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roxanacosmina's review against another edition
3.0
Iubirea și moartea sunt temele în jurul cărora se învârte romanul. O iubire ce înflorește într-un mediu dezmățat și sfidează etichetele socială având în vedere că îndrăgostiții sunt de același sex. Rândurile sunt împodobite cu dor și dorință, în timp ce paginile sunt impregnate cu amintirea neîncetată a morții. Aici iubirea nu poate fi afectată de trecerea timpului și nici de micile neînțelegeri zilnice fiind mai presus de tristețe și remușcare. ( continuare)
https://adolescentacunasulincarti.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/baiatul-printului-paul-bailey/
https://adolescentacunasulincarti.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/baiatul-printului-paul-bailey/
fne's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
verityw's review against another edition
2.0
There's not much to this really. I never really felt like I got inside any of the characters' heads, despite all the complicated language and attempts at sophistication. Not my sort of thing. I kept going, hoping that something would suddenly click for me, but the 150 pages seemed to last a long time.
katrinia17's review against another edition
4.0
I keep bouncing from 4 and 5 stars on this one. Wish I could do a 4.5. I feel that the writing in this piece is beautiful and fits the setting and characters along with the theme. I had no idea what I was getting into as I was just looking to read a novel in 1st POV (Point of View). I fell in love with it all; the characters, settings, events, the language, voice, style...EVERYTHING. I knew I was falling in love with it. I knew things were going to happen and I waited for them in the way that one waits to watch the sunset, knowing that it is the end of another day and yet the ending is too beautiful to neglect.
And, this novel did much more than to entertain. I learned things about history and art. Marcel Proust, a French novelist, was a person I had never heard of and now I'm determined to read at least one of his works. I didn't have a full understanding of the role that Romania played during WWII and now I'm looking into that history to learn more. There are other examples, throughout the book, that I am leaving out.
And there was so much to explore, human sexuality, religion, politics, and bigotry. All of these subjects touched and done so in a way that led me to not sympathy for the characters, but empathy. Interesting, I picked this book up before the elections, not knowing what it was about, and here it touches on many of the fears that many Americans, and many others around the world, are facing. A fitting read for me during these days.
And, this novel did much more than to entertain. I learned things about history and art. Marcel Proust, a French novelist, was a person I had never heard of and now I'm determined to read at least one of his works. I didn't have a full understanding of the role that Romania played during WWII and now I'm looking into that history to learn more. There are other examples, throughout the book, that I am leaving out.
And there was so much to explore, human sexuality, religion, politics, and bigotry. All of these subjects touched and done so in a way that led me to not sympathy for the characters, but empathy. Interesting, I picked this book up before the elections, not knowing what it was about, and here it touches on many of the fears that many Americans, and many others around the world, are facing. A fitting read for me during these days.
see_sadie_read's review against another edition
3.0
I won a copy of this book here on Goodreads.
In some ways this was a wonderful book, in others it was pompous—trying far too hard to be what it is. In the wonderful column are a host of colourful characters, a strong, abiding love and some great writing.
However, I struggled to really get into the narrative. I found the dialogue almost unbearably stiff. It was purposefully so, for sure, since the characters are mostly of the upper-crust and thus constrained by the dictates and decorum of polite society. But I still found it unnatural to read.
The whole thing felt very much like a poorly done costume drama, set in the mid twenties. It tries so hard to be Paris in the 20s that it just comes off as an archetype of that time and place, rather than a believable story set there. Everyone is fashionably morose, maudlin and mawkish, voguishly liberated, libatious, and lascivious (or not), etc. Alternatively, perhaps it was striving to mimic the gravitas of the literary greats Dinu is so found of reading. But, again, it just felt forced.
I did appreciate that, while there are small joys here, this is an incredibly sad story and Bailey has allowed his characters the freedom to wallow in it. He never gives in to the popular pressure to provide everyone a sacrosanct happy ending. I also found something immensely gratifying in considering how The Prince's gift to his boy was also so very cruel, though Razvan could never regret receiving it. It's a testament to the duplicity of human nature, for sure.
I think that there is a lot to recommend this book to the right reader. I just don't know if I was that reader.
In some ways this was a wonderful book, in others it was pompous—trying far too hard to be what it is. In the wonderful column are a host of colourful characters, a strong, abiding love and some great writing.
However, I struggled to really get into the narrative. I found the dialogue almost unbearably stiff. It was purposefully so, for sure, since the characters are mostly of the upper-crust and thus constrained by the dictates and decorum of polite society. But I still found it unnatural to read.
The whole thing felt very much like a poorly done costume drama, set in the mid twenties. It tries so hard to be Paris in the 20s that it just comes off as an archetype of that time and place, rather than a believable story set there. Everyone is fashionably morose, maudlin and mawkish, voguishly liberated, libatious, and lascivious (or not), etc. Alternatively, perhaps it was striving to mimic the gravitas of the literary greats Dinu is so found of reading. But, again, it just felt forced.
I did appreciate that, while there are small joys here, this is an incredibly sad story and Bailey has allowed his characters the freedom to wallow in it. He never gives in to the popular pressure to provide everyone a sacrosanct happy ending. I also found something immensely gratifying in considering how The Prince's gift to his boy was also so very cruel, though Razvan could never regret receiving it. It's a testament to the duplicity of human nature, for sure.
I think that there is a lot to recommend this book to the right reader. I just don't know if I was that reader.
that_bihhh1's review against another edition
3.0
the language was profound and stiff. i couldn't get it- the way some characters spoke left me a little drained. i also found the romance at the beginning to be too fast-paced. i underatand it was a product of how much of a green-boy dinu was at the time of their meeting, but still. otherwise i enjoyed it quite a bit. it encapsulates the era well, and goes into historical events without being swallowed by them.
coley28's review
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
abetterbradley's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed "The Prince's Boy'". The title character is a man named Razvan. He was adopted by a prince, taken away from the country and taught how to be civilized and to move among the elite. Then the prince died and Razvan was left helpless and alone. But,even though the book is called "The Prince's Boy" it's really about a boy named Dinu.
Dinu is mourning his mother and is sent from Bucharest to Paris by his wealthy father to have one bohemian summer. Dinu is set up in an apartment and watched over by his cousin, Eduard.
Dinu is in Paris and he meets Razvan. The two begin a love affair that fuels the book and the passage of time because the book starts in 1927 and goes through 1967.
This book is a sad love story and my only fault is the abrupt ending.
Dinu is mourning his mother and is sent from Bucharest to Paris by his wealthy father to have one bohemian summer. Dinu is set up in an apartment and watched over by his cousin, Eduard.
Dinu is in Paris and he meets Razvan. The two begin a love affair that fuels the book and the passage of time because the book starts in 1927 and goes through 1967.
This book is a sad love story and my only fault is the abrupt ending.
catdad77a45's review
4.0
Bailey's slim novella makes up for in enchantment what it lacks in length.... although the story is appropriately just as long as it needs to be.