Karakorum

Haunted by the memory of a failed love affair in China and unable to move on with her life in twentieth-century America, Camille Gremillon turns in desperation to past-life regression therapy. Her quest to understand the roots of her obsession with her former lover leads her back to the medieval city of Karakorum, capital of the Mongols under Möngke Khan. In that past, she envisions a vibrant and cosmopolitan world filled with religious tensions, political intrigue and a forbidden love. But why is she recalling this particular story? How real is this vision? And will remembering it help her resolve her feelings toward her former lover?Spanning two time periods and partially inspired by the engaging thirteenth-century narrative of Willem van Ruysbroeck, a Franciscan monk sent on mission by King Louis IX of France to the Mongols, this novel touches on several aspects of Mongol history and culture left undiscussed by Marco Polo in the well-known account of his travels. It also brings to life the complexities of the interactions between the various religions and peoples competing for Mongol favor in Karakorum at that time.

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