…a great book…Despite the intricate plot, The Road to Jerusalem is a surprisingly understated book overall. Skillfully written and translated, it's detailed, but sparingly so…[Guillou] has a remarkable grasp of the mind-set of the period and always puts the emphasis where it would be for the people involved at that time, rather than ours. Some readers may find that disorienting, but a capacity for disturbing readers' assumptions is even more a hallmark of good historical fiction than the inclusion of the Knights Templar.
—The Washington Post
Guillou has enjoyed smashing success in Sweden and Europe with his Crusades Trilogy, but American readers may be disappointed in this slow-starting first volume, which, for all its complexity and intriguing premise, doesn't get anywhere near the Holy Land. The epic kicks off in 1150 Sweden with the birth of Arn Magnusson, the second son of a minor nobleman. Arn is sent to a cloister where monks teach him to read, write and work hard. But Brother Guilbert, a former Knight Templar who fought in the crusades, also teaches Arn horsemanship, archery and swordplay. During Arn's training, his family is involved with court intrigues, treachery and war. Arn, meanwhile, commits cardinal sins and is excommunicated and ordered to serve as a Knight Templar. However, by the book's close, he's no closer to Jerusalem than he was when he was born (though a lot of colorful medieval Swedish history has been presented). Perhaps the next two volumes will be more focused and exciting. (May)
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Adult/High School—This novel not only tells one man's story, but Sweden's as well. Christianity was still a new religion to this region in the 1100s, and it is through the protagonist's experiences that readers see how cultures clash, merge, and change. Saved from certain death by the grace of God and the promise of his mother to give him to the Church, young Arn Magnusson is sent to be raised by the monks of Varnhem. He is taught all the monastic skills and learns archery, swordplay, and horsemanship. His exceptional talent in all of these areas makes it clear that Arn's vocation lies outside the monastery. And so he is sent home. Right from the start he falls prey to the greed, lust, and politics of common people. Every action he takes directs his destiny and creates the circumstances that force him and his true love, Cecilia, into 20 years of penance and sets him literally on the road to Jerusalem as a Knights Templar. The politics are challenging and tribal life is described within the context of its time. Offer this book to students who are interested in big, fat historical novels, who like to ponder big ideas, for whom discussions about Christian theology would be intriguing, or who are interested in military fiction and strategy. The Swedish names can be confusing, but the maps, plus the list of characters, help to sort things out.—Connie Williams, Kenilworth Jr. High, Petaluma, CA
A young boy grows to manhood in medieval Sweden in the first volume of The Crusades Trilogy, the second of Guillou's many Swedish novels to be published in the United States (Enemy's Enemy, 1993). In the year of our Lord 1150, Sigrid, wife of Magnus of Western Gotaland, is great with child when she has a holy vision of a young man bearing a shield marked with a red cross. Moved, Sigrid donates her inheritance to the Cistercian monks, incidentally buying the good favor of the king and persuading her husband to move to the monks' more profitable estate. Five years later, her child, Arn, falls from a great height. After he lies apparently dead for hours, the Cistercians' prayers resurrect him. In gratitude, Sigrid and Magnus promise their son to God, and he is subsequently turned over to monks. In an abbey, the young Arn is raised in all innocence, brilliantly skilled in French, Latin, archery and swordsmanship, the archetype of the perfect knight. But when they release this cloistered child into the world as a man, he knows neither the scheming politics of feudal ties nor his own strength. Arn must wade through the violence and greed of the clans of Scandinavia in order to find God's plan for him, his road to Jerusalem. A resolutely medieval world-bleak, hidebound, saturated with religious faith, full of both miracles and almost untraceably complex political intrigue-but one shaped with enough compassion and skill to appeal to contemporary readers, who will be eagerly awaiting the next volume of the saga.
