By Fire, By Water by Mitchell James Kaplan
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2 (Loved)
Genre: Historical FictionBook Source: I received this book from the publicist in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis from publisher: Luis de Santangel, chancellor to the court and lifelong friend of the lusty King Ferdinand, has had enough of the Spanish Inquisition. As Inquisitor General Tomas de Torquemada’s power and influence over Queen Isabel grow, so does the brutality of the Spanish Church and the paranoia it inspires. When a dear friend’s demise brings the violence close to home, Santangel takes retribution into his own hands, though the risk is great. Santangel is from a family of converses, and his Jewish heritage makes him a target. Soon, he finds himself implicated in the murder of the first Chief Inquisitor of Aragon and in possession of a mysterious text that has brought death and discrimination to Jews for centuries.
As he witnesses the horrific persecution of his loved ones, he begins slowly to reconnect with the Jewish faith his family left behind. Feeding his curiosity about his past is his growing love for Judith Migdal, a clever and beautiful Jewish woman navigating the mounting tensions in Granada. While he struggles to decide what his reputation is worth and what he can sacrifice, one man offers him a chance he thought he’d lost … the chance to hope for a better world. Christopher Columbus has plans to discover a route to paradise, and only Luis de Santángel can help him.
Within the dramatic story lies a subtle, insightful examination of the crisis of faith at the heart of the Spanish Inquisition. Irresolvable conflict rages within the conversos in By Fire, By Water, torn between the religion they left behind and the conversion meant to ensure their safety. In this story of love, God, faith, and torture, fifteenth-century Spain comes to dazzling, engrossing life.
Review: The Spanish Inquisition that took place in the late 15th century is a historical subject that I wasn’t too familiar with before I devoured Kaplan’s book. It really described the three main religions during this era( Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) in such great detail, especially Christianity and Judaism.
By Fire, By Water is not a light read; however, it’s not impossible. One of the many reasons why I enjoyed this book so much was that it actually made me think. The story is mainly focused on Luis de Santángel, King Ferdinand’s chancellor, and his journey with trying to answer questions about his Jewish ancestry that he will later regret because not only does it lead to his own downfall, but it also causes him to lose some very important people in his life.
Kaplan did an outstanding job telling both sides of the story for both the Christians and the Jews. Before I read this book I knew little to nothing about the Jewish religion and found it to be a major eye opener to how they were treated back then. Everyone is familiar with the Jewish Holocaust and how the Jews were treated like animals instead of human beings. Well unfortunately, it was not so different for them back then either.
It’s obvious that Kaplan really researched this era and the Spanish Inquisition in order to make it so captivating. This was a great read that really opened my eyes to other religions and what they had to go through. I would recommend this book to any historical fiction reader. It’s a definite must read.
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