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A Song for Arbonne
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
Based on the troubadour culture that rose in Provence during the High Middle Ages, this panoramic, absorbing novel beautifully creates an alternate version of the medieval world. The matriarchal, cultured land of Arbonne is rent by a feud between its two most powerful dukes, the noble troubador Bertran de Talair and Urte de Miraval, over long-dead Aelis, lover of one, wife of the other and once heir to the country's throne. To the north lies militaristic Gorhaut, whose inhabitants worship the militant god Corannos and are ruled by corrupt, womanizing King Ademar. His chief advisor, the high priest of Corannos, is determined to irradicate the worship of a female deity, whose followers live to the south. Into this cauldron of brewing disaster comes the mysterious Gorhaut mercenary Blaise, who takes service with Bertran and averts an attempt on his life. The revelation of Blaise's lineage and a claim for sanctuary by his sister-in-law sets the stage for a brutal clash between the two cultures. Intertwined is the tale of a young woman troubadour whose role suggests the sweep of the drama to come.
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xicanti
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
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I puppysat goofy Cooper and his brothers last night. In between epic backyard play sessions and couch snuggles, they saw me into the homestretch with A SONG FOR ARBONNE. While I still like it, this reread has really hammered home Kay‘s failure to achieve his trademark balance between the personal and the political with this one. The plot feels a lot more important than the characters. Not a BAD thing, but also not really MY thing.

dabbe Hello there, cute-as-a-button Cooper! 🖤🐾🖤 13mo
30 likes1 comment
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xicanti
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
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It‘s been a very schnauzery week. Duffy just moved into an apartment after 11 years of house life and I babysat him on his first evening there sans mom.

He helped me with a huge chunk of A SONG FOR ARBONNE, a book I last read 16 years ago. I liked it a fair bit then but found it lacking next to Kay‘s other books, and it‘s much the same now. It reminds me of his Renaissance trio in structure, but he imbues those books with far more character.

dabbe Hello there, Darling Sleepy Duffy! 🖤🐾🖤 13mo
xicanti @dabbe he was out for the count after our looooong walk. 13mo
34 likes2 comments
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Purpleness
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
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eeclayton I love it when there's a map ☺️ 2y
DivineDiana So do I! @eeclayton 🙂 (edited) 2y
66 likes3 comments
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AllisonM89
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
Bailedbailed

#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks
Square 4

I think i have to finally accept that just because i absolutely love The Fionavar Tapestry, it doesn't mean I'll like the rest of GGK's books. His historical fiction books simply don't interest me and i have a whole bunch of them on my shelves it seems....

MsMelissa Oh, that‘s too bad. I loved this one. Funnily enough, I prefer his non-Fionavar Tapestry books. 4y
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 4y
9 likes2 comments
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BennettBookworm
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
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Mehso-so

I love Lions of Al-Rassan most of all. Tigana I loved even though it was darker. This definitely has shared qualities - poetic language, clever flashbacks, high drama between warring nations - that make it a telltale Kay epic. However, it was missing something for me! It was missing the profound love, friendship, and loyalty that defined his other two. It had a bit, but felt overshadowed by so much hatred and deception between the characters.

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twohectobooks
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
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Mehso-so

It‘s been years since I last read GGK and this book had me questioning everything. It‘s not that it‘s bad, it‘s just that it‘s... pretty basic? I didn‘t love it. I like to call Kay‘s work “emo fantasy” because 90% of the characters have more SORROW than anything else, and that‘s the case here for sure. It was just pretty slow and unremarkable. Got me curious about the troubadours at least.

Another one down for #BFCr2.

GrilledCheeseSamurai Swett cover though. 🤷‍♂️ 5y
twohectobooks @GrilledCheeseSamurai agreed! I can‘t stop staring at the woman singing in the foreground. 5y
Lucy_Anywhere I just finished River of Stars, and I low-key loved it but was also kind of bored by it...? 5y
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mcipher I LOVE the genre “emo fantasy” and would totally read it. 😆😆😆 5y
twohectobooks @Lucy_Anywhere yeah, I haven‘t read that one yet but his books in general are very slow-paced. I‘d recommend Tigana or the Sarantine Mosaic duology. I also have Lions of Al-Rassan on deck, which some people consider his best! 5y
twohectobooks @mcipher I haven‘t found any other authors who write it yet lol 5y
17 likes6 comments
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twohectobooks
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
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#TBRbingo update for July a couple days early. I read two books (from my bingo card, that is) and am one book away from getting a bingo! I‘m also not reading any of these books right now. Next up will be the Book Club #5 selection, and maybe Bastard Out of Carolina.

llwheeler What do you use to make this btw? I'm kinda tempted to try something like this... 5y
twohectobooks @llwheeler it‘s actually just a spreadsheet in Google Sheets! And then I screenshot and crop the image to post. It drives me crazy that it‘s not quite a perfect square but I haven‘t figured out how to fix it yet. 😅 5y
llwheeler Oh nice! Thanks! 😀 5y
20 likes3 comments
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twohectobooks
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
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I think it‘s gonna be more like #12in48 than #24in48, but that‘s ok!

Less than 70 pages to go in this one and I‘m feeling pretty optimistic that I‘ll be able to finish it by tonight.

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twohectobooks
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
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#24in48

Read a chapter or several in each of my three current reads and now it‘s time to take a break and go swimming. I doubt I‘ll make 24 hours but you never know!

As an aside, I‘d forgotten how slow paced GGK‘s books are. A Song for Arbonne isn‘t his best either. But I‘m looking forward to finishing it.

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twohectobooks
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
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#bedsidetablebooks for the first morning of #24in48. I‘ve been needing to catch up on a lot of sleep lately and having a hard time keeping my eyes open when I read before bed. Hoping to finish the tagged book sometime this weekend.

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twohectobooks
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
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#bfcr2 week 3 check in time! @wanderinglynn
I‘m doing this early today because the rest of the day will be devoted to my sister‘s wedding. As I suspected, this entire week has been a wash when it comes to reading and swimming. Much more visiting, eating, drinking, and preparing. Tonight I plan to cap it all off with a few hours of dancing. Three weeks left to get caught up. :)

Lucy_Anywhere No worries - life happens! Enjoy the wedding, and a good boogy definitely counts 💃 5y
DivineDiana Best wishes to your sister! Have fun! 👰🏻🤵 5y
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wanderinglynn A good week! 🙌🏻 Plus, all the wedding fun—best wishes to your sister & soon-to-be brother-in-law. ❤️ 5y
mcipher It sounds like a fun week and I‘m sure you got some incidental steps in running around getting ready! Have a fantastic day - weddings are so fun! ♥️ 5y
BeckyandBooks Have fun at the wedding and enjoy your family time!! 🥂💃🏻🕺🏼 5y
okthislooksbad Best wishes to the bride and groom! Hope you had a great time celebrating! (and dancing! 💃💃) 5y
21 likes7 comments
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Ruri_kaichou
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
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Sigh. Left - buddy read I should stay on top of. Right - dense fiction I've been reading for 2 months. Decisions for this bed time read. #BookwormProblems

Libby1 Which did you decide to read? 5y
Ruri_kaichou @Libby1 Arbonne. I have about a third of the book left so I want to get through it. Thankfully, it's a good book 😅 5y
Libby1 Great! Enjoy. 😊 5y
30 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Vinjii
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
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#andsoitbegins #firstlines A Song for Arbonne. Guy Gavriel Kay writes historical fiction but with a fantasy twist (so essentially alternative historical fiction.) This one is inspired by France and the troubadours.

46 likes2 stack adds
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CrinolineDream
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
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So many books, so little time. #WorldBookDay #tbr

EloisaJames I know which one I think you should read first! 😀 8y
CrinolineDream @EloisaJames I'm currently reading the Desperate Duchesses series, so it's at the top of the pile. 😎 8y
EloisaJames @CrinolineDream 🎉🎉🎉😘💕 8y
5 likes3 comments
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BarbaraJean
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
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I love it when I get a used book from the clearance shelf and it still has the price tag on it... next to the price I actually paid. What I love even more is that the original price on this one book is what I paid for my stack of ten books...

CherylDeFranceschi Borders sticker! 8y
BarbaraJean @CherylDeFranceschi I know--such nostalgia! 8y
20 likes2 comments
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Lindy
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
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Mehso-so

Decent, with large cast & complex political intrigue, but not his best. Rich setting - Arbonne is alternate 13th century Provence - is the best part. Culture of the warring northern realm Gorhaut reminded me unpleasantly of John Norman's Gor novels. Also, witty repartee during battle is one of my pet peeves.
Enjoyed audio narration by Euan Morton, complete with troubadour songs.

LorneGuyland I had a friend growing up who read the Gor novels, while I preferred Edgar Rice Burroughs. I understand John Norman wrote some very kinky, misogynist stuff. 8y
Soscha I read the Gor novels. Then I discovered the Anne Rice/Roquelaure Beauty books. Then I went straight to spanking porn. 😜 8y
22 likes2 comments
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Lindy
A Song for Arbonne | Guy Gavriel Kay
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I'm at about the midpoint in this historical fantasy set in an alternate 13th-century Provence. Took this long, but FINALLY I am hooked!

SaraFair This looks difficult, but I really love anything Provence! 8y
Lindy @SaraFair Not difficult if you are into political intrigue with a large cast. Setting is very rich, the best part of the novel. A little bit of magic, like flavouring. 8y
SaraFair Ok- will try sometime! @Lindy 8y
26 likes1 stack add3 comments