From this novel I learned:
THE WORLD HISTORY
– About creation of the state of Canada, about exploration of its lands by adventurous British capitalists, about the history of relationships between Great Britain and Spain and the New World, about the struggle for survival the Canadian Indians carried on in the past and keep carrying on in the present;
SOCIOLOGY & CULTURE
– About views and cultural traditions of the Canadian Indians, the British and Spanish aristocracy, the Canadian and British politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen. About Britain’s and Canada’s attitude towards the idea of a multinational state, which tends to preserve the cultures of its nations rather then put them into a “melting pot” called “assimilation”;
RELIGION & PHILOSOPHY
– About beliefs and rituals of the plains Indians in Canada, about the difference between the Catholic and the Anglican Churches, about Christianity – through the eyes of a pagan and about paganism – through the eyes of a Christian, about first Indian Christian Saint, about activities of the Jesuit Order in the past and in the present, about unorthodox beliefs like the “natural priesthood” and ancient sacred places like Rollright Stones;
POLITICS
– About traditions and approaches used by Great Britain and Canada in domestic and foreign policy, about large political campaign, deployed by the Canadian Indians in London in 1982 when the Canadian constitution was being discussed in the British Parliament;
PSYCHOLOGY
– About a young Englishman and his Indian contemporary searching for their vocations and trying to orient themselves in life, about forming the national self-consciousness of those young men, about the transfer of experience from the old generation to the young, about the idea of honor and duty of the different nations and of course about romantic relationship between the characters of the novel.One of the most exciting features of the book is that it contains a comparative analysis of all the above mentioned aspects from the points of view of all the parties involved. Several distinctive characters – a young English aristocrat, his parents – the English Earl and the Spanish Countess, a wise Indian elder, a charming and intelligent Indian girl, an Indian Medicine woman, an inquisitive Spanish Jesuit and an “old Indian hand” Canadian bureaucrat – each with his or her own philosophy and experience – clash on the battlefield called LIFE.
In spite of the fact that behind every scene of the novel one can feel the author’s great erudition and experience, the novel is not at all an academic treatise, but a thrilling narration. It is full of human emotions and it won’t leave the reader indifferent. The author holds the audience to the last page.
I am a bit envious of you, the future reader. A great pleasure and wonderful experience that you will get from reading this book will stay with your for life.