Buduneli

Early in my studies, I remember being told that the more you know, the more you realize how little you know, the more you realize how little anyone knows about how the world works. And indeed, as I progressed, those heroes of my field became more human. Confidence, earned or misplaced, goes a longer way than I thought when I was younger.

Grenier holds the heroes of Buduneli, those true Budans, very lightly. There is a dazzling array of them, each bringing about this major thing, this founding of a nation, but they all seem as much victims of the moment as revolutionary leaders. Not that most would agree they were victims! There is a section near the middle of the book, a selection of Meditations by Aurelius (so many characters renaming show more themselves as statesmen of old of Rome - even writing a book called Meditations! - underlines their conviction in their own importance), where Aurelius states clearly his feelings on the matter to his audience. "Struggle with the gravity of situations," he writes. "For remember you are on the frontier of frontiers. In the vanity of it all, remember you are a man of history. A man to change history ..."

It's never completely clear (at least to me) WHY Khormuzta, the Budan founder, and the others felt Buduneli needed to be. As a nation (presumably in Central Asia), it is a unification of dozens of disparate tribes, though it seems they were under a single government before Khormuzta and his revolutionaries found themselves in power. But maybe the reasons aren't important. This book is a comedic take on men (and they are all men in this book except for a scant few women who don't receive much if any characterization) bringing change, not because they have the skill or expertise to do it well but just because they had the confidence to do something absolutely ludicrous and not look back. An interesting thing happens though. As events progress, perhaps by sheer repetition, Buduneli becomes more than just an idea, but a reality and something to be fought for, something to die for.

Grenier may hold his heroes lightly, but it is clear he holds them lovingly, so much so that it was hard not to be swept up in their cause.

The characters were mostly well-drawn, though I couldn't help but wish there was more. There's a fantastic chapter where the leaders of the revolution are gathered and write a letter addressed to the world, asking for recognition. They pass the draft around, each adding a sentence to the one before, and Grenier masterfully reveals each character in doing so. If I could ask for anything more from this book, it would be additional interactions between the main characters. So many chapters are from the perspective of a single character with little to do with the others.

All that being said, I found the book compelling, often hilarious, and well-written. I highly recommend it; I hope there will be more from this author. show less