reactions to the threat of forced conversions.

The reactions vary, and are treated without judgement, in a style that is surprisingly plain and without hyperbole. In some ways it would be good to have a more vivid picture of this little-described age of Moorish Spain, but the clarity leaves the story to force itself through without being muddied. An enjoyable story that makes you seek out the sequels.

A well written and balanced historical novel., 15 Oct 2005
Having just read Kagen's Spanish Inquisitiion it was a joy to read this sensitive story of a noble Spanish muslim family embroiled in the final conquest of Granada. Tariq Ali writes beautifuly and this story has everything, love, wisdom, humour, poetry and tragedy. I was impressed how closely the story follows the known events and characters of the time. Tariq Ali puts human faces to this calamatous period of Spanish history through his well drawn characters.

A well written and balanced historical novel., 15 Oct 2005
Having just read Kagen's Spanish Inquisition, it was a joy to read this sensitive story of a noble Spanish muslim family embroiled in the final conquest of Granada. Tariq Ali writes beautifuly and this story has everything, love, wisdom, humour, poetry and tragedy. I was impressed how closely the story follows the known events and characters of the time. Tariq Ali puts human faces to this calamatous period of Spanish history through his very well drawn characters.

Poorly written propaganda, 22 Apr 2004
I was delighted to find the book, loving the area of Spain that Tariqwrites about and because there is a real shortage of good literature aboutMuslim Spain. Unfortunately the writing is weak. Characters are poorlydeveloped, the plot lacks grip and worst of all it smells strongly ofpropaganda.
Mr Ali works far too hard to tell us that Iberian Muslims were very veryclean, had a wonderful food culture, centuries of intellectual endeavourto be proud of, and were very badly treated by the Christians. All of thisis fair enough, but he lays it on so thick that the suspicion developed inthis reader that here is A MESSAGE. Towards the end the characterisationof most Muslims as noble and sensitive, and most Christians gross andbrutal rams home the point. In case you don't get it, a very unsubtle linkis explicitly drawn on the last page to the brutal the Spanish conquest ofthe Americas.
If you like history, you may be disappointed by the simple reading ofcomplex issues of conquest, race, borderlands and culture on display here.

One for the summer nights!, 23 Mar 2008
This book is beautiful to read: the prose is simple and light, articulate and cadenced. This combined with the half-familiar, half-strange historical and geographical material it treats, the characters who are fallible, partial, wistful, thoughtful, sharp or humerous, and the lack of a trite plot make this a very profound as well as a stylish read. It falls just short of five stars because it can at times (too me at least) lack a robust approach, there isn't quite enough grit, quite so vividly realised as it could be. Certainly the protagonist is a very serene character, but you also feel some of this is Tariq Ali himself, the academic and intellectual, wise but a little removed and dispassionate despite his melancholy turns and bed-side prowess (the protagonist that is!). This book will enchant and sway you, but somehow it does not blow you away.

masterful writing, 16 Nov 2008
The Stone Woman is a superb book: voluptuous, exotic - with relevant political savvy thrown in. Here is an example of Tariq's wisdom: "He was excited by the events of the day. He spoke of the young officer who had made what was really difficult sound possible, namely to make progressive ideas a reality. So often in the past, lofty ideas had been transformed into their opposites, when those who had proclaimed them actually came to power. This had happened in France after the revolution, but it had happened here (Turkey) as well. Whenever the reformers had been made Viziers, their ideas disappeared and they were compelled to govern the Empire in the only way they knew, which was the old way." T. Ali reminds me of another evocative writer from whom one learns much - Amin Maalouf.



Buy this book, you won't just read it once!, 21 Jun 2005
Very moving, very informative, stunning language, believeable characters, great story - we reviewed this book in our village bookclub - no one had a bad word to say about it! I found this book to be story and character driven, not politically motivated at all, and very well written.

Ali loses the plot, 24 Jun 2004
Prior to reading this novel, I had read Tariq Ali's 'Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree', which had set some high expectations. However I found the book to be quite disappointing. It seems to be nothing more than a collection of short stories loosely strung together, which neither move or inspire and seem almost irrelevant to each other.
The novel is also spoilt by the blatant creation of certain characters that are nothing more than a vehicle for the writer's own political opinions. There are many heavy-handed political interludes more in the nature with the author trying to lecture the reader, than part of the story's intrinsic motif.
If you enjoyed Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree then this novel will disappoint you.

Luxurious, colourful, sensual drama of an Ottoman family, 02 Jul 2000
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, 26 June 200O: The Ottoman Empire, known as the 'sick man of Europe' in the 19th century, continues its slow, steady decline in the summer of 1899 as elderly Iskander Pasha (a descendant of gthe Sultan's favourite courtier) and his well-born family gather outside their sea-side palace outside Istanbul. Ali explores the complexities of the Ottoman mentality in his fifth outing, a colourful sensual drama of families, sexual intrigue and rebellion...... Ali's epic combines the luxuriant pacing of the old-fashioned novel of ideas with the 20th century relish for sexual detail to conjure up an almost Chekhovian mileu.

Brilliant personification of the cold war era, 21 Dec 2001
Whenever one reads or hears about the cold war it is always related in abstractions. What this book does is injecting life to the whole period of the cold war. It gives us the actual experiences that people went through during that time. I was a little disappointed at the historical connection between the father, who was a devout marxist, and the son who is devout capitalist, not being explored further. The comparisons i think would have protruded a fascinating debate. That is more of a readers wish than the writer's weakness. It is though a great personification of that time and anyone interested in conceptualising that period from the people's perception of it, this is the book to read.

Most disappointed., 16 Mar 2008
I bought this book to read about Saladin and how he managed his empire. I was warned beforehand that this is a work of fiction but did not realise it is nothing but a work of fiction with almost no statement of facts.

If anything, the writer Tariq Ali wants to tell his own version of history of how it must have been back then. Fornication, homosexuality and how people might have amused themselves then seem to be the main theme. Saladin himself comes across as soneone who is most troubled and very one dimensional character. More space is given to the various characters around him and how they go about trying to satisfy their sexual appetite than Saladin himself.

If you want to find out about Saladin, I very much doubt you could do worse than this.

The Book of Saladin, 13 Mar 2006
Please make no mistake this is a work of ‘FICTION’. The title is very disingenuous (to be polite); the book is mostly based around the fictional characters thought up by Tariq Ali. I was very disappointed as one is never certain where the fiction ends and reality begins.
Tariq Ali has tried to mix fiction with reality and has got it very wrong; his portrayal of Saladin as a sexually charged individual is scandalous.
I think Tariq Ali has done the greatest disservice to one of Islam’s greatest sultan and military leader.

A surprise - simple and beautiful, 10 Oct 2004
I'd heard of Tariq Ali as a political animal and didnt know what to expect. I was surprised. This book is written in style, almost like a story your mother might have told you when putting you to pbed, except of course no mother would read a child this particular story so full of life, sex and death.

The story of how a man through sheer force of will united the squabbling emirs to re-take Jerusalem (Al-Kuds) is breath-taking. I kept on putting off my job, my family until I could finish this book.

It is not a history book. It is a heroic tale - one which deserves to be told over and over again. Highly recommended.

A very human tale, 21 Sep 2002
This is a very human novel. Its a simple story of peoples lives, their day to day problems and concerns, their loves and losses. It is so easy to read like a soap opera where you are drawn into wanting to know what happens next. The fact that the concerns of the characters include a jealous lesbian whose lover has been sleeping with a eunuch, planning the strategy of the crusade against the infidels or political letter writing are made to seem matter of fact. The easy style of writing however hides an eternal truth which is that human nature doesn't change over time and one can always learn from the experience of human interaction.

An excellent evocation of a slice of human life and an easy and enjoyable read. My only critisism is that the novel is relatively expensive - and therefore doesn't have the wide distribution accorded to other far less worthy tomes.

Historical fiction at its best deserves more than five stars, 21 May 2002
It is difficult to put this book down once started. After some time the characters become a part of the reader’s own life. Ali, with his genius in play writing, knows how to keep the reader glued to the pages while finishing each chapter— in the Arabian Nights tradition—there is more to come. This novel is historical fiction at its best!

The Book of Saladin is Mr Tariq Ali’s second in his series of Islamic fiction and by par the most historical. The other two titles are “Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree” and “The Stone Woman”.

“The Book of Saladin”, as the title suggests, is the life of Salah-Al-Din, Saladin to the Western ear, the Great Muslim leader whose name and legend goes parallel with the Crusades after he re-conquered Jerusalem in 1187. The principal characters of the novel, Saladin, his father, sons and nephews, and Ibn Maymun (Maimonides to the Western ear), the Jewish historian are all historical characters. The narrator, Ibn Yakub, Shadi, Jamila and Halima, Amjad the eunuch et al are fictional characters.

The book is divided into three main sections depicting Salah-Al-Din’s life in Cairo, Damascus and Jerusalem. The last section is personal letters of Ibn Yakub to Ibn Maymun. Each chapter describes events like old chronicles with the grace of fairy tales from the Arabian Nights. At the same time, the book describes life of the time.

The book starts with the narrator, Isaac ibn Yakub, sharing a light meal and deep conversation with his friend, Ibn Maymun. They are interrupted by a knock at the door. Salah-Al-Din, whom Ibn Yakub does not recognise, has come with an extraordinary request to ask Ibn Yakub to be his personal chronicler. Salah-Al-Din does not trust his court chroniclers as they are known for writing what they think will please the Sultan.

Thus starts the remarkable story of Ibn Yakub, the Jewish Chronicler’s amazing journey into the life of one of the greatest Muslim Rulers ever. Ibn Yakub is granted the wish to ask the Sultan any question although the Sultan reserves the right to answer! He is also granted permission to every sphere of the Sultan’s daily life, including access to his Harem, but not to any war counselling for his own safety.

Saladin is depicted as a wise and careful leader. Although ruthless in battle, lenient and generous in every day life and in his legal rulings. This was a time in the Muslim world when Jews and Muslims lived in peace. Animosity between the two faiths was virtually unknown. Even the Christians, although political enemies of Muslims received their fair share of life under Salah-Al-Din. This is further shown by the Sultan’s choice of Maimonides, a Jew, as his personal physician and his decision to choose a Jew as his personal chronicler.

Ali does proper justice by showing Salah-Al-Din as human. Salah-Al-Din’s fondness for women, art, music, intellectual debates characterises many Muslim Rulers of the day.

The Christians holding Jerusalem are shown as cruel leaders. Upon conquering the city, they massacred all the Jewish and Muslim inhabitants, sparing neither women nor children in their quest to establish the Authority of the Holy Trinity. Their leaders are unwilling and unable to recognise Muslims as anything but an inferior cult. Ali reminds us that even the military power of the Crusaders’ was overrated, and that Richard the Lion Heart was much despised—and his military skills questioned—by even Christians of the day.

Written in the metaphor of the Arabian nights, The Book of Saladin immediately transforms the reader into a fairy tale world. Salah-Al-Din is the force of just against evil. Ali has researched facts very well and done proper justice towards providing an alternative interpretation to Middle Eastern history. The novel does further justice by providing a description of the court life of Muslim rulers where many taboos, unthinkable even in today’s western democracy and freedom of speech, are beautifully narrated...

This book deserves more than five stars!

Asrar Chowdhury
Girton College
Cambridge
May 2002

A good read., 17 Jun 2008
I enjoyed this book. I was a bit put off by the 'propaganda' review and I did expect some knee-jerk anti-westernism from a left wing intellectual like Ali, but this wasn't as bad as I expected. Yeah, sure, there was a bit of Muslims:good, Christians:bad but not let's forget that it was the Christian Church that gave us the Inquisition and the Crusades!

Stylistically the story was good though the writing was a bit clunky in places but this was a good evocation of Moorish Spain.

I'd say worth a read. Next up : volume 2.

A compelling story simply written, 28 Jan 2006
This tale of a muslim family facing the 'reconquest' of Spain by the Christian rulers is a compelling read that combines a number of threads, as we follow the idealistic oldest son, the hero-worshipping younger son, and a number of particularly strong female characters, in their reactions to the threat of forced conversions.

The reactions vary, and are treated without judgement, in a style that is surprisingly plain and without hyperbole. In some ways it would be good to have a more vivid picture of this little-described age of Moorish Spain, but the clarity leaves the story to force itself through without being muddied. An enjoyable story that makes you seek out the sequels.

A well written and balanced historical novel., 15 Oct 2005
Having just read Kagen's Spanish Inquisitiion it was a joy to read this sensitive story of a noble Spanish muslim family embroiled in the final conquest of Granada. Tariq Ali writes beautifuly and this story has everything, love, wisdom, humour, poetry and tragedy. I was impressed how closely the story follows the known events and characters of the time. Tariq Ali puts human faces to this calamatous period of Spanish history through his well drawn characters.

A well written and balanced historical novel., 15 Oct 2005
Having just read Kagen's Spanish Inquisition, it was a joy to read this sensitive story of a noble Spanish muslim family embroiled in the final conquest of Granada. Tariq Ali writes beautifuly and this story has everything, love, wisdom, humour, poetry and tragedy. I was impressed how closely the story follows the known events and characters of the time. Tariq Ali puts human faces to this calamatous period of Spanish history through his very well drawn characters.

Poorly written propaganda, 22 Apr 2004
I was delighted to find the book, loving the area of Spain that Tariqwrites about and because there is a real shortage of good literature aboutMuslim Spain. Unfortunately the writing is weak. Characters are poorlydeveloped, the plot lacks grip and worst of all it smells strongly ofpropaganda.
Mr Ali works far too hard to tell us that Iberian Muslims were very veryclean, had a wonderful food culture, centuries of intellectual endeavourto be proud of, and were very badly treated by the Christians. All of thisis fair enough, but he lays it on so thick that the suspicion developed inthis reader that here is A MESSAGE. Towards the end the characterisationof most Muslims as noble and sensitive, and most Christians gross andbrutal rams home the point. In case you don't get it, a very unsubtle linkis explicitly drawn on the last page to the brutal the Spanish conquest ofthe Americas.
If you like history, you may be disappointed by the simple reading ofcomplex issues of conquest, race, borderlands and culture on display here.

One for the summer nights!, 23 Mar 2008
This book is beautiful to read: the prose is simple and light, articulate and cadenced. This combined with the half-familiar, half-strange historical and geographical material it treats, the characters who are fallible, partial, wistful, thoughtful, sharp or humerous, and the lack of a trite plot make this a very profound as well as a stylish read. It falls just short of five stars because it can at times (too me at least) lack a robust approach, there isn't quite enough grit, quite so vividly realised as it could be. Certainly the protagonist is a very serene character, but you also feel some of this is Tariq Ali himself, the academic and intellectual, wise but a little removed and dispassionate despite his melancholy turns and bed-side prowess (the protagonist that is!). This book will enchant and sway you, but somehow it does not blow you away.

masterful writing, 16 Nov 2008
The Stone Woman is a superb book: voluptuous, exotic - with relevant political savvy thrown in. Here is an example of Tariq's wisdom: "He was excited by the events of the day. He spoke of the young officer who had made what was really difficult sound possible, namely to make progressive ideas a reality. So often in the past, lofty ideas had been transformed into their opposites, when those who had proclaimed them actually came to power. This had happened in France after the revolution, but it had happened here (Turkey) as well. Whenever the reformers had been made Viziers, their ideas disappeared and they were compelled to govern the Empire in the only way they knew, which was the old way." T. Ali reminds me of another evocative writer from whom one learns much - Amin Maalouf.



Buy this book, you won't just read it once!, 21 Jun 2005
Very moving, very informative, stunning language, believeable characters, great story - we reviewed this book in our village bookclub - no one had a bad word to say about it! I found this book to be story and character driven, not politically motivated at all, and very well written.

Ali loses the plot, 24 Jun 2004
Prior to reading this novel, I had read Tariq Ali's 'Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree', which had set some high expectations. However I found the book to be quite disappointing. It seems to be nothing more than a collection of short stories loosely strung together, which neither move or inspire and seem almost irrelevant to each other.
The novel is also spoilt by the blatant creation of certain characters that are nothing more than a vehicle for the writer's own political opinions. There are many heavy-handed political interludes more in the nature with the author trying to lecture the reader, than part of the story's intrinsic motif.
If you enjoyed Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree then this novel will disappoint you.

Luxurious, colourful, sensual drama of an Ottoman family, 02 Jul 2000
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, 26 June 200O: The Ottoman Empire, known as the 'sick man of Europe' in the 19th century, continues its slow, steady decline in the summer of 1899 as elderly Iskander Pasha (a descendant of gthe Sultan's favourite courtier) and his well-born family gather outside their sea-side palace outside Istanbul. Ali explores the complexities of the Ottoman mentality in his fifth outing, a colourful sensual drama of families, sexual intrigue and rebellion...... Ali's epic combines the luxuriant pacing of the old-fashioned novel of ideas with the 20th century relish for sexual detail to conjure up an almost Chekhovian mileu.

Brilliant personification of the cold war era, 21 Dec 2001
Whenever one reads or hears about the cold war it is always related in abstractions. What this book does is injecting life to the whole period of the cold war. It gives us the actual experiences that people went through during that time. I was a little disappointed at the historical connection between the father, who was a devout marxist, and the son who is devout capitalist, not being explored further. The comparisons i think would have protruded a fascinating debate. That is more of a readers wish than the writer's weakness. It is though a great personification of that time and anyone interested in conceptualising that period from the people's perception of it, this is the book to read.

masterful writing, 16 Nov 2008
The Stone Woman is a superb book: voluptuous, exotic - with relevant political savvy thrown in. Here is an example of Tariq's wisdom: "He was excited by the events of the day. He spoke of the young officer who had made what was really difficult sound possible, namely to make progressive ideas a reality. So often in the past, lofty ideas had been transformed into their opposites, when those who had proclaimed them actually came to power. This had happened in France after the revolution, but it had happened here (Turkey) as well. Whenever the reformers had been made Viziers, their ideas disappeared and they were compelled to govern the Empire in the only way they knew, which was the old way." T. Ali reminds me of another evocative writer from whom one learns much - Amin Maalouf.



Buy this book, you won't just read it once!, 21 Jun 2005
Very moving, very informative, stunning language, believeable characters, great story - we reviewed this book in our village bookclub - no one had a bad word to say about it! I found this book to be story and character driven, not politically motivated at all, and very well written.

Ali loses the plot, 24 Jun 2004
Prior to reading this novel, I had read Tariq Ali's 'Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree', which had set some high expectations. However I found the book to be quite disappointing. It seems to be nothing more than a collection of short stories loosely strung together, which neither move or inspire and seem almost irrelevant to each other.
The novel is also spoilt by the blatant creation of certain characters that are nothing more than a vehicle for the writer's own political opinions. There are many heavy-handed political interludes more in the nature with the author trying to lecture the reader, than part of the story's intrinsic motif.
If you enjoyed Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree then this novel will disappoint you.

Luxurious, colourful, sensual drama of an Ottoman family, 02 Jul 2000
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, 26 June 200O: The Ottoman Empire, known as the 'sick man of Europe' in the 19th century, continues its slow, steady decline in the summer of 1899 as elderly Iskander Pasha (a descendant of gthe Sultan's favourite courtier) and his well-born family gather outside their sea-side palace outside Istanbul. Ali explores the complexities of the Ottoman mentality in his fifth outing, a colourful sensual drama of families, sexual intrigue and rebellion...... Ali's epic combines the luxuriant pacing of the old-fashioned novel of ideas with the 20th century relish for sexual detail to conjure up an almost Chekhovian mileu.