The author, Ian Roberts, gave me a copy of this novel in exchange for my review.


“Old Bones” is smart fiction. Roberts' true strength shines in the narrative of the novel and is perhaps one of the few cases where I can’t imagine the author showing us events as effective as telling us. On top of its educational aspect, Roberts presents his readers with social and moral conundrums of the day in the unlikely pairing of the Jewish and Catholic families.

On Page 43 of the novel, Yaakov Burim says that “(Jews should know that) History is a long game.” The simple wisdom of that statement and the way it played out in the story of “Old Bones” stunned this reader. Roberts’ story runs the gamut of life events and emotion. The characters experience love and loss, happiness and pain, forgiveness and vengeance. Roberts’ characters are fully fitting for their time while there are progressive thinkers among them letting the reader know that there is hope in their long game. There are a number of plot points and characters that could be discussed. “Old Bones” is a long novel with a lot of history and a number of characters. The setting and feel of the time are beautifully portrayed. The romance of the novel is courtly and appropriate. The feel is of a full picture of an important time in English history.

The novel is written with the pen of the historian and the heart of the storyteller. Readers who are not interested in history may enjoy the pathos of this novel. Readers may note that this review is overwhelmingly positive and that is because I have no criticism of this work. In thinking back over this masterful work, there is literally nothing negative to say. If you like historically based novels, buy “Old Bones” today. ( )