The Ruby in her Navel

Book Review

Barry Unsworth

Barry Unsworth's fifteenth novel, The Ruby in her Navel, is on its surface the story of how a dancer named Nesrin, living in Europe in the Middle Ages, came to wear a ruby in her navel while she danced. Unsworth introduces his tale with the ruby in mind:

“When Nesrin the dancer became famous in the courts of Europe , many were the stories told about the ruby that glowed in her navel as she danced. Some said it had been stolen by a lover of hers – who had gone to the stake for it – from the crown of King Roger of Sicily , others that it had been a bribe from Conrad Hohenstaufen for her help in a plot to kill that same king. The plot had failed, they said, but she had kept the ruby and paid for it in a way that contented Conrad even more than the death of his enemy, vindictive as he was. As time passed the stories ranged further and grew wilder: the gem was a gift from the Caliph of Baghdad; it was sent her by secret courier from the Great Khan of the Mongols, with promises of more wealth if she would only come and dance for him and share his bed. And of course there were those who said that Nesrin was a shameless woman and the ruby was the reward of her pledge with the Devil. The troubadour who accompanied her made songs about the ruby, some happy, some sad, and this confused people even more. Neither of these two ever told the truth of it, no matter who asked, whether prince or peasant. I am the only one who knows the whole story: I, Thurstan.”

The scene is set in twelfth century Palermo, in the reign of King Roger, a ruler who is struggling to not only maintain the precious balance between races and faiths in his land, but also to win the respect and legitimacy of the Roman Christian church to solidify his hold on his crown.

Thurstan works for the king's Diwan of Control, the central financial office within the palace's administration. His job is twofold – as Purveyor of Pleasures and Shows, to bring entertainment from far and wide to the king's palace, and more secretly, to use these expeditions to find entertainment to bribe various people to protect the king's interests.

Thurstan is an innocent, and desires more than anything to believe that his king desires religious and political equality within his land, and to believe in the essential goodness that exists in the heart of every man and woman. He is also given to serious introspection, and frequently ponders great writers and how their words might apply to his life. For example:

“Certain things about myself I would not have discovered, and what is not discovered can never truly belong to us; it is only that knowledge of itself the soul knows how to summon that can truly be said to dwell within the soul. It is Boethius who says this in his Consolation of Philosophy – I believe it is to be found there.”

The Diwan of Control is truly a multi-cultural office. Thurstan's boss, Yusuf, is a Muslim who mentors Thurstan in the arts of secrecy and diplomacy. Thurstan himself is the child of a landless Norman knight and a Saxon woman. The office is also composed of Byzantine Greeks, like Thurstan's secretary Stefanos.

Thurstan's story begins with a mission given to him by Yusuf. The palace believes that it would be beneficial to the King's standing if an uprising in Serbia could be encouraged. Thurstan must travel to a town called Bari , blending in with the crowds coming to town for a religious pilgrimage, to inform a Serbian leader named Lazar that King Roger will supply no money until there is some tangible result. Thurstan's cover story is a trip first to Calabria , where he will purchase small white marsh birds to serve as food for the King's herons. He is to purchase the birds, and then unexpectedly tell his servants and the ship's captain that he will return on foot, instead traveling to Bari on horseback and, nearing the city, blending in with the pilgrims.

While in Calabria , Thurstan happens upon a group of dancers who claim to come from lands near Mount Ararat . The men accompany the women on unusual instruments, while the women perform belly dances, the first that Thurstan has seen dancing of this sort:

“…The music of drum and dulcimer ceased. The singing lost all melody and variety of pitch, it drew into a wild droning sound, loud, like the lamentation of some vast swarm of bees at the ruin of their hive. The women moved to a slower rhythm, the heavy tresses swinging round their heads. Then their step quickened, they began to revolve, the colored scarves round their waists unfurled and fell away like streamers, revealing nude abdomens decorated with thin strands of bead chains. In the dimple of the belly, set in the umbilicus itself, each wore a pebble of clear glass that caught the firelight and the moonlight and flashed now paler, now ruddier, as they moved.

The droning ceased, and in the silence that followed the bodies of the dancers shuddered once and were still again. Then, while the rest of the body remained motionless, the bellies of the women began to roll and gyrate with amazing smoothness. There was no sense of effort or strain; they moved as if at the bidding of a power not their own. I felt some awe at this, and the words of the women at the inn came back to me. They have demons in the belly .”

Thurstan is entranced, especially with the youngest dancer, a bold, impetuous woman named Nesrin. He decides that their dancing may greatly please the king, and hires them, sending them back to Palermo on his ship along with the king's marsh birds.

He then travels alone to Palermo , where he meets up with Lazar and delivers his unexpected news instead of the accustomed bribe. After his business is finished, he rides up to the top of a hillside to escape the throng of pilgrims. Surprisingly, a party on horseback passes him, and the woman being escorted is none other than his childhood sweetheart, the Lady Alicia. She suggests to Thurstan that he spend the night at a monastic hospice, hinting that they will have opportunities to be alone. Into the late evening hours, in the yard of the hospice, they rekindle their childhood love and talk of their adult lives. The Lady Alicia is widowed, and will soon need to wed, this time to a husband of her own choosing. Thurstan recounts the bitterness he felt when his father suddenly decided to donate all of his lands to a monastery, thus quashing Thurstan's hopes of ever becoming a knight, the role for which he had trained since a young boy. Lady Alicia is traveling to Sicily , and Thurstan must return to his work in Palermo , and they part ways with the hope of reconnecting in the future.

Thurstan returns to Palermo , and busies himself with preparing the belly dancing troupe for their royal performance. Nesrin in particular proves to be headstrong and difficult, refusing to be measured for new performance clothes unless Thurstan is present, enticing him with a “Dance of the Measurements” intended only for him.

Yusuf delivers to Thurstan news of a most unusual request – that Thurstan's presence is requested at a hunting party at Favara, the king's resort. Thurstan realizes that the Lady Alicia probably used her connections to make him one of the party, as a way of spending more time together. Thurstan is flattered by the invitation, however Yusuf suspects political intrigue and instructs Thurstan to be on his guard and to report everything back to him. Thurstan omits to mention Lady Alicia's hand in the invitation.

At the hunting party, Lady Alicia contrives to spend a great deal of time alone with the besotted Thurstan, and in a stolen moment, pledges to him that the next time they meet, it will be to exchange their vows as man and wife. When Thurstan returns from the hunt, he discovers that his love has left to take care of her ailing father.

Thurstan returns to Palermo and focuses on presenting the belly dancers to King Roger. After a triumphant performance, Thurstan leaves spontaneously with Nesrin, and they spend the night together. It is clear whom Nesrin dances for, and it is not for the king, but for his purveyor. Thurstan is racked with guilt and feels that he has betrayed the Lady Alicia.

Yusuf conveys yet another strange request for Thurstan. This time, the Lord Chancellor's office has requested his assistance in preparing entertainment in Potenza for a royal party. Thurstan learns that Lady Alicia has arranged for them to take their vows in Potenza , in front of King Roger. He is elated at the prospect of being united with his love, and at how his circumstances are improving. Yusuf is suspicious, but allows Thurstan to make the journey.

Sadly, Lady Alicia does not show up, and Thurstan returns to Palermo a dejected and broken man. It is in this state that Thurstan must face his greatest trials. His loyalty is called into question, and his innocent belief in the harmony that must exist between races and faiths is challenged. To reveal any more of the tremendous plot would be a disservice to the novel's future readers, but suffice to say that it is worth the effort to learn how Nesrin comes to display a ruby in her navel.

On the surface, this is a wildly entertaining tale of chivalry, loyalty and love. Unsworth expertly spins his story, and makes it so compelling that the reader does not want to put it down. The TurboBookSnob did find that it took about thirty pages to really immerse herself in the novel, mostly to become accustomed to the characters' names and to the history of the medieval setting.

Delving deeper, this novel is also a parable for modern times, an examination of the political intrigues that result when there are conflicts among races and religions. It is a medieval story, but can be read with a modern awareness.

Unsworth writing is beautiful, and Thurstan is a very worthy narrator, innocent and earnest in his quest for truth and nobility. This is a novel that deserves a place on the 2006 Booker Prize shortlist, and is another great example of the talent for historical fiction that Unsworth displayed in his Booker Prize winning novel, Sacred Hunger.

"Any human life lies in the future as well as in the past, of however short duration that future may prove to be; the two are hinged together like a door that swings, and that swinging is the present moment.  To begin a story one must choose a time when the door swings wide..."