Nottingham

Nottingham by Nathan Makaryk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book.
Wow. This book was not at all what I was expecting. But I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a retelling of the Robin Hood legend, but to just label it as that would be great disservice. This novel explores how legends are created, how politics work--on a global scale and on an individual one, how people's opinions are formed and how that motivates their actions, and how there never really is "a bad guy" and "a good guy."
The book begins with Richard the Lionheart on his Crusade, and then we discover how Robin of Locksley and his good friend William de Wendenal fit into that picture. Back in England, the reader sees how one woman trying help those who are "less fortunate" leads to Robin and William being sent back home. Neither one wants to leave their king and the Crusade, but once they arrive back in the place where Robin grew up, they find themselves drawn into local conflicts until they have created a knot it will be impossible to untangle. Along the way the reader meets the Sheriff of Nottingham, Guy of Gisborne, Maid Marion, Prince John, and many of the "Merry" Men, including Little John and Will Scarlet. By the end of the book the reader has a version of Robin Hood that has been picked apart and turned on its head, and will leave the reader satisfied and yet feeling almost bereaved.
By looking at events and situations from several different narrators and points-of-view, the reader truly sees everything from all sides. It is apparent how one person's seemingly inconsequential little mistake can have massive repercussions. The reader sees how one person can believe he or she is absolutely in the right and chooses a course of action because of that, but yet how anther person can view those actions as entirely wrong. I personally found almost all of the characters to be sympathetic, and it was easy to see how and why they believed their actions were justified.
This was a long book, but it needs to be a long book. Taking one period of history and making it a microcosm of politics in general requires time, attention, and detail. I never once felt that the book was too long or that things were too drawn-out or boring.
The book was not perfect. There were some anachronisms and things that couldn't have happened in 1191. But it did not take away from the story of my enjoyment of the book.
This book really made be think about people--their beliefs and motivations--and how that influences their decision-making and their actions. No one in this book is completely right, and no one is completely wrong. Even the one or two characters who don't have many redeeming qualities have one or two moments when they do the "right" thing.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys history or politics. Or how politics can affect and "create" history. This was a great book.


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