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Cory Talbot's Reviews > Rob Roy
Rob Roy (Waverley Novels, #4)
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This book was death. And it wouldn't end. I just could not get past the language in two ways:
(1) Get to the point. Sir Walter Scott apparently decided that there is no reason to use one word when five will suffice. For instance, rather than saying that a character was hungry because he ate lunch earlier than usual Scott notes instead that the character was hungry because "he had ante-dated his meridian repast, having dined at twelve instead of one o'clock, then the general hour of dining." Honestly, reading this book was like listening to a preacher describe prom -- you may get the story, but not the way you want to hear it.
(2) Scottish isn't English. I had high hopes that my Scottish blood would somehow instill in me to the ability to understand what in the world the Scottish characters were saying. No such luck. It's no fun to read a book in which half the dialogue looks like it was typed by a pre-schooler.
At any rate, for my two cents, if you want to read Scott, read Ivanhoe -- skip this one.
(1) Get to the point. Sir Walter Scott apparently decided that there is no reason to use one word when five will suffice. For instance, rather than saying that a character was hungry because he ate lunch earlier than usual Scott notes instead that the character was hungry because "he had ante-dated his meridian repast, having dined at twelve instead of one o'clock, then the general hour of dining." Honestly, reading this book was like listening to a preacher describe prom -- you may get the story, but not the way you want to hear it.
(2) Scottish isn't English. I had high hopes that my Scottish blood would somehow instill in me to the ability to understand what in the world the Scottish characters were saying. No such luck. It's no fun to read a book in which half the dialogue looks like it was typed by a pre-schooler.
At any rate, for my two cents, if you want to read Scott, read Ivanhoe -- skip this one.
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Reading Progress
August 2, 2008
– Shelved
Started Reading
September 20, 2008
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Finished Reading
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Kimberlee
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Jan 08, 2015 10:18AM
This review is awesome. And helpful.
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A reply to your review: 1. It was the literary trend for novelists from 1700-1800s to be as wordy with their vocab. If you can't persevere with it you won't learn to enjoy any of the best classics. All it does is demonstrate how lazy we in the 21st century are with our reading comphrehension esp in North America. 2. Reading the Scottish accent then hearing it clearly in your head as you read is another thing to practice. I grew up hearing the accent all around me as a kid in New Zealand so I hear it just like another language whereas my Canadian husband cannot understand a word of it. No exposure you see. When reading the Scot dialogue you're likely pronouncing it wrong it in your head hence the confusion. I recommend you try this book again with a good audio version. Or just youtube Scottish actors etc and familiarise yourself with it. Billy Connollys stand up from the 70s is a good start.
I agree with you, Cory: it hasn't aged well and is not fun to read. And if you persevere, the story is not worth the effort. Ivanhoe is much better.
It is a cultural thing. People took longer to read books in those days.
Yes! Thank you for saying that, that's exactly how I feel!
