Author: Keith Roberts
Title: Pavane
Format: paperback
Pages: 242
Series: –
Pavane has been hailed as a masterpiece by writers as different as Neil Gaiman and G.R.R. Martin. It certainly has all the markings of a writers’ book, for those inspired by Roberts’s work are various and many (and even Pratchett might be among them). While it’s usually classified as alternate history, I rather agree with my library’s categorization – it’s a science fiction book, though the telltale signs are very subtle and few in number, limited mostly to the epilogue, called Coda. In a way, Roberts’s work reminded me strongly of Wolfe, although obviously it’s the other way round: Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun actually seems to have been guided to some extent by Pavane.
I will freely admit that it took me a while to get invested in this strange collection of linked stories, aptly described by Chris as structurally mimicking the stately Renaissance dance the book takes its name from. The title seems very fitting. The language is flowery and yet somehow rigid; the descriptions take forever but they have an inhospitable feel of something matter-of-fact, set once and then deemed unimportant. The pace is ponderous and every step seems slow and laden with grave consideration. Little of note happens, and when it does, it does so quickly and flittingly, and then is gone, almost as if it hadn’t happened at all. The atmosphere created by Roberts is vaguely oppressive: the tone dark and brooding, the fates of characters inescapable and invariably ending in death, and a deep sense of futility pervades everything. His world is an unforgiving one; stilted and largely unhappy, forced to accept a status quo unchanged for centuries, where any unprecedented thought runs a risk of being labelled heresy. Accordingly, Roberts’s characters are equally unhappy: they strain against the set limitations but are unable to break free, and frustration, resignation, anger and misery are their constant companions. None of the stories have a happy ending, and, as a result, the Coda’s ostensibly happy ending strikes me as false.
And yet there is a magnetic quality to these stories, in all of their depressing glory: for all of the protagonists are strong-willed and resilient, and very human in both their triumphs and defeats, in their moments of joy, however fleeting, and moments of despair. A special emphasis must be put on the female characters: Roberts created all of them: Margaret, Margaret, Becky and Eleanor as believable, realistic, and flawed. They are wilful and incredibly stubborn, and powerful in their own way, and more progressive than most female characters of today’s genre novels: they are human, ambiguous, and not stereotypical (bar the odd remarks about breasts, which I guess were supposed to be an indication of the scarcity of lingerie more than anything else). They might be even more interesting than their male counterparts, mostly because the world is even less hospitable to their sex than to the men: after all, Pavane depicts a world without Reformation, suspended in time of distorted Baroque like a fly in amber.
The stories of Pavane are set in a world where the catholic Church rules unopposed over the entire Earth; while I found the main cause of this turn of events rather unbelievable, and the whole setup equally implausible, with bits and pieces of progress accepted or persecuted on completely arbitrary grounds by the Church, the final effect was intriguing – if flawed. For reasons unexplained nor even alluded to steam is okay, but oil isn’t; telegraphs are sanctioned, but electricity is heresy. Inquisition still tortures people and exorcisms are an everyday occurence, monarchy is the default and coexists with rich aristocracy and even richer merchant caste but there is no academia nor banks, for example. With the rigid, self-contained description the reader is expected to simply accept the strictures imposed by the author, but I found it increasingly difficult to just suspend my disbelief and roll with it. If I were to find a novel with a somewhat similar premise but completely different set of guiding principles, I would point to Miller Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz (which, having been published nearly a decade earlier, might have been an inspiration for Pavane itself).
I guess my conflicted feelings about Pavane boil down to a difference of opinions between the author and me. A difference which is political in essence but which is rooted even deeper than ideological divisions: in the appraisal of progress itself. Roberts showcases his poor aborted world as a lesser evil mostly on the premise that evil can be quantified. I disagree. Justifying oppression by claiming that it touches fewer people is a risky argument by any moral or ethical standard. And while Roberts halfheartedly tried to nuance his view, showing the consequences, both good and bad, of the aborted social development in the stories, he totally abandoned the task in Coda and launched into an apologia of the Church as an authoritarian saviour of humanity. The Coda, for me, was the least convincing story of them all, and it’s a pity that it concluded the collection, because it left a somewhat sour taste in my mouth.
All in all, I’m actually quite happy that I read Pavane; I think it deserves better recognition, especially as a source of inspiration to later authors. There seems to be a long intergenerational discussion hidden in novels that both were inspired by Roberts’s book and that inspired Pavane – and this discussion might be more interesting than Pavane itself. It’s a valuable, intriguing and thought-provoking novel, certainly; but masterpiece I would call it not ;).
Lastly, for those who would be tempted to read this book, I suggest picking the Old Earth Books edition (cover above) with a couple of illustrations by the author: the painting are indeed striking and very aptly depict the mood of the stories.
Score: 7/10
Re-enchantment Of The World 
I had never heard of this. Quite interesting. But I don’t think I’ll be giving it a go. A canticle for L was more than enough for me and I couldn’t stand Wolfe, so I have a feeling I wouldn’t like this one bit.
It is interesting how “influencing” books seem to disappear under the weight of more famous works that spring from them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I guess finding the right idea is a feat in itself 🙂 and getting others to riff off it, or dispute it, get immersed in it, is an achievement. But the prototypes everywhere are often a bit faulty 😉
It’s not a light read, that’s for sure ;). Interesting, though! But I have a feeling you wouldn’t like it indeed 😉
LikeLiked by 2 people
I adored Pavane’s craft but the medievalist in me struggles with alternate histories… especially which attempt to recreate “the medieval” in a later era. I great text for a “medievalism” article though!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh yeah. I haven’t written much about these inconsistencies because the review would have become waaay too long, but absolutely – the strange ideas about Middle Ages and how some would arbitrarily disappear while others would persist were quite baffling.
Thanks for commenting!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I bring up my medieval history complaints in my review of the similarly “ersatz-medieval” British post-apocalyptic novel The Road to Corlay (!978) by Richard Cowper. https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2019/04/01/book-review-the-road-to-corlay-richard-cowper-1978/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great review, thanks for the link! (WP did something weird, logged me out and I couldn’t comment under your review)
There seems to exist this weird pull of fairy-tale medieval stereotype, especially in SFF. After reading Pavane I realized how many authors followed Roberts and approached the idea of cyclical time very literally, up to erasing nearly all memory of the past, just to get this invented oppresive feudal system that has nothing to do with real Middle Ages. Looks like even Corlay followed the same route. Do you by any chance have an inkling who started this trend?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hm. I see that you liked the post which suggests you’re logged in. I dunno!
As for your question, I’m not sure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was able to like your post without any problems but then when I tried to comment WP asked me for all the credentials, name, email, etc. and I don’t even remember the email address for the blog…😔
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve only ever heard good things about this book! I’m intrigued. Alt history isn’t my favourite genre but I have put it on the list.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s more of a sci-fi in Wolfe style (though it’s the other way round, sigh ;)) than alt-history. It’s interesting if flawed – but definitely worth a read, even just for the pleasure of finding what books were inspired by it 😀
LikeLike
Great review!
I’m intrigued too, never heard of it. On the other hand, I think I’d have severe problems with church oppression apologetics, so I’m on the fence. Either way, thanks for bringing it to my attention.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Bart!
I might be more sensitive to this topic than most, tbh – not many reviews even mention this aspect. It certainly presents a very Hobbesian (and ironically enough, Calvinist) view of human nature, and on this basis (fallibility of human nature) seems rather opposed to the idea of progress. But I think you as a Wolfe fan would be interested in this book, particularly because Pavane seems like a big inspiration for Wolfe.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Could be, but since you have mentioned it, it will be hard to unsee these things.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Heh, well, there is that. I’m still quite optimistic that you’d enjoy this book, nonetheless. It’s really the ending that ideologically spoils the whole (while improving it narratively), but now forewarned you’re forearmed as well 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good to know, thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A thoughtful and thought-provoking review, thanks. I enjoyed the characterisation in this (the females especially, as you say), the sustained melancholia, the obvious love for mechanical devices like traction engines and semaphore. I never worried too much about the unlikely anachronisms though – weird, as those things often bother me! – happy to go with the atmospheric writing. It’s definitely curious, however, a pinch of science fantasy, a soupçon of uchronia, plus a mashup of medieval, Renaissance, Jacobean, and Industrial Revolution period details which doesn’t really bear analysis.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Chris! 😀
Well, I guess some of Roberts’s choices in his Medieval/Renaissance/Baroque/Modern mashup were dictated more by ideology than historical knowledge 😉 I guess I was very much invested in the characters and willing to overlook the anachronisms up till the Coda, which, skilfully from the purely writing perspective but rather dismally from the worldbuilding/ideas point of view, upended the expectations and revealed the whole to be a sci-fi more than a character-driven novel. Ah, the blessed selective blindness of ideologues 😉
Thank you for your recommendation of this book, Chris, as it spurred me to read it, and a thought-provoking read it was! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
What an intriguing review! While on one side I’m bothered by what you describe as ponderous pace and oppressive atmosphere, on the other I’m attracted by the book’s thought-provoking quality, so I guess I will have to think about it for a while. But still… 😉
Thanks for sharing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for reading! 😀
If you decide to give it a go one day I’ll be very curious of your thoughts on it, Maddalena! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
How do you even track down these obscure books that might have been the reason we even have some of the more renowned classics today???? Stunning review as always, Ola. I don’t know how you choose your words so perfectly. I envy your writing style. 😀 I will definitely love to give this a try someday just to understand the influence it might have had on other beloved stories that are far more known today. Thanks for sharing! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Recommendations! 🤣
It’s so cool, though, seeing the ripples such books leave in their wake. I was really surprised to realize how many authors followed Roberts’s ideas, from Pratchett to Abercrombie, to Tchaikovsky.
Thank you, Lashaan, you’re very kind! 😀
It’s an interesting book, that’ for sure. I have a feeling it will stay with me for a while.
Thanks for reading!!! 😀
LikeLike
Entire world suffering the total rule of Catholic Church… so, a horror story. I’m tentatively adding it to my list, but near the end, I still have a lot of Wolfe to read through.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Heh, it would be right up your alley… all the way up to Coda 😉 Then, you’d tear it in half 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Favourite media of 2022 – Re-enchantment Of The World