HarperCollins, July 2008
In Alexander and Alestria, Shan Sa (Empress, 2003) draws upon the legend of Alexander the Great. A thousand stories have sprung up telling of his beauty, his strength, his battle-tested prowess, his subjugation of the known world, his death. We know his parents, his generals, his taming of the great horse Bucephelus. We know his sexual relationships.
But, who is Alestria, and who are these Amazons? Adam of Bremen wrote in his 11th Century Descriptions of the Islands of the North that the Amazons gave birth to male children with heads of dogs. That's a bit too fanciful for this superb novel. Most of us know the Amazons from the Greek myths, which said they were descended from Ares, the god of war, and Harmonia, a sea nymph. According to various stories, they lived anywhere from the Eastern Mediterranean to beyond the borders of present day Iraq.
In Alexander and Alestria, Shan Sa (Empress, 2003) draws upon the legend of Alexander the Great. A thousand stories have sprung up telling of his beauty, his strength, his battle-tested prowess, his subjugation of the known world, his death. We know his parents, his generals, his taming of the great horse Bucephelus. We know his sexual relationships.
But, who is Alestria, and who are these Amazons? Adam of Bremen wrote in his 11th Century Descriptions of the Islands of the North that the Amazons gave birth to male children with heads of dogs. That's a bit too fanciful for this superb novel. Most of us know the Amazons from the Greek myths, which said they were descended from Ares, the god of war, and Harmonia, a sea nymph. According to various stories, they lived anywhere from the Eastern Mediterranean to beyond the borders of present day Iraq.
Shan Sa weaves her own mythology in order to create the back story for Alestria, a woman warrior who meets Alexander in battle and falls in love with him. Raised by wild mares on the steppes of Siberia, she is adopted by a tribe of women who live a completely democratic life. Like all young girls she is trained in every aspect of combat and educated to defend to the death their land of snow and volcano.
Sa also creates an expanded and new mythology for Alexander. The familiar elements are here: his love for boys; his physical beauty and strength; Bucephalus; and his myriad military victories. But, we also "learn" that his mother dressed him as a girl and taught him the traditional ways of the female. There were many horses named Bucephelus. Most importantly, he fell in love with this wild warrior woman from the cold steppes. In this new version, Alexander does not die from wounds or disease, as the various "histories" have it.
Sa also creates an expanded and new mythology for Alexander. The familiar elements are here: his love for boys; his physical beauty and strength; Bucephalus; and his myriad military victories. But, we also "learn" that his mother dressed him as a girl and taught him the traditional ways of the female. There were many horses named Bucephelus. Most importantly, he fell in love with this wild warrior woman from the cold steppes. In this new version, Alexander does not die from wounds or disease, as the various "histories" have it.
This is a Romance in the Medieval tradition. The very title recalls Tristan und Isolt or Aucassin and Nicolette, for example. In the first instance, both Alexander and Alestria are conflicted over their decision to follow their passion or their duty. In the second instance, both are searching for a kind of Holy Grail: for Alexander, this is dominion over the world; for Alestria, it is the continued healthy growth of her country. Facts are there but they never stand in the flow of a good story. There are no dragons flying through the air, but one feels that out of this unfamiliar world anything could happen. Here the flowery language that would seem so inappropriate and outmoded in a modern novel fits exactly and conjures the very sense of out-of-world experience that fits a tale of long ago. Shan Sa's epigraph is an immediate harbinger of a different style of fiction: "You are the flame of this unfinished life / You are the glory of an invincible warrior."
Shan Sa is also an accomplished painter, now based in Paris. The Marlborough Gallery in New York City just completed an exhibition (July 24 – August 8, 2008) of her paintings related to this new novel. The press release noted that her "paintings depict the cavalry charges, tribesmen, exotic plants and wild animals of Asia during Alexander's time. In this series, she seeks to portray the historical fusion of East and West through the fusion of Eastern and Western colors." How nice it would have been to have seen a sampling of these paintings as illustrations of the magnificent word pictures she has drawn.
Born in Beijing, Shan Sa, according to her official biographical information, began writing at age 7. Her first poems, essays, and short stories were published at when she was 8. She moved to Paris in 1990 and worked for the painter Balthus. Her first two novels won the Goncourt and Cazes prizes.
Born in Beijing, Shan Sa, according to her official biographical information, began writing at age 7. Her first poems, essays, and short stories were published at when she was 8. She moved to Paris in 1990 and worked for the painter Balthus. Her first two novels won the Goncourt and Cazes prizes.
