'Pride and Prejudice' is the holy grail of the historical romance and so many authors have tried to recreate the dynamics between Mr Darcy and Lizzy B'Pride and Prejudice' is the holy grail of the historical romance and so many authors have tried to recreate the dynamics between Mr Darcy and Lizzy Bennett. This is probably the most successful retelling I have read so far that uses the same one is proud and the other is prejudiced pattern but with its own plot and of course some brazen anachronisms that we, the lovers of historical romances, can't do without.
Good God, I did enter the Christmas mode really early this year. ...more
This book is misleading. It most definitely does not do what it says on the tin. The reader goes in thinking it will be some fast-paced thriller (withThis book is misleading. It most definitely does not do what it says on the tin. The reader goes in thinking it will be some fast-paced thriller (with possible sci-fi elements) based on a popular phone scam in Japan. What the reader gets instead is an opaque and concept-heavy tale about identity, a sense of self, and standardisation of society.
I found it tedious. The main character discovers there is another him who could (and does) easily take his place and no one would be the wiser. Initially this discovery excites him, especially when he finds a couple more “ME’s� and they form a circle of perfect understanding. Eventually of course, this endless self-replication of his own self makes him (them?) hostile towards each other. I suppose the moral here was that only by finding our true, unique selves can we form a healthy community. Maybe. Or maybe there was no moral at all.
There were some interesting passages around the relationships between parents and their children, with the former wanting the latter to fit a certain mould they had in mind for them, disregarding their children’s own identities, and thus making the parents susceptible to being scammed by impostors.
This novel was ultimately unsatisfying, because there was no way for me to relate to this amorphous blob of a main character. He was never much of a person, more of a walking concept. Although, I do like how a lot of the book took place in McDonald’s � the perfect, endlessly replicating symbol of uniformity....more
I know the premise in historical romance novels is often silly and you have to just play along but this really was too much even for such a seasoned pI know the premise in historical romance novels is often silly and you have to just play along but this really was too much even for such a seasoned player as yours truly. Serial killers, masked heroes and the most far-fetched 'deal' between the hero and heroine which is the pretext for their romance to start.
I don't ask for my historical romance novels to be extremely historically accurate, but this was so anachronistic that it read like a contemporary romance where the characters just wore period costumes for some reason.
Either I'm finally growing out of romance novels or I've been picking particularly silly ones....more
Quite possibly this was nothing more than a potboiler. But since we’re talking about John Sutherland here, even a potboiler by him can prove perfectlyQuite possibly this was nothing more than a potboiler. But since we’re talking about John Sutherland here, even a potboiler by him can prove perfectly enjoyable. The idea behind this book is to create a sort of literary calendar, an almanac if you like, with a bit of bookish trivia, a mini essay for each day of the year.
The selection is completely arbitrary and doesn’t even pretend to be anything else and as expected it’s a mixed bag. Some entries are fascinating, some trivial but funny, some baffling by their obscurity (I learnt more about 17th century English poetry than I ever needed to). The authors did try to make sure it’s not all about dead white men, so there is enough gender and ethnic variety to fend off the accusations of racism or sexism, but they hardly ever explore any regions outside of England and America. Although, of course, that’s the area of the authors� expertise, so we shouldn’t be very surprised.
I learnt a great many things from it, most of which I have already forgotten, but some will stay with me forever, like the fact that Philip Larkin had apparently a big penis, Ezra Pound was a fascist, Cabrera Infante (who died in 2005) requested that his ashes are to be kept unburied until after Castro’s regime is gone (they are still unburied), Kenneth Grahame went crazy and wouldn’t change his underwear for months, all the royalties from Peter Pan go to Great Ormond Hospital for Children in London (they actually passed a law in the UK to prevent this title entering the public domain), and that gothic romance became a way of talking about the unconscious before Freud gave us the vocabulary for it. ...more
When my Polish Reading group chose this book as our next read I tried to warn them. I had not read it at the time but heard it was written in a dialecWhen my Polish Reading group chose this book as our next read I tried to warn them. I had not read it at the time but heard it was written in a dialect and full of linguistic acrobatics and neologisms, so I felt like most of the group for whom Polish is a second language might struggle with it. Hell, I would probably struggle with it. Additionally, as the purpose of the group is to find things worthy of translation into English, I really wasn’t sure that the book that relied so much on its language would be the best choice.
In short â€� I was right. “±Ê¾±Ã³°ù´Ç±è³Ü²õ³úâ€� (which translates to ‘plumeâ€� but also includes the word ‘penâ€�) is a novel written in a non-existing Polish. In the sort of Polish that might have still existed if the Second World War and fifty years of communism and unifying, cutting and standardising of the language never happened.
It tries to discuss is the illiteracy and not having a voice - the fate of all those groups excluded from the intellectual discourse. It’s a story of those who didn’t write their stories because they couldn’t write and also because the register they used was not allowed in the proper literature.
I feel like this was a fascinating subject that could’ve been explored more and the same goes for the setting � 1950s in Poland, the beginnings of the new communist order, forced resettlements and persecution, telling a story that could not be told at the time. It left me wanting more but the focus in this book was definitely on the form. Language is the ‘plume� here � it was very ornamental and there wasn’t quite enough underneath it for my liking.
‘±Ê¾±Ã³°ù´Ç±è³Ü²õ³úâ€� is not a great book. It’s grotesque, disturbing and occasionally very tiring to read. Yet, it is good enough to deserve a better review than the one I’m writing here but I have tonsillitis and this is best I can do right now.
One thing though I am definitely going to take away from this bizarre Bildungsroman is a list of the most imaginative invectives that I plan on using in the future.
Szczygieł, as is his habit, writes about Czechia. It’s actually surprising to me how little we in Poland know about Czechia and the Czechs, considerinSzczygieł, as is his habit, writes about Czechia. It’s actually surprising to me how little we in Poland know about Czechia and the Czechs, considering they are our neighbour and closest linguistic cousin (well, them and Slovaks). Of course, we do know more than your usual Western-European (not to mention a Northern-American), but still, I feel, it’s not enough.
To a certain segment of Polish people Czechia is made of stuff from our dreams; it’s the antithesis of everything we hate about Poland. Czechia is famous for being one of the most atheistic countries in the world (72% declare themselves as irreligious), which for some of us, living in the oppressing Catholicism of Poland sounds excellent.
The Czechs also seem to want to make everything funny, as if they are almost afraid of being serious for five minutes. I, too, try to make a joke of various things, the more serious they should be the better. This is something that I inherited from my father.
The Poles in general love to be serious. They love pathos and they love dying for their country. Polish patriotism is mostly toxic. It needs “memory and graves�. It needs misery and suffering, the more suffering, the better.
The Czechs again seem to be very easy going when it comes to their country and as Szczygieł mentions they seem to have the only anthem he found that doesn’t seem to talk about wars, enemies, and isn’t in any way a marching call. (Even Australia, who has a fairly benign anthem, calls for ‘advancement� of their country). The Czech anthem just says that this is their home, and it’s beautiful. And that’s it.
My favourite quote from the book is this: /This is a quote from one of the people the author interviewed./
“Oczywiście nie jestem jakąś antysemitką, czy coś podobnego, żeby nie lubić Polaków, ale Pan powie, dlaczego jak na świecie jest gdzieś dziura to ją wypełnią Polacy? Co to za naród? Dlaczego taki wędrujący? Ta Anglia, to przecież mówią, że tam już Polska jest. Czy to przyzwoite, że naród tak nie usiedzi spokojnie na miejscu?�
In my (poor) translation:
"So I’m not an anti-Semite or anyone that would dislike Polish people, but tell me, why is that if there is a hole anywhere in the world, the Poles would go and fill it out? What kind of nation is that? Why so nomadic? That England, they say, it’s basically Poland now. Is it decent for a nation to not know how to stay put?�
This is the end of my review, written for you in September 2021 in London, UK.
The best part of this book is its title. ‘Passions of a Wicked Earl� � look at all the promise here: there will be passion, wickedness and an earl. SaThe best part of this book is its title. ‘Passions of a Wicked Earl� � look at all the promise here: there will be passion, wickedness and an earl. Sadly, while this was by no means terrible, it just fails to deliver on this titillating promise.
The hero was a bit of a jerk but not in a sexy wicked way, just in the regular asshole way. Yes, it seems like your bride cheated on you, but a) she didn’t really, did she? b) it was an arranged marriage, she barely knew you. Get over yourself.
That said, the heroine is a bit silly. The reason her husband thinks she cheated on him is this: dreading the wedding night with a stranger, the heroine concocts a plan together with her good friend (who is also the groom's brother) that he will be in her room/bed when the hero enters the room. The hero will get angry and will not want to have sex with her that night.
Seriously? I know we always need to suspend our disbelief when it comes to set-up/premise of romance novels, but seriously? How could have anyone ever thought this was a good plan, let alone TWO people agreeing it was a good plan?
I don't think the author even thought it a good idea because she seemed to be almost embarrassed about it, like she knows she can't possibly sell it to us. She is like a very unconvincing pedlar who is selling things she was told to sell but know it's all crap.
I don’t know what to write about this book, it’s rather forgettable and I waited too long with this review and sadly forgot if I felt any emotions when reading it.
Also � pregnancy and horse-riding just don’t go together! Those romance heroines will just never learn, will they?...more
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