Simon Acland

The Waste Land, a novel of the First Crusade and the Holy Grail, opens in the modern day, in the senior common room of a fictional Oxford College. The Master of this College, which is facing a serious financial shortfall, invites a former student, now a Best-Selling Author, to dine with the College's senior fellows. At the dinner the Master reveals to the Best-Selling Author that a contemporary chronicle of the First Crusade, written by a young knight who experienced it firsthand, has been found. In an effort to overcome the financial difficulties being experienced by the College, the Master wants the Author, with the help of the College's fellows, to craft the text into a novel. The Best-Selling Author agrees, and what follows is a narrative that alternates between the Crusading adventures of Hugh de Verdon, and the various goings on amongst the Author and the fellows at Oxford as they attempt to craft Hugh's tale into a best-selling book.

The greatest strength of The Waste Land is Acland's lovely prose and his attention to detail, both of which help to create a strong sense of time and place. Through Hugh, Acland is able to bring to life some of the personalities, places and events of the First Crusade. The sections of the novel set in Constantinople and Antioch are particularly well done. Hugh is a well-developed character, and I enjoyed watching him come into his own as the novel progressed. For those readers such as myself who are not familiar with the history of the First Crusade, Hugh proves to be an excellent vehicle through which to convey this history. But The Waste Land isn't simply a work of historical fiction about the First Crusade, it is also a historical thriller that sees Hugh set off on a quest to uncover a lost gospel, one which contains the truth about the Holy Grail. While not based in historical fact, this quest proves to be a compelling one.

While the bulk of the narrative is taken up by Hugh's story, I also enjoyed the short chapters set in Oxford that feature the Best-Selling Author, the College Master and the College fellows. The fellows prove to be an eccentric cast of characters, and their attempts to influence the crafting of the novel are entertaining. These chapters also contain an element of mystery, and the slow unfolding of this mystery helps to keep the reader engaged with the modern day component of the narrative. While some readers may find the alternation between Hugh's story and the story at Oxford to be jarring, I found the transitions smooth and had little difficulty with the switches in time or setting. I also appreciated that the fellows, particularly the history fellow, serve as fact checkers for this novel, making note of how Hugh's Crusading adventures match up with history. They also serve to illustrate the linkages between Hugh's story and well known Grail romances.

Recommended to fans of historical fiction interested in the Crusades and readers who enjoy historical thrillers.

Note: I was provided with a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.… (more)

The Waste Land by Simon Acland was such a delight to read. I have struggled with exactly how to write about this book and my reactions to it without giving away too much of the plot. And really, this book needs to be discovered by the reader. The Prologue is enough of an introduction and build up to the story. The Prologue introduces the professors at St. Lazarus' College and their dilemma - they are in severe financial trouble and hope to obtain a large financial donation from a former student, the "Best-Selling Author", who wasn't a great student, but is their big hope. He is never called anything besides the Best-Selling Author and he too has a problem - no good ideas for his next novel. The Research Assistant - also never called anything else - has the solution: he has found a manuscript and thinks it would make a great novel. This is probably one of my favorite uses of the found manuscript plot device I've ever encountered.

The book switches back and forth between the story of Hugh de Verdon, our monk turned knight, who is the hero of the found manuscript, and shorter interludes with the professors at St. Lazarus College. I found the sections involving the professors to be entertaining and insightful into the book as a whole. I thought it was cleverly and humorously done. The professors critique and complain and make observations about the manuscript - which is, of course, the book the reader is actually reading. Clever. Fun.

If you read the guest post by Simon Acland, you know that he is very knowledgeable about 12th and 13th Century Grail Romances, having studied them extensively at Oxford. This knowledge of the Grail Romances is evident in the way Acland seamlessly blends the Grail legends and First Crusade history into his own tale of Hugh de Verdon and his adventures across the Holy Land. Simon Acland manages to be true to the Grail Romances while at the same time, putting a whole new spin on the legend and making it seem like it is history, not just a legend.

I really appreciated the fact that Acland didn't try to make his story into a fanciful tale of chivalry; instead, he describes in gripping detail the brutal, violent, dirty, gross, and frightening life that Hugh and the other knights encountered. This isn't a fairy tale version of the crusade. This is the portrayal of a violent crusade involving men who may not have had purely spiritual intentions when they signed up.

When I read The Waste Land, I read at a pretty fast pace for the story. I couldn't help myself. I tried to slow down and pick out various parts of the Grail legends, but would be swept up in the story. After I finished reading the book, I attempted to skim for specific references and for lines from T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, but would find myself deeply involved in Acland's story yet again. I think that says quite a bit about his storytelling.

I don't think I have ever enjoyed an Epilogue to a book more than the one in The Waste Land. I thought it was terribly clever and funny and the perfect way to set up a sequel.

My recommendation is that everyone should read this book and then come back and discuss it with me. I loved so many things about it, but I can't bring myself to give away some of the best bits.

This review is also posted on my blog: http://abookgeek-llm.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-waste-land-by-simon-acland.html… (more)