Deus Lo Volt

Rating:
Summary: A unique perspective on the Crusades
Review: "Deus lo Volt!" is a very impressive work. It could never be classified as an "easy read"; there are many minute historical details, not to to mention a vast cast of characters to keep straight. Connell's vocabulary is simply astounding; I kept a dictionary by my side as a read, but several words were too obscure to have a listing.

The medieval Christian perspective of the book is what makes it so incredible. The depth of the facts makes it seems like a text book, yet the reader is constantly reminded who the "good" and "bad" guys are. I admire Connell for writing a book that so defies contemporary concepts of political correctness and religious tolerance; he gives "Deus lo Volt!" a sense of authenticity. Yes, it is a bit troubling to see every Crusader described as ascending to heaven, even if they were raping innocent Saracen women at the time. Yet everything must be regarded in proper historical context, and that may be a challenge for readers. Overall, this is an excellent, informative book for students of medieval history.

Rating:
Summary: Biased History, Bad Literature
Review: I am a big fan of historical literature, and have seldom been disappointed with my choices, until now!

Anyone with a basic background on the history involved, and willing to see it in terms of the societal contexts of that time, can see this for a biased and shallow "hatchet job" on Western civilization in general and Christianity in particular. In this it fails to inform accurately and fairly about history. The story and theme is merely a poorly-disguised excuse for political-cultural polemic (ditto for the author's previous efforts in this genre).

It also fails miserably as literature. There is little depth either to the events related or the characters involved, who are depicted as comic book figures without human dimensions. Needless to say, it also does not make for very entertaining reading. The problem may be due to the choice of the narrative style, but ways to get around these limitations could have been found had this been desired (there are chronicles of that very same time much better than this one!). Given the apparent intentions of the author, this would have been too much to expect, as such stories necessarily have to be cast simplistically and in black-and-white terms. This may be reassuring for those who think in that way (and of course, are on the author's side of the contrast), but defrauds all those with any sense of perspective and open-mindedness.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I am a great fan of Evan S. Connell's Son of the Morning Star, which I consider the finest work of American Military History ever written. This led me to read this book (historical novel?) on the panorama of the 12th century crusades. The tone and scope take the view of a medieval narrator, which may have been an intriguing literary device, but the complexity of events, broad scope of characters, and multiplicity of details do not lend them selves well to this approach. Despite my moderate interest in this era and events, I bogged down at somewhere between 250 to 300 pages and I'm unlikely to move beyond this point.

Rating:
Summary: Might have been a hit in 1300...
Review: I bought this book for a friend whom I knew to be interested in history - and especially intrigued with nitty-gritty detail and the "people's history" approach. I had slogged my way through Connell's earlier "Son of the Morning Star" and knew him to supply those elements in bundles. After a month, the friend returned it to me saying he had worked hard through 70 or 80 pages but just never got captured by the book; never, in fact, figured out who or what was at the center of this "novel." He thought maybe I'd enjoy giving it a try. I have done the latter but the former never occurred.

Connell uses two somewhat unusual approaches to his topic - I can't honestly refer to it as "his story" - both failed me.

Firstly, he chose to write the entire book in the vernacular of the 12th century, perhaps to build an authenticity of tone and character. I'm not talking just "thee's" and "thou's" here - but (apparently) the full gamut of 12th century English syntax. (I wonder if he also considered incorporating the fluid and variable spelling of that era throughout this book. The element of added visual and cognitive confusion would have been similar). It's not really incomprehensible, just rarely engaging. We've all encountered similar difficulties with, e.g., novels that grew from different eras and cultures (Dostoevsky, for instance) and often prefer the form in the original vernacular (consider Shakespeare). But the work of both of these counter-examples is propelled and energized by powerful and engaging characterization and story.

This moves us to the second failing of this book. It does not tell a tale in any of the ways (and there are quite a few) that pull me into a book. Once again, this approach may have been driven by some sense of historical accuracy. I've heard that before the modern era the notion of what comprised a fictional story was very different from the modern forms of novel; that writers of that era often "told" a story in bits and pieces. The "glue" that bound them together being deep and broadly-shared cultural experiences. Well, Connell tries the same here but the glue isn't to be found. The storyline seems non-existent (at least after the 50-60 pages I read). The snippets of character or events seem truly independent - too much so. I kept thinking, in the first 10-30 pages, that this was some sort of italicized prologue - a flow of consciousness setting piece that would lead-in to the "novel". Not so.

I've gotta say that I have enjoyed this sort of "snippet" approach to grand themes in the past: Galeano's "Memory of Fire", for instance. This trilogy captures a sweeping historical theme but starts with a mythic language and culturally-refracted syntax that's quite alien to western ears. In Galeano's case, this serves to launch the rest of the work and to heighten the clashing of cultures that is at the center of his monumental work. Connell's `story' had the potential to accomplish something similar - but falls far short.

Rating:
Summary: An eye-openng dose of fanatacism
Review: If you are a reader simply looking for something to keep you entertained while traveling, lying on the beach or some other pursuit just to pass the time, "Deus lo volt!" is probably not for you. If you are reading with all your twenty first century sensibilities brought to the fore, read something else. If, on the other hand, you have a lifelong fascination with history and seek insight into the mindset of people who lived during a time as different from our own as life on another planet, you will find this book absolutely fascinating. Told through the literary "voice" of an actual person contemporary to the first Crusades, Evan Connell has crafted a novel that personifies a time in the history of the Middle Ages rivaled only by the late Barbara Tuchman's "A Distant Mirror: A History of the Clamitous 14th Century". Through the voice of a real life crusader and chronicler of the 12th century life, Connell provides insight into the passions, prejudices, virtues and vices of this turbulent time. For Christians, it is a sobering look back at the murderous prejudices unleashed by "religious" leaders in a naked grab for power and political and military control over the known world in a time before the notions of tolerance and understanding of cultural and religious differences found a home in the minds of western European civilization. The blending a savage cruelty and devout piousness in even the most nobel of the crusaders will disturb even the most sophisticated reader. For Jews and followers of Islam, this book will give insight into the roots of prejudice in western European culture that while chilling may also give some cold comfort that the climate for such beliefs has become much more hostile in our present time. For all readers new to this approach to history, it might be a first step into understanding just how silly the notion of "the good old days" really is. Deus Lo Volt is also a gripping adventure story. Just who are the good guys and who are the bad guys is left up to the reader, and opinions may change from one page to the next. The only flaw in this otherwise brilliant work is Connell's overreliance on the rhetoric of the time which can become tedious from repetition. Still, for a reader fascinated with the darker periods of human endeavor, "Deus Lo Volt" will be an unforgettable experience.

Rating:
Summary: Biased History, Bad Literature
Review: In this book, Evan Connell has engaged in a masterful literary exercise. He has consolidated a great deal of historical material into a pseudo-chronicle covering all of the Crusades. But while I can appreciate the difficulty for a modern author to master the material and an archaic style of writing, I couldn't help wondering whether this exercise was more interesting for the author than the reader. Connell faithfully captures the tone of medieval texts as he combines his sources into a harmonious whole. But what's the point for the reader? There are scholarly collections of translated medieval documents available. There are better interpretive histories of the Crusades available. And there is informative and entertaining historical fiction involving the Crusades available. Connell's book is somewhere in between all these. His tampering with original texts makes it inadequate to the scholar. It offers little in the way of interpretation of events or elaboration on context, so it fails as a history textbook. As historical fiction, its lack of dramatic tension keeps it well away from the likes of 'Ivanhoe' or even Harold Lamb's classic 'Iron Men and Saints'. 'Deus Lo Volt!' rises to the challenge of imitating medieval European texts, but like such texts, it's not terribly exciting to read. In the end, regrettably, it just never really engaged me as a reader.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but I prefer Agori's novel
Review: This book relies on the traditional view of the Crusades. Too bad. The novel Defenders of the Holy Grail (with its great songs) relates more to current research and ties Jesus' family to the Crusader effort. Connell write well, but his "facts" are suspect. remember the Pope back then was whoever was strongest in Rome, and Godfrey's own uncle had been one of the Popes!! Get this, but get a copy of Defenders also.

Rating:
Summary: Not as startling as Ken Agori's Holy Grail
Review: This has great anecdotes in it, but I keep getting bogged down in the syntax of the telling and the enormous cast of characters. Each time I put it down I have to re-read the last several pages so I can figure out what the hell is going on.

Normally, I'd have put it in the library donation box, since I wasn't really into it by about the 50th-75th page. Instead, I keep reading, since I've (possibly foolishly) gotten the impression that, while fictitious, this gives a good account of the history of the crusades and its cast of characters.

Rating:
Summary: Should you read this? God Wills It!
Review: This is a very thick and heavy book, and looking through it, I can understand how someone might be hesitant to read it - every page is packed with dense text. No dialog breaks up the long paragraphs; it's almost as if you're looking at a history book. And in some ways, that's all Deus Lo Volt really is. It's like the history book I always wanted to read. Whereas the texts you read in school were dry and boring, Connell has spiced everything up with gory battle descriptions and popular rumors of the day. Every Crusade is covered, but most attention is given to the First and Third, and later on the narrator's experiences in the last Crusades. What Connell has done is conglomerate a ton of historical texts on the Crusades, most notably that of Jean de Joinville, and expanded upon them. It's hard to categorize this book. It isn't a novel and it isn't history. I'd say it's something like Truman Capote's In Cold Blood; like that book, which was deemed creative nonfiction, I'd say Deus Lo Volt is creative historical nonfiction. It also has a healthy dose of Cormac McCarthy-type prose; even Blood Meridian wasn't this descriptive about war and death. I also got a good chuckle out of the narrator's zeal; anytime a Turk is killed, Jean is sure that his soul will go immediately to hell. And anytime a Crusader falls in battle, his soul immediately ascends to Heaven, even if he was in the process of pillaging and destroying. The sad thing is that these Medieval jokers really believed this was true; I don't think they really understood the hypocrisy of their war. In their effort to "serve" a Christ who preached peace, they murdered hundreds of thousands and razed most of the Middle East. But that's not to say the Turks were completely innocent. But anyway, that's a historical debate that's been going on for ages. The point is, I found this book very entertaining and rewarding. The entire First Crusade impressed me the most, especially when the battle-weary Franks would experience "divine visitations," which would increase their desire to capture Jerusalem. Particularly funny is when one of them discovers what is obviously a Saracen spear, but claims that a vision told him that it was really the spear which pierced the side of Christ. Also, the Templars are featured in the book, and that's always good. All things considered, I'd recommend this book, but only if you're into history, or if you really want to delve into another time and place. Because unlike most other "typical" historical novels, Deus Lo Volt isn't just a period piece, with characters much like us who just happen to live in the Middle Ages; it is much more realistic than that, and the characters who populate it and the bloody events that transpire are very indicitave of the times. I wouldn't say it's a fun book, but I got some laughs out of it, especially the Fourth Crusade, when the pilgrims skipped Jerusalem and pillaged Constantinople instead. Those crazy Crusaders. What will they do next?