Rice And Salt

I am reading 'The Years Of Rice And Salt' by Kim Stanley Robinson. The book is written as a series of linked tales that make a kind of novel. I would call it an anthology but the author links the stories with a loose tale of reincarnation that - so far - doesn't quite work. The individual stories are quite good. I am about four fifths finished the book and reading 'Nsara' - a tale of a woman in postwar Firanja (Europe).

The scope of the stories is vary broad ranging in time from the 'black death' to modern times. In the novel the plague wipes out 99% of Europe's population - as opposed to the 30 - 40 % from history - and Europe is repopulated by Muslims. The other great cultures are descendants of Indians, Chinese, and Amerindians.

The settings for individual stories encompass the whole world. This, combined with the time frame of the stories gives the novel an epic flavour.