Reviewed by Louise Wykes
Arriving in Córdoba as a young man in 1088 to learn medicine, Yehuda Halevi is enchanted by a world in which Muslim, Jewish and Christian courtiers share poetry and philosophy in their elegant gardens. Here he falls in love with Deborah, the spirited daughter of his host. In this turbulent world, however, Yehuda also encounters invasions and pirates, book burnings and bandits.
Driven by conflict to move from city to city, Yehuda and Deborah are often parted – but always in the hope that they will one day return together to Córdoba. As Yehuda’s fame grows as a poet and as a philosopher, his writings become increasingly mystical but also increasingly restless, for he yearns to travel to the holy city of Jerusalem. In 1140, as an old man, he must finally decide whether to stay with his family or begin the perilous voyage towards Egypt and Crusader Jerusalem…
After a very long break from reviewing due to the birth of twins nearly six years ago and the constant chaos that my life has been ever since, I decided that I was finally ready to dip my toe back into the reviewing waters to see if I could still do it and if I still enjoyed it. After reading the blurb of The Golden Bell I was intrigued as it sounded so different to the psychological thrillers I have mainly been reading recently.
The Golden Bell opens in Córdoba (Spain) in the year 1088 and introduces us to Yehuda Halevi who is a young Jewish boy who initially wishes to train as a physician but he also displays a natural talent for poetry and wit. He is soon taken in by a wealthy man who introduces Yehuda into a society where he can both learn about medicine but also practice his word play with courtiers and he also finds love with Deborah who is the feisty, spirited daughter of the man who watches out for Yehuda. The book then follows Yehuda through his life right up to his death when he decides to start a pilgrimage to Crusader Jerusalem as he believes that after a full and happy life he needs to see the Holy Land of Jerusalem for himself after learning and reading so much about it.
This is a well written book that I really enjoyed reading even though I had to stop reading many times to look up words and places that I had no previous knowledge of but that’s due to my lack of knowledge of Medieval history and religion. It has certainly sparked an interest in this time period for me and there is a list of Suggested Reading at the back of the book plus a glossary which I didn’t realise was there until I’d finished reading!!
I think this book is being marketed towards the historical fiction type of read but for me there didn’t seem to be enough fiction in the book. I loved the explanations of the ideas that were being discussed (and fought over) in this particular time in history but I didn’t feel the author gave enough detail about the inner life of Yehuda and why and how he was inspired to write his poetry. I would have liked more detail about his relationship with Deborah and how it developed. At times I was reminded of The Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo where I think the author maybe wanted to write a fable that could inspire his readers with lessons that Yuheda tried to teach during his lifetime but for me there wasn’t enough of a connection between myself and Yuheda so I didn’t feel there was enough narrative force to inspire me to keep reading this book to find out what happened next.
I would recommend this book to readers who are interested in what seems to have been a fascinating and fast-moving time period and I think it’s a fascinating, obviously well researched book that I am glad I was given the chance to read as it has introduced me to new philosophical and religious ideas that I’d like to explore further. It is just to my mind it was more history rather than fiction.
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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