The Book of Saladin: A Novel (The Islam Quintet) Paperback – July 7, 2015

Using a fictional narrator in the form of the great Sultan's scribe, Tariq Ali pieces together a brilliant mosaic of the life of the Saladin (Salah al-Din or if you prefer, Yusuf al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub). The Jewish scribe, Ibn Yakub, is meant to faithfully record everything the Sultan says and does. Given that Salah al-Din is about to embark on the 12th century jihad to expel the 'Franj' (their term for the Franks or Crusaders) from al-Kuds (Jerusalem), the scribe finds himself witness to many great events; war councils, battles, celebrations, and sorrows.Salah al-Din also spins out his life's story from a wild Kurdish boyhood in Tikrit, through his uncle's rise to power under Nur-ad-Din, and the Sultan's own gradual consolidation of power. The tale is given added spice by his (fictional) great friend and counselor Shadhi, who adds some bawdy details that the Sultan omits. The book explores life in and around the Sultan's court and includes several historical characters such as the Sultan's brothers and nephews, and the scholar-poet and official secretary Imad Al Din. Of necessity Ali invents the female characters, in particular, Halima and Jalima, two members of the harem, but their portrayal rings true.Ali's book is not a history of the battles - descriptions of fighting are generally sparse. Instead, Ali concentrates on the preoccupations of the Sultan and his inner circle - their thinking, feeling, and talking about jihad, food, sex, religion. The Sultan eventually bemoans the fickle devotion to the jihad of the Islamic peoples and their leaders.A wonderfully readable book of an important figure and time in history. That the story is told from the Muslim view only makes it all the more valuable to Western readers.

If you're looking for a history or for lots of facts (or factoids) to dazzle friends or acquaintances, keep looking. If you are seeking some truth about Salah al-Din, concealed under a veil of fiction and from which you will need to decide for yourself where the real truth and meaning lies, you may enjoy this book. The cloak is the salacious and occasionally crude references to harem goings-on and the appetites of certain court members, and what I suppose would be considered local color. But there is some truth here too and some illumination. I really liked the book. Perhaps you may too. It was so engaging for me that it was hard to put down, made the more intriguing by the honesty and humanity of the narrator of the story, the scribe Ibn Yacub (who is a Jew and friend of Maimonides) and the character of Salah al-Din, the Sultan, who seems to be surrounded by friends family rivals and enemies- and who is what can change with amazing rapidity. The reason why the Sultan dies a natural death is because his basic goodness attracts a lot more good people to his circle than otherwise, but he dies too soon, exhausted by infighting among his supporters and the loss of too many friends. But you can't keep a good man down which is why we've been fascinate with him for 800 years. And counting.

An adventure into the past. Having read In the "Shadow of the Mango Tree" & enjoying it, I decide to try another of Ali's books. He is a wonderful writer who pulls you in to the history & adventure of the past.Recommend

Perhaps the best historical fiction novel I have read. Was transported to another era and exposed to the towering figure Salah ad-Din (Saladin). Ali is a beautiful yet accessible writer.

War, it is said, is long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. If we over-extend the analogy to "The Book of Saladin," Tariq Ali might have been too true to life.Mr Ali delivers a well-told tale of everyday life in the palace - eating habits, personal values and beliefs, personality quirks - and spices it up with political/religious ambition and sexual intrigue. It's all quite subtly delivered. To his credit, Mr Ali does not attempt to become a romance writer or military novelist, leaving most of the "action" off-screen. Everyday life, though, even with a sultan in the middle of it, can be quite a drag. The moments of suspense and conflict are too few and far between to make this story more than just OK.While the reader gets a good look at the man (and his entourage) behind the myth and legend that is Saladin, I never established a bond with any of the characters like I did in the first book of the Islam Quintet. In "Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree," Mr Ali does a very good job of grabbing the reader's attention using the same literary techniques on display here. Unfortunately, he was unable to repeat in Book 2.The life and times of Saladin deserved better.

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I'd heard of Tariq Ali as a political animal and didnt know what to expect. I was surprised. This book is written in style, almost like a story your mother might have told you when putting you to pbed, except of course no mother would read a child this particular story so full of life, sex and death.The story of how a man through sheer force of will united the squabbling emirs to re-take Jerusalem (Al-Kuds) is breath-taking. I kept on putting off my job, my family until I could finish this book.It is not a history book. It is a heroic tale - one which deserves to be told over and over again. Highly recommended.

This is a very human novel. Its a simple story of peoples lives, their day to day problems and concerns, their loves and losses. It is so easy to read like a soap opera where you are drawn into wanting to know what happens next. The fact that the concerns of the characters include a jealous lesbian whose lover has been sleeping with a eunuch, planning the strategy of the crusade against the infidels or political letter writing are made to seem matter of fact. The easy style of writing however hides an eternal truth which is that human nature doesn't change over time and one can always learn from the experience of human interaction.An excellent evocation of a slice of human life and an easy and enjoyable read. My only critisism is that the novel is relatively expensive - and therefore doesn't have the wide distribution accorded to other far less worthy tomes.

Enjoyable! Great characters and a really interesting story.

A beautifully written piece. Tariq Ali transports you back to a time in world history that is all to easily forgotten. He presents this fascinating era in such a way as to have contemporary relavance.