Knowledge of Angels takes place on Graninsula, a Mediterranean Island similar to Majorca, in the late Middle Ages. The author says that she based the story partially on the story of the Maid of Châlons, the story of which may or may not be true.

The characters are varied: Severno, Prince of Graninsula and Catholic Cardninal; his friend, Beneditx, who is a teacher at the monastic college; Pallinor, a stranger from Aclar who does not believe in God; Fra Murta, an inquisitor; Jaime, a shepherd; Josepha, novice at the convent of Sant Clara, and a feral child raised by wolves and named Amara.
Inevitably this mix heads quickly to disaster as Severno tried to prove to Pallinor that there is a God. Beneditz has many theological conversations with Pallinor which are a highlight of the book. In the end, there are many threads left dangling. Will Amara be OK? Is the thread of smoke from the bonfire? Are the ships that she sees from the mountaintop from Aclar, too late to save Pallinor?

A disturbing book but well worth reading ( )

This is one of those rare novels with a perfect balance of symbolism, theme, character and narrative. It's the only novel I've read where my pulse has started to beat faster when the ontological argument made an appearance, or indeed, where it makes any appearance at all. It would be of particular interest to anyone who has either proselytised or been proselytised at. That said, I read it first before it was done to me and the magic of it has stayed with me all these years. ( )

Everything a book should be. I was captivated by it. ( )

It's funny how sometimes you end up reading two books back to back that turn out to be about the same thing, and in my case that 'thing' is the dramatic shift from Medieval to Renaissance Europe. 'Knowledge of Angels' isn't technically a historical novel -- it's set on an island 'somewhat like Mallorca, but not Mallorca, at a time somewhat like 1450, but not 1450'. I have to say this note at the beginning won me over almost immediately, and gives the whole novel the air of a fable. The island in question, that isn't Mallorca, is a richly imagined medieval Mediterranean society, with olive groves and wine, and fishermen sleeping in the sun, and whitewashed churches, and simple peasant folk. Everything is disrupted by two, perhaps three, outsiders, firstly, a castaway called Palinor who comes from a more enlightened society where one may believe what they like, and who personally declares himself an atheist, and secondly an orphan girl, Amara, raised by wolves. And the Inquisition -- once that turns up from Rome you know you're in trouble!

The best parts of this book are the philosophical debates at the centre between Palinor and the island's most eminent religious teacher Beneditx, and between them, as Palinor, an engineer, slowly fixes fountains and machinery to make life easier for the working peasants. I found Amara's story a little harder to fix on to but I enjoyed her among the nuns -- a proper cat among the pigeons! This is a novel of ideas rather than characters or setting and yet both shine, I can tell they'll stay with me for a long while.

This is the second of my Santathing presents this year, and I'm so grateful, I'm really glad I've read this book. ( )

One of my favourite books, Knowledge of Angels isn't strictly speaking a historical novel - it doesn't have a precise enough location and date for that - but it uses a vividly-described, idyllic Mediterranean island, teetering on the edge of the Renaissance, as the setting for a compelling fable about faith, tolerance and understanding. The isolated island of Grandinsula is a devout country, ruled by its gentle and humane cardinal-prince, Severo; but the story begins with two discoveries which will bring Severo to question the religion he has always taken for granted as the highest, purest truth. One of these discoveries is a feral child, raised by wolves, with next to nothing of the human left about her. The other discovery is a shipwrecked stranger, rescued from the sea: a man from a distant country, who claims to be an atheist. Both of these people force Severo - and his friend, the learned scholar Benedictx - to consider the limits and causes of religion. More to the point, Severo realises that he has the makings of a perfect experiment. If this feral child can be taught to speak, in seclusion, away from all talk of God or religion - and if, despite this, she gives a sign that she is aware of some greater power than herself - he can prove that knowledge of God is innate to the human soul. If so, he has proof that atheism is a bitter heresy - turning against the knowledge of the divine which is implanted into the soul at the moment of birth. While Severo's agents tame the child and try to reclaim her for humanity, Severo and Benedictx commit themselves to the attempted conversion of the atheist - only to find that this man, Palinor, is as articulate, intelligent and persuasive in his atheism as they themselves are in their faith.

This isn't a long book and yet it needs to be savoured, wallowed in, enjoyed. It is a dazzling tapestry of philosophy, theology and psychology, in which Paton Walsh broaches issues that are even more relevant today than they were in 1994 when the book was first published. Simply but beautifully written, with a handful of main characters whose compassion and humanity make them deeply memorable, it is a very powerful and moving meditation upon the nature of goodness and, even more broadly, what it is that makes us human. Very highly recommended.

For the full review, which contains even more superlatives (did I mention it was one of my favourite books?!), please see here:

http://theidlewoman.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/knowledge-of-angels-jill-paton-walsh.... ( )