Without giving away the plot, suffice to say that she has a rough time of it. For all that the novel bears her name, in this plot-driven novel, Fatima isn’t a fully-fledged character: she’s a beautiful woman doomed to be alluring to men who seek to possess her. The title refers both to a forbidden religious symbol and Fatima’s hand in marriage. Certainly the women in The Hand of Fatima do. Women especially seem to bear the brunt of these religious wars.
The imposition of one religion over another seems especially pertinent at the moment as ISIS advances on Baghdad, bringing its triumphant medieval caliphate to one Iraqi city after another. What elevates The Hand of Fatima above the ordinary is its subject matter: the expulsion of the Moors by the triumphant Christians Cathedral of the Sea apparently involves the Inquisition in 14th century Spain and its treatment of the Jews. Judging by The Hand of Fatima and the blurb about Cathedral of the Sea Falcones is interested in historical religious conflict as well as the usual staples of blockbusters (love, betrayal, war, injustice, see–sawing fortune and human frailty). Nearly 900 pages long, it’s a blockbuster, successor to Falcones’ European bestseller Cathedral of the Sea.
The Hand of Fatima is a sprawling historical novel, set in 17th century Spain when the Christians had defeated the Moors.
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