Dirda on Pavane

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Some years ago, Anthony Burgess — himself no slouch as a writer of alternate histories and dystopian sci-fi — chose “Pavane” as one of the 99 best novels written in English since 1939. I would add that it is also one of the most thought-filled, a book with the glowing but somber majesty of a stained-glass window, constructed from the most disparate bits and fragments, from the tesserae of multiple lives. What’s more, Roberts creates considerable suspense throughout, and his prose can be frequently joyous and lyrical, especially in descriptive passages. And yet, despite its optimistic coda, one closes this book riven with a sweet sadness, as at the end of some great tragedy.

And here is the Burgess 99.