Ann Benson

The Plague Tales

Delacorte Press, New York, 1997

This review refers to the German translation of the book.

Monika says:

After an epidemic killed a large part of the human population forensic archeologist Janie Crowe visits England in 2005 to examine some ground samples. Janie lost her entire family during the so-called "outbreaks" and due to the drastic social changes was forced to give up her job as a surgeon and find another line of work. One of the samples contains a piece of cloth contaminated with a virus that threatens the modern world with a new variety of the bubonic plague.

While the Plague rages in mid-14^th Century Europe the young Jewish doctor Alejandro Canches desperately tries to find a cure. He performs an autopsy on a man who died of the disease, something that was considered heresy in medieval Spain. To escape from the inquisition Alejandro flees to France but never loses sight of his goal.

THE PLAGUE TALES is Ann Benson’s first novel and she presents an interesting mixture of science fiction, medical thriller and historical fiction. Like Peg Kerr in her novel THE WILD SWANS she tells two stories that are delicately intertwined. The plotlines from the 21^st and the 14^th Century are told in turns and by and by the connection is revealed: Alejandro’s diary that Janie finds during an excavation. Both Janie and Alejandro battle the plague more or less successfully. Alejandro knew nothing about antibiotics while Janie lives in the near future where most antibiotics have no effect anymore. This is no feel-good-novel. However inhospitable medieval Spain and France may seem to you, the picture the author draws of our future is no less gloomy. Because of the outbreaks the governments were forced to employ drastic measures to control the spreading of the disease. The medical records of people are made transparent for everybody, something critics are already warning about today.

Even if the characters seem flat at times, THE PLAGUE TALES is a suspenseful novel. Both storylines work on their own and as a whole whenever they touch.

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Monika Hübner

Last changes: 17-03-03

Copyright 2001 Christina Gross & Monika Hübner