The Saffron Horn: A Novel of Minoan Crete
Set in the 16th century BCE on the island of Crete, Horn presents the very modern story of Liriya, a Minoan fisherman’s wife whose family life is overturned by the tsunami resulting from the eruption of the volcanic island of Thera, just to the north. The destruction of all boats in the region around Knossos has left her husband bitterly unemployed, and only Liriya’s mysterious new employment in the service of the high priestess is keeping the couple and their two children afloat, so to speak. Who has recommended her? We learn gradually about the event eleven years before that created a wedge between husband and wife. Its painful scars are about to be ripped open as temple life resurrects a ghost from Liriya’s past that threatens not only the happiness of this simple family, but also the very course of the theocratic kingdom of Knossos.
We know unfortunately little about the daily life of the Minoans, but the author has, for the most part, given us plausible reconstructions for just the right amount of local color. The only flat note for this reviewer was the names. The Minoan language has never really been deciphered, but we do have a handful of personal names. She uses none of them (not even that of the goddess Liriya worships) and instead makes up a wild variety of names with no linguistic coherence. This won’t bother a good many readers, and if you’re among that number, you will enjoy this familiar women’s story in fancy dress.
