Richard Zimler: Guardian of the dawn

Set in late 16th-century India, a period when the Portuguese ruled Goa and the Catholic Inquisition began castigating any suspected infidel, Guardian of the Dawn recounts the tragic story of the Zarco family.

Having fled persecution in Portugal and Constantinople, some of the Zarcos are forced to convert to Christianity, while others struggle to uphold their Jewish beliefs and practices — albeit in secrecy.

Guardian of the Dawn is the third in Zimler's Sephardic cycle, following the successful The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon (1988) and Hunting Midnight (2003) — sweeping historical novels about the same Jewish-Portuguese family. It recounts a little-discussed period in colonial India when accusations of disloyalty against the Church could come at the slightest transgression. Hindus, Muslims and Jews suffered the same fate if they did not confess their crimes.

On the outskirts of the Portuguese colony of Goa, Tiago and his sister Sophia grow up in a sheltered but loving household until one day their benevolent father, a manuscript illustrator, is arrested and imprisoned by the Inquisition.

It is left up to Ti to try to negotiate the release of his father, for his uncle Isaac, a converted Christian, cannot afford to implicate his own family. When Ti himself is later arrested, tragedy upon tragedy is unleashed on the remaining members of the Zarco family.

The story is told from the perspective of Ti, and it alternates between his years of incarceration and his childhood memory. The characters are delicately drawn and the novel reaches its poignant best during Ti's flashbacks while in prison: his intense love for his younger sister after the death of their Indian mother; forbidden Hindu celebrations with Nupi, their Indian cook; trips to Goa to visit their devilish cousin, Wadi; and the coming of age of Ti and Sophia.

Just who could have betrayed father and son becomes obvious as the story unfolds, although the author tries his best to preserve some notion of mystery. There are moments in this novel where the narrative defies subtlety, yet this remarkably does not deter from overall interest in Ti's fate. I read the book in one sitting, a testament to any novel with an exceptional story to tell.

The remaining chapters, where Ti pursues an intricate plot of revenge, I found a bit implausible. Zimler, however, is attempting to retell the relationship between Iago and Othello, making the case for Iago's intense hatred of Othello more deep-rooted — a betrayal with origins in childhood. Zimler has to be commended for the sheer effort that went into researching and writing Guardian of the Dawn.

* Gail Bailey is an Auckland writer.
* Constable, $29.95