Sunday 3 February 2013

Mosaic Monday & The Unicorn Road (Book Review)

2013-01-31 tea, blue transferware

I just finished The Unicorn Road by Martin Davies, a book that made me want to drink tea from my grandmother’s blue-and-white cups with Asian pattern, and listen to Ravel’s Bolero.

CIMG3031CIMG3026

Visit Mary’s Little Red House for more Mosaic Monday.

---

The Unicorn Road - Book Review:

The Unicorn Road

A father is looking for his son who disappeared many years ago – or any piece of information he can find out about what may have happened to him. 

The boy Benedict was servant to a scholar (Antioch), who set out on a journey to foreign countries in search of strange legendary beasts. Other members of the expedition were an interpreter (Venn) with a very special gift for learning foreign languages, and a military man, Count Decius, of rather grim reputation.

In a different part of the world, a young woman (Ming Yueh), with a yearning for freedom and love, is summoned from her father’s house to the Emperor’s court.

The two groups of travellers, previously unknown to each other, come to cross paths…

I found The Unicorn Road a strangely compelling story, painted with delicate brush strokes and yet holding deep mysteries – just like certain messages found by Venn along the road.

It is a work of fiction, but based on a number of real events and legends from the same period (13th century).

I liked the book a lot – enough to give it 5 stars.

Some quotes:

The young live in the present, and their lives are still to come. Love scarcely troubles them. It is a beast that bites harder the older you become.

When words are your daily currency, it can be easy to forget their power.

As he read he found himself in a world that echoed with longing, where the words for love and pain were hard to tell apart, where loss and regret filled the air like sad music on a still morning.

I was trained a soldier from the moment I could walk. They taught me everything except why.

Wars are not fought over items of faith. Faith is just a flag to wave above the foot soldiers.

22 comments:

  1. The second and next to last quotes are my favorites. I LOVE your glorious blue china collage!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your tea cups are beautiful, I love the blue and white colors and the pattern. Thanks for sharing the quotes and the book review. Have a happy week ahead!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely teacups! Blue and white china is so fresh. And thank you for the bookreview.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think I would like this book, from reading your review, and your blue china set is spectacular.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Blue and white never goes out of style. Very pretty. Valerie

    ReplyDelete
  6. You must have really enjoyed the book to pair the review with your Grandmother's lovely blue and white china and listen to bolero (love both blue and white and bolero)!!! Thank you for the book review.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Pretty teacups and a nice book review, including the quotes.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Neat that you have your grandmother's beautiful china!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sounds like a delightful book and your Mosaic photos of China Tea Set is beautiful!

    Carol of: (A Creative Harbor) ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  10. The china set is lovely and the perfect accompaniment to a good book.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Such beautiful blue and white china!
    The book sounds interesting too - although losing his son is so sad - I'm hopeless at reading sad books....
    Shane ♥

    ReplyDelete
  12. The book sounds intriguing, and from your description it really goes so well with the blue china!

    ReplyDelete
  13. The books doesn't really sound like my cup of tea (sorry) but the quotes are so good that I wouldn't completely rule it off my list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you might get caught up in it if you gave it a chance, Graham. I'd say it's the kind of book that grows on you, the further into it you get. On the other hand - there are many books in the world, and we can't all read them all. Come to think of it, you might be more interested in another book by the same author The Conjurer's Bird

      Delete
  14. What a lovely collection of blue and white ware you have. Very very nice.
    I loved the quote: "When words are your daily currency, it can be easy to forget their power." It's so true.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Virginia. I'd not go as far as call it a "collection" though... It's six cups and saucers. My grandmother did also have some dinnerplates in blue and white (different series but similar in style) but they were all chipped and cracked and not worth saving (except for one small small oblong serving plate which I've also kept). But the teacups are still good, they were never used that much (my grandparents drank mostly coffee).

      Delete
    2. (oops, one "small" would have been enough, I think)

      Delete
  15. Blue and white is always a winning combination - what a pleasure to drink from those teacups.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Unlike GB it sounds exactly my cup of tea (no apology!)and it's now on my To Be Read list (and quite near the top). I love the way you did the mosaic of the cup but I like milk and sugar in mine please.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I have a canister and tea cups with the same pattern. :o)

    ReplyDelete

Communication is what makes blogging fun :)
... but all spam or suspected spam will be deleted.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...