![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Hantover’s best and subtlest move is the way he uses Abraham’s devout faith to lend the story plausibility. Abraham subsequently takes a path that leads to his falling in love with tragedy-touched Mya, who is shunned when her betrothed dies in prenuptial revelry while she’s with Abraham. He finally relents when he realizes that performing this “service” is necessary if his business is to flourish-it may even help preserve his life. Worse, Abraham learns this only when a young woman, perfumed with the finest unguents, arrives on his doorstep. More immediately, Abraham discovers a native custom he finds bizarre and repellent: The Peguans believe that a foreigner should take the maidenhead of the region’s brides-to-be. The king is a cruel and impetuous tyrant, for one thing. The merchandise is exquisite, and he’s assigned a savvy broker who knows a smattering of Italian despite cultural and religious differences, they embark on a friendship. In cultural journalist Hantover’s first novel, a young Venetian Jew, recently widowed, spends 1598-99 in the Burmese kingdom of Pegu, acquiring gems and rediscovering, by way of an unusual cultural custom, his ability to love.Ībraham’s business in lush, lovely Pegu begins auspiciously. ![]()
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