My book club picked this novel as our subject for November, so here I am, writing a review. I didn't know what to expect going in, but the premise intrigued me; after the first few pages, however, I was fully immersed and impressed by the author's understanding of history. While I wouldn't recommend this book if you're not a history lover, I would absolutely recommend it to those who are interested in historical thought experiments, such as what would have happened if the European colonization of the Americas was unsuccessful.

Writing: I'm reading the English translation of this novel, and since I don't have the original, I can't comment on whether or not Taylor renders Binet's prose faithfully. But I do think Taylor did a great job of making the text feel like the historical sources it was imitating. The novel is written in a somewhat plain, unadorned style that is common to things like sagas and chronicles, and though there were some modern expressions here and there, I think that on the whole, Taylor and Binet succeeded in infusing the prose with historical flavor.

I also liked the repeating imagery that held the disparate parts of the text together. For example, the color red shows up a lot, as does vultures, condors, and other birds that seem to signal auspicious moments. It made the book as a whole feel more literary, and it created through-lines that helped sell the idea that we were reading a continuous "history."

Lastly, I appreciated the ways in which this book defamiliarized things like religion by presenting Christianity from the Inca's point of view. There were a few moments when Binet would be describing something about religious custom and I wouldn't quite understand what was going on until the Inca overheard a key term (like "inquisitor"). The practice of considering what Christianity might look like to other people was a valuable thought exercise, and I think it did a good job of exposing some of the inherent cruelty of the 15th-16th century religious conflicts (and politics).

Plot: There isn't a plot to this book so much as there is a narration of an alternate history, but I'm also the kind of reader that finds history fascinating, so this narrative was highly entertaining for me. I really appreciated the level of historical knowledge required to write this book; one can see through all the details that Binet has a pretty extensive understanding of 15th-16th century Europe, and I loved seeing how the author imagined all these pieces working differently had colonization not happened.

I'm not sure, however, if the author had an equal understanding of the Indigenous peoples that are featured in this book. On the one hand, I can understand the purpose of wanting to imagine what a history of Europe might have looked like if the Inca had sailed to Spain and created a new empire there; on the other, it seems like the Indigenous peoples are a little less nuanced than their European counterparts. Maybe that's due to the fact that a lot of these peoples and cultures (along with their histories) were wiped out, so I don't know how much I can fault the author.

Characters: There are a lot of characters in this book, so I'm only going to focus on a couple of key players and broad themes.

Part 1 of this novel follows Freydis, daughter of Erik the Red, and imagines what would have happened if she and her followers had reached as far south as Panama. I really enjoyed how Freydis was fashioned to be the leader of the Viking band, rather than a mere instigator as in the sagas. I also liked that her story contained several nods to the literary conventions of Norse-Icelandic sagas, and it imagined interactions with Indigenous peoples that were more complex than just open hostility.

Part 2 follows Christopher Columbus and his failed expedition, imaging him as becoming a captive of the Tainos and living his life as something akin to a court jester. I appreciated the way Binet wrote Columbus as something of a religious fanatic who doesn't quite give up his faith, even when it's clear he lost. Binet also succeeds in presenting the Tainos not as cruel, but as rightfully defending themselves from a group of would-be colonizers who believe in their own superiority.

Part 3 follows Inca ruler Atahualpa as he sails to Spain and establishes a new empire in Europe. This is by far the longest section of the book, and I enjoyed the way Atahualpa was presented as both ambitious and generous. His advisers, too, were varied in their personalities which made them feel like real people (and not stock characters), and the relationship between Atahualpa and Princes Higuénamota was complex and fascinating, portraying a deep level of love and respect that felt different from a romantic or king-adviser relationship.

Part 4 follows Miguel de Cervantes as he navigates Europe after Atahualpa's death. I personally didn't get a much out of this part, and Miguel wasn't as interesting as his companions, but it was a nice snapshot of the empire, so I can't complain.

TL;DR: Civilizations is an impressive reimagining of history and constructs a complex view of what Europe might have looked like if the colonization of the Americas failed. The level of historical knowledge required to write this book is sure to satisfy history lovers, as well as the prose style, which imitates real-life historical texts.

entertaining read, but it has more interest in playing “what-if?” with famous figureheads of 16th-century european history than really posing inca or aztec ideologies in contrast with europe in any more profound sense. it takes some big, hasty jumps to get to its premise of an inca empire 1) traveling to europe and 2) playing european politics. i would’ve liked to linger in the buildup that is more or less hand-waved here for longer.

Le livre est lourdement basé sur les hypothèses de Guns, Germs and Steel de Jared Diamond, pour qui les Incas et les Aztèques, au début des années 1500, manquaient encore de certains éléments pour se classer parmi les plus sociétés (capables de produire leur nourriture) les plus prospères : la métallurgie, un stock diversifié d'animaux domestiqués, l'écriture et la résistance aux maladies épidémiques. Selon Diamond, c'est ce qui explique leur effondrement face à des bandes d'Européens souvent confuses, indisciplinées et de petite taille. L'uchronie de Laurent Binet explore ce qui se serait passé si les Incas avaient disposé de tous ces éléments et si les caravelles de Christophe Colomb avaient été repoussées au moment de leur arrivée. Si l'idée semble captivante, sa réalisation est toutefois loin d'être satisfaisante.

Le récit qui en découle est très érudit, truffé de clins d'œil et nécessitant des solides connaissances de l'époque moderne pour les saisir. Certains sont hilarants (j'ai apprécié l'introduction de mots de vocabulaire amenés avec Atahualpa, tels que les amautas ou les chaskis), d'autres tombent à plat (on imagine très difficilement les religions du livre accepter le culte du soleil sans s'émouvoir). L'adoption de formes anciennes de récit, comme la restitution épique de l'aventure viking, ou le journal de Christophe Colomb, sans oublier les poèmes (nommés les Incades), fonctionne assez bien au début mais finit par lasser : les chroniques d'Atahualpa qui devient le maître de l'Europe Occidentale sont bien longues et... racontent au final le pouvoir de séduction de la civilisation « européenne » qu'Atahualpa admire au point d'en faire son référentiel principal (les modèles qu'il évoque lors de sa conquête sont au final les classiques européens, comme Roland).

Le plus grand défaut de ce livre, c'est son manque d'ambition. Cette relecture de l'époque moderne manque de puissance, parce qu'elle joue des variations sur un thème résolument européen, sans envisager un changement complet de paradigme. L'arrivée des Incas (à qui, notons bien, ce sont les Européens qui ont donné les armes essentielles, à travers les Vikings) dans le sud de l'Europe constituait l'occasion d'inventer quelque chose de différent. Or, l'auteur nous montre à chaque page son impossibilité de décentrer son regard. Pour finir en beauté, on referme le livre sur du hors-sujet avec le trio Cervantès, El Greco et Montaigne... Le résultat est peu convaincant.

Un grand contrefactuel de l’Histoire où Christophe Colomb ne revient jamais de son voyage et où les Incas conquièrent l’Europe.

Même avec ce changement de dynamique, il y a toujours autant de guerres absurdes basées sur la conquête de territoire et la religion. Et aussi des esclaves pour exploiter les ressources naturelles.

Pacey and fascinating what if? story which I found very compelling. One of my favourite reads of the year so far. 5 Stars.

Interesting counterfactual tale. Not always elegantly written (or perhaps translated) but a good read nevertheless.

Idealna książka na taki jesienny weekend.
Brawurowo (i piekielnie inteligentnie) napisana alternatywna historia odkrycia Nowego Świata ... "na odwyrtkę". Ale bez szczegółów! Warto sobie odświeżyć wiedzę o czasach Kolumba, Karola V, Henryka VIII, Makiawela (jakże kluczowego dla opowieści), El Greco .. i tylu innych. I szykować się na fascynującą wyprawę w świat, jakiego nie było. I może wielka szkoda, że go nie było...
Bliskie są mi i oceny, i sentymenty autora, dla wielu ta książka może być sporym wstrząsem, to zdecydowanie nie jest pozycja dla osób "ultra-cośtam". Ale w czasach zarazy, warto co pewien czas szeroko otworzyć okna i wpuścić dużo świeżego powietrza. A tutaj dostajemy mocny powiem aż znad samego Oceanu ...

Very cleverly put together alternative history. It seemed to me though to lack some of the magic of his other books - those moments of surprise or humour.