#BlogTour Trobairitz The Storyteller by Celia Micklefield

 

Today it's my turn and the last day on the BlogTour Trobairitz The Storyteller by Celia Micklefield.

About the Author

''After living in Languedoc for nine years I returned to Norfolk where I live surrounded by beautiful countryside and wildlife. I'm ageing faster than I used, but I've still got ambitions.

My website is celiamicklefield.com where I write about reading, writing, living with CRPS and other things that take my fancy. Come and visit - the door is always open.

I'm on Twitter @cmicklefield. I have a Celia Micklefield Author page on FaceBook. Buy Trobairitz The Storyteller'

About the book

Trobairitz were female troubadours of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. They brought news and sang songs about love, tradition and the role of women in society.

Feisty truck driver, Weed, a twenty first century Trobairitz never gives personal details to other drivers. She avoids the intimacy of real friendship. 

Instead, she entertains the truckers by telling the story of ex-courtesan, seventy-six year old Catherine Joubert and the mysterious hold she has over young mayor, Henri-Claude Noilly and his grandfather.

Weed's themes are those of the original Trobairitz but these are the very subjects causing problems in her own life.

Review

Weed is a woman in a so-called man's job, which is why she finds it hard to get recognition and respect. Friendship is hard to come by when you are dismissed because of your gender. Those problems are easily forgotten when she finally manages to make a connection here and there.

The weaver of tales, the wanderer who brings news and stories from afar and across the land. Most people believe there were only male Troubadours, but there were also women who wove stories and they are known as the Trobairitz.

The way the author spins the web of words and slowly draws the listener in, whilst giving us the more modern narrative of the read at the same time, was really interesting. As the story moves on - the how, why and craft of weaving a story is explained throughout the story of Weed. Her life, her problems, her doubts and her thoughts are used as the thread that binds.

It's a beautifully crafted and yet also a complex story - more contemporary literary fiction than anything else. I found it fascinating how the voice of the narrative changed as we are taken from present to fiction, despite the fact it was always the same person. You can feel the change, the buzz in the air and know the audience is leaning in to listen.

It's an intriguing concept of truth and fiction, of connection and rejection, and ultimately one that speaks to the magic and mysteries of verbal storytelling.

Buy Trobairitz The Storyteller at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; pub date 23 Nov. 2014. Buy at Amazon com.