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A Dirge for Prester John: Book 1
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Description edit
This is the story of a place that never was: the kingdom of Prester John, the utopia described by an anonymous, twelfth-century document which captured the imagination of the medieval world and drove hundreds of lost souls to seek out its secrets, inspiring explorers, missionaries, and kings... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Quotes edit
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“I stared at my precious three books with the eyes of a starving child -- could I not somehow devour them all at once and know their contents entire? Unfair books. You require so much time! Such a meal of the mind is a long, arduous feast indeed.”
Hiob von Luzern -
“Of course, it is part of the duty of a nurse to disappoint her charges as much as possible. Children must practice disappointment when they are young, so that when they are grown, it will not go so hard with them.”
Imtithal the Panoti -
“You are a beast, and do not have a soul. Worse, you seem to be a sort of plant as well. What purpose could there be in ministering to you?”
Prester John -
“So when I say I loved John the Priest, it does not mean I did not love Astolfo, or Hadulph, or Catacalon, or Iqama who came after John. Love is a fish: it grows as large as its vessel, and I -- and all of us -- were vast.”
Hagia the Blemmye -
“Once, I remember, I told John of the red lion's god. He expressed amazement that they would worship an antelope, and I said: They think you childish, that you insist your god looks just like you. That is how a baby thinks, because she has only her parents to protect her, so all the power in the universe bears her own face.”
Hagia the Blemmye
First Sentence edit
John, priest by the almighty power of God and the might of our Lord Jesus Christ, king of kings and Lord of Lords, to his friend Emanuel, Prince of Constantinople: Greetings, wishing him health, prosperity, and the continuance of divine favor.
Series & Lists edit
This is book 1 of 3 in A Dirge for Prester John. (standard series)
Followed by The Folded World.
Authors & Contributors edit
- Catherynne M. Valente (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Country: U.S.A.
Publication Date: November 2010
ISBN: 9781597801997
Page Count: 269
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Country: U.S.A.
Publication Date: November 2010
ISBN: 9781597801997
Page Count: 269
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 813
Subjects edit
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