The Gardens of Light, Amin Maalouf (used)

Born in a Mesopotamian village in the third century, the son of a Parthian warrior, Mani grows up in a volatile and dangerous world. As battle rages for control over the Middle East between the great Roman and Persian empires, as Jews and Christians, Buddhists and Zoroastrians fight for ascendancy, Mani - painter, mystic, physician and prophet - makes his way through the battlefields to preach his incandescent doctrine of humility, tolerance and love, a doctrine that comes to be known as Manicheanism.

A vivid glimpse of the ancient world in all its perfumed splendour and cruelty, an elegantly philosophical discourse on the fall of man, The Gardens of Light is a story of great beauty and resonance, exquisitely told.

'Amin Maalouf, who won the Prix Goncourt in 1993, weaves tapestries of intrigue that illuminate a broader historical moment ... in his engaging prose, [he] goes a considerable way towards restoring Mani to us ... Maalouf is as eloquent as ever' Claire Messud, The Times

'A romantic and affectionate tale ... the history of Mani gains from the personal perspective of an author who knows the impact of sectarian hatreds too well ... engaging... eloquent' TLS

'He is a master storyteller ... and his observation of human nature in all its facets is wonderfully accurate' David Robson, Sunday Telegraph

condition: very good