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Galilee [Paperback]

Clive Barker
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Book Description

4 Feb 2010

A massive tale of secrets, corruption and magic between two feuding families – the powerful Gearys and the shadowy Barbarossas.

EVERY FAMILY HAS A SECRET

As rich as the Rockefellers, as glamorous as the Kennedys, the Geary dynasty has held subtle sway over American life since the Civil War, brilliantly concealing the depths of its corruption. All that is about to change. For the Gearys are at war. Their enemies are another dynasty – the Barbarossas – whose origins lie not in history but in myth.

When the prodigal prince of the Barbarossa clan, Galilee, falls in love with Rachel Geary, the pent-up loathing between the families erupts in a mutually destructive frenzy. Adulteries are laid bare. Secrets creep out. And insanity reigns.

Galilee is a massive tale, mingling the sharp realism of Barker’s bestseller Sacrament with the dark invention for which he’s known worldwide, and surpassing both with an epic tale which will surely rank as the crowning achievement of his career.


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Product details

  • Paperback: 816 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Voyager; (Reissue) edition (4 Feb 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0006178057
  • ISBN-13: 978-0006178057
  • Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 457,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon Review

Over many years and through many books Clive Barker has earned a reputation as the thinking person's horror writer. His novels have mixed fantasy, psychology and sheer creepiness in almost equal quantities, and while the gore quotient remains relatively low the tension always runs high. However, in Galilee Barker tones down the ghoulish in favour of the gothic. His novel (or as the author would have it, "romance") tells the tale of two warring families caught up in a disastrous web of corruption, illicit sexuality and star-crossed love, with a soupçon of the supernatural thrown in as well. On one side are the wealthy Gearys--a fictional stand-in for the Kennedys--and on the other are the Barbarossas, a mysterious black clan that has been around--quite literally--since the time of Adam. Galilee chronicles the twisted course of this centuries- old family feud which centres around the magical Barbarossa matriarch Cesaria and her son Galilee. Indeed, it's the latter figure--one part Heathcliff to one part Christ--whose relationship with the Geary women sets a match to the entire powder keg of hostility and resentment. Mixing standard clichés of romance with his own peculiarly deep-fried version of the Southern gothic, Baker has come up with an intelligent and shamelessly amusing potboiler.

Review

‘Galilee leaps through time and space to reveal an impressively majestic vision told in beautiful prose. A fantastic, engrossing war of the worlds’
People Magazine

‘An epic, classic saga’
Daily Mirror

‘Barker is much more than genre writer’
New York Times Book Review

‘Barker’s greatest achievement – an addictive read that is nigh impossible to put down’
Birmingham Evening Mail

‘Passionate and ingenious… A ride with remarkable views’
TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT


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First Sentence
At the insistence of my stepmother Cesaria Barbarossa the house in which I presently sit was built so that it faces southeast. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Chris Hall TOP 100 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Once again Clive Barker breaks away from the genre labelling tag of a `horror author' for which he has been undeservingly stamped with since his early work. With Galilee, Barker takes to a new path with a beautifully written story of love that dances with the celestial and magical throughout. Indeed, elements of his past work such as `Sacrament', `Imajica' and dare I say even the `Book of The Art' novels are clearly visible within this epic tale.

With an obvious dedication of passion and love to his lover David Armstrong, Barker has crafted a deeply emotional and poetic tale that delves the deepest Barker ever has to date, into the sheer importance of love, revenge, power and lust. Deliberately throwing added weight towards the emotional states of each character within the story, Barker brings out such full-bodied and life like characters that form the main crux of the tale.

Written by way of the hand of one of the books almost secondary characters, the story follows the lives of two powerful families, whose paths have intertwined throughout history. One of these families (the Barbarossa's) is more godlike than they are human. The other family (the Geary's) are extremely wealthy and powerful business men whose unsympathetic lives mirror that of many of the more dramatic circumstances that surround the storyline. One interlocking individual for the two families is the outcast by the name of Galilee. This character, to which the writer shows immense love for, was obviously based on Barker's lover David Armstrong.

The flow of the storyline, the intertwining subplots, the poetic use of words throughout, and the magnificent characterization, all form the main thrust to the novel.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely enthralling 25 April 2000
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I loved this book. I bought it immediately it came out but kept putting it aside to read for a special occasion. I had it packed to take on holiday last year - but changed my mind, wishing to savour it a bit longer. Going on holiday last week I decided it had remained secreted away long enough. I loved everything about it and cannot wait for the sequel. It's just my type of book - the only problem being that whatever I read next will pale into insignificance in comparison. My only regret is that I savoured it for so long, thereby missing out on so much enjoyment.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice one Clive 16 Nov 1999
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Clive Barker has presented me with something of a dilemma here. I'm not entirely certain which foot to stand on. On the positive side this book is certainly written by a master of the english language. Clive Barker has the ability to express himself very powerfully by skilful and beautiful use of english. The story is intriguing and imaginative in true Barker-esqu style. But I can't make my mind up wether the he's controlling the story or it is controlling him. On the whole, the storyline of Galilee is a bit too haphazard for my liking, intentional or not. I'd still recommend it to any Clive Barker fan and will certainly look forward to a sequel (with an ending like that....sure there just has to be a sequel.)
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5.0 out of 5 stars A must read. 19 Jun 2001
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Basically a love story, this book throws together an array of characters set in both modern day and historic times. I found it a very hard book to put down and was hooked within reading the first 20-30 pages. You do not have to be a fan of Clive Barker to enjoy this, he is a very talented author. I look forward to reading more of his work.
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Format:Mass Market Paperback
This was not what I expected, but I loved every word. The style in which it was written, the twists and turns, the characters, every last page. I couldn't put this down! I spent evey last minute absorbed in this remarkable book. As you read you start to wonder what it is, that holds this book together, why it is being written and what is going to happen. Each character has a little place in all of us. I will always remember the content of this book, both admiringly and affectionately. It isn't just a book of war between powerful families, it shows the horror of power and greed, with a few demi gods thrown in.
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5.0 out of 5 stars exellent 15 April 2000
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Although this book could be quite a challenge to grasp, if youre not a Barker reader. It is exellent and the best yet, we have seen his writing mature, and Galilee is an amazing if not challenging show of his talents.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Barker gets Better and Better 2 Feb 2000
Format:Paperback
Possibly the best Barker book yet. Ok...well maybe Imajica is ever so slightly better, but nothing else compares to this. Once I started reading this I just couldn't put it down. The story felt very real...partly due to the almost diary style format and partly due to the fact that none of it seemed remotely inconceivable. I felt that this story could very easily happen...more so that any of Barker's previous books. Although I do like his more 'horror-style' of writing, I wouldn't mind seeing a few more like this.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Different, but well worth your time 20 Nov 2006
Format:Paperback
This book is a big departure for Barker, and not for those who go to his books hoping for another Damnation Game or Books of Blood. This is a much more subtle book, much more lyrical. This poetic element is something that has been present in even the most viceral of Barker's work, but here he gives it much more room. The characters are as complex and interesting as ever. They are always highly intelligent, which only makes the motivations of the corrupt ones all the more fascinating as we explore their flawed logic.
This book tells a strange love story that starts with a young girl's entry into the highly glamorous and powerful world of the Gearys through marriage to the youngest son, a handsome and highly eligible bachelor, and how the events that quickly take place carry her into a very different relationship with a man who belongs to a family whose genes have a touch of the magical in them.
As original as ever with Barker's work, this book is beautifully written, and carries a weight of philosophy and wisdom that only he can deliver. Pure magic, this is well worth your money. Don't expect the gore or action scenes that you got in Imajica or Weaveworld, because you won't get them. Instead enjoy all the things that really gave those books weight: intelligent characters, original storylines, wisdom, philosophy and prose that is pure poetry.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars Not the best
One reviewer remarks that this is a departure for Barker, yep, you're not kidding. His other works are fantastic in all senses. Read more
Published on 27 Mar 2008 by M. F
2.0 out of 5 stars Could be much better
I had picked up this book on the strength of two things: having read Imajica and the synopsis on the dust cover. Read more
Published on 13 Jun 2005 by Declan Mclaughlin
2.0 out of 5 stars Yuck
I've enjoyed several of Clive Barker's novels, including Weave World, Imajima and Sacrament, so I had at least moderate expectations approaching this book, particularly in light of... Read more
Published on 1 Dec 2002 by Bruce Kendall
4.0 out of 5 stars This ain't no costume drama
Two powerful families, rivals for well over a century, are drawn into closer conflict when a son of the Barbarossa clan, and daughter-in-law of the Gearys meet and fall in love. Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2002
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Beautiful
This book is bit of a departure for Barker. It is still fantasy and with a lot of romance. It sweeps you away into another world. Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2001 by vbenoit@auracom.com
1.0 out of 5 stars Extremely Poor
What a complete disappointment this book was! Such a let down after reading the brilliant Imajica. Cardboard cut-outs for characters complete with usual stereotypes: beautiful... Read more
Published on 4 July 2001
2.0 out of 5 stars When Genres Collide...
I was very disappointed with this book. As a drama it lacked weight, as a romance it failed to stir and as a gothic novel it lacked suspense. Read more
Published on 4 Sep 2000 by diet_eam@yahoo.com
5.0 out of 5 stars A thoroughly mystical and enthrawling book.
If you can keep up Barker will lead you through this story of loves and loses adding to it his amazing talent for the the mystical and engrossing the reader completely. Read more
Published on 28 May 2000
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