Galilee

Barker, Clive

ISBN 10: 0061092002 / ISBN 13: 9780061092008

Published by HarperTorch, 1999

Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00091783482

Synopsis:

Rich and powerful, the Geary dynasty has reigned over American society for decades. But it is a family with dark, terrible secrets. For the Gearys are a family at war. And their adversaries are the Barbarossas, a clan whose timeless origins lie in myth, whose mystical influence is felt in the intense, sensual exchanges of flesh and soul. Now, their battle is about to escalate...

When Galilee, prodigal prince of the Barbarossa clan, meets Rachel, young bride of the Gearys' own scion Mitchell, they fall in love, consumed by a passion that unleashes long-simmering hatreds. Old insanities arise, old adulteries are uncovered, and a seemingly invincible family will begin to wither, exposing its unholy roots...

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.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Galilee
Publisher: HarperTorch
Publication Date: 1999
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: Good