Book Review: The Blessing Stone by Barbara Wood

Title: The Blessing Stone
Author: Barbara Wood
Published: 2004
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffith
Pages: 464
From: Barnes and Noble
Rating: 8/10

The first time I read Barbara Wood’s epic novel The Blessing Stone, I had kidnapped it from my aunt Kathy Vonnahme one holiday weekend, and finished it before we left Sunday. Needless to say, I loved that book.

So, because I had been in the mood to reread the brilliance that is Wood’s epic fantasy fiction, I had to buy it for myself.

After finishing The Blessing Stone, I remembered exactly why I loved it in the first place. It’s fiction, but takes on history through an almost fantastical lens, illuminating facets of time that people have forgotten, or want to know more about or just want to enjoy.

The novel is broken up into eight different sections of time. Each section focuses on a main character, such as Amelia during ancient Roman times or Katharina in 15th-century Germany and Asia. Each section shows how a piece of meteoric stone travels and affects those who possess it.

My favorite section was Brigitte Bellafontaine’s story from 18th-century Martinique. Woods fully succeeds in exploring the thoughts of women throughout the stories, but Brigitte’s is especially interesting because it is so short, and is not quite like the others.

Woods also delves into the minds of men, but less so, which allows women the feministic power they deserve (as an equalitarian, I picked up on this fairly quickly).

Similar to Woods’ other novels, I sometimes find her writing very simple. However, I understand that can make the reading fly by, or more open to a variety of fans. Personally, I always like knowing there’s sometimes a hidden or double meaning to a description or action.

Overall, fiction fantasy epics are some of my favorite stories, and Wood succeeds in bringing this story to life. By telling so many stories based around one item moving through history, it brings to life the lives of those who put their passions into so many things. It was a lovely story worth reading again and again.

More information about Barbara Wood and her many novels can be found here. My reviews of Wood’s novels Daughter of the Sun and Woman of a Thousand Secrets can be found here and here, respectively.