Review of "The Convert" by Stefan Hertmans

 

Well written historical novel, set in the eleventh century, about a young Norman aristocratic girl who meets a young Jewish man studying at the yeshivah in Rouen, falls in love and runs away with him to convert to Judaism and marry. It's well told, so that this almost inconceivable event - which is, as explained, based on a true story - feels plausible. There's lots of great detail, especially of the settings in southern France, and later in Egypt.

There's a split narrative going on, with the author describing his own journey across the places in the text and how he comes to write the book. I didn't like that so much, but in the end it turns out to have been more or less indispensable.

The setting in historic Provence reminded me of Langue[dot]doc 1305, which isn't really at all similar, but evoked some of the same feelings, especially from the landscape descriptions. My review of that here.