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mightythorax's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
smedette's review against another edition
5.0
This book has intimidated me for years. YEARS. It is written in a made up ‰ЫПshadow tongue‰Ыќ of Old English, and I felt too dumb to decipher it and would give up quite easily. This time, I powered through and am so glad it did.
After about 20 pages, I was no longer struggling (as much) with the language and things were making sense. I could read faster and found great pleasure in looking up old words and putting together the allegories and historical references. This book is incredible and I have been recommending it to everyone.
The story is set during the Norman invasion in 1066, and is narrated by Buccmaster, who has lost everything. Including his mind.
As soon as I finished this I read it again while listening to the audiobook (by Simon Vance), which I found very useful as the physical book lacks a pronunciation guide with its glossary.
I think I‰ЫЄm ready to tackle the remaining books of the Buccmaster Trilogy.
After about 20 pages, I was no longer struggling (as much) with the language and things were making sense. I could read faster and found great pleasure in looking up old words and putting together the allegories and historical references. This book is incredible and I have been recommending it to everyone.
The story is set during the Norman invasion in 1066, and is narrated by Buccmaster, who has lost everything. Including his mind.
As soon as I finished this I read it again while listening to the audiobook (by Simon Vance), which I found very useful as the physical book lacks a pronunciation guide with its glossary.
I think I‰ЫЄm ready to tackle the remaining books of the Buccmaster Trilogy.
domesticat's review against another edition
4.0
Wow.
Okay. It felt at times like everything from madness to academic literary exercise to ridiculously brilliant. I'm not sure that I'd ever read it again, but I'm glad I had the experience of reading it, and I'm glad that I went in with no knowledge of the character or the storyline. It's unlike anything I've ever read before while simultaneously feeling familiar, like an old story you studied years ago that has embedded itself into how you view history.
Okay. It felt at times like everything from madness to academic literary exercise to ridiculously brilliant. I'm not sure that I'd ever read it again, but I'm glad I had the experience of reading it, and I'm glad that I went in with no knowledge of the character or the storyline. It's unlike anything I've ever read before while simultaneously feeling familiar, like an old story you studied years ago that has embedded itself into how you view history.
kyatic's review against another edition
5.0
Well. This book was different and weird and immersive and worthwhile. By that, I mean that it took about 30 pages before I could read it without referring to the glossary every 6 words or so to try and remember what the heck a 'scucca' was, and I'm glad I persevered. At times, I thought I wouldn't. I gave up on The Great Gatsby, for god's sake, so my track record for continuing with books that I find tricky or dull is not exactly glowing. Something about this one made me break my habit of giving up quickly. That has to say something.
In terms of plot, it was very similar to Maria McCann's As Meat Loves Salt (one of my all time faves): unreliable, deranged narrator with a slowly revealed terrible past; meticulously researched history which bleeds into the protagonist's mindset; a climactic betrayal and reckoning amongst friends and established enemies; a background of war and political turbulence in England; and even the protagonist and his relationship with his wife was very similar. It still felt like a very different book due to the narrative technique, and although I think it'll be tricky to definitively separate the two books in my mind, I absolutely consider this as a genuinely impressive book on its own merit. I almost wish I hadn't read As Meat Loves Salt so that I could appreciate The Wake without constantly comparing the two, and it takes a great book to make me wish I hadn't read one of my favourites.
You should read this one if you like historical fiction, books that you need to make an effort with, unreliable narrators, and experimental literature. Or a book which spells 'such' as 'succ', because that's just a wonder in and of itself, isn't it?
In terms of plot, it was very similar to Maria McCann's As Meat Loves Salt (one of my all time faves): unreliable, deranged narrator with a slowly revealed terrible past; meticulously researched history which bleeds into the protagonist's mindset; a climactic betrayal and reckoning amongst friends and established enemies; a background of war and political turbulence in England; and even the protagonist and his relationship with his wife was very similar. It still felt like a very different book due to the narrative technique, and although I think it'll be tricky to definitively separate the two books in my mind, I absolutely consider this as a genuinely impressive book on its own merit. I almost wish I hadn't read As Meat Loves Salt so that I could appreciate The Wake without constantly comparing the two, and it takes a great book to make me wish I hadn't read one of my favourites.
You should read this one if you like historical fiction, books that you need to make an effort with, unreliable narrators, and experimental literature. Or a book which spells 'such' as 'succ', because that's just a wonder in and of itself, isn't it?
nicmcphee's review against another edition
4.0
The pseudo-Old English obviously takes some time to get used to, but once you get rolling it starts to have a nice rhythm and almost poetic sound.
There are plenty of big themes and ideas in this, and it sheds wonderful lights on a very interesting and important time in British history.
I found I got somewhat bogged down about 3/4 of the way through, but things picked up again nicely in the end game. I certainly recommend it, especially if the idea of the language appeals.
There are plenty of big themes and ideas in this, and it sheds wonderful lights on a very interesting and important time in British history.
I found I got somewhat bogged down about 3/4 of the way through, but things picked up again nicely in the end game. I certainly recommend it, especially if the idea of the language appeals.
drifterontherun's review against another edition
5.0
For a truly immersive experience, I highly recommend "The Wake". Paul Kingsnorth's extraordinary novel practically begs to be adapted into a film by Mel Gibson. All the classic Gibsonian qualities are here.
1. Characters speaking a dead language? Check.
2. Story of the decline/fall of a people? Check.
3. Post-Norman Conquest English Kings cast as treacherous villains? Check.
Think "Braveheart" crossed with "Apocalypto" and you've got "The Wake".
As an English Major, I had to take a class that required us to record ourselves reading passages of "Beuwolf" out loud. The professor then graded us on the quality of our pronunciation. I'm not exactly sure what this taught me, as I remember almost zero words in Old English.
The author notes at the end of the book that while his characters would have been speaking Old English, the book itself isn't written in Old English as that would have made this unreadable to anyone who wasn't a scholar. So while "The Wake" brought some Old English words back to me, it's actually written in a "shadow tongue" intended to give the feel of the old language in a way that modern-day readers are easily able to comprehend.
Initially, a book written entirely in this "pseudo-language" struck me as a bit jarring. But I found myself getting used to it rather quickly. Maybe that class really did pay off.
This all makes "The Wake" a refreshingly original read. It's not so much the story itself that is special, but the way it's told. It would be a good book if it were written in modern English, but the fact that Kingsnorth wrote it this way makes it an extraordinary one.
I don't think I have been as excited about the language in a book since I first read "A Clockwork Orange". The language is everything here, and you can't help but feel like you are in England in 1066 while you're reading.
Books that seek to innovate deserve our attention and admiration. That "The Wake" manages to innovate and tell such a good story at the same time makes it particularly worthy of our admiration.
Would England have been a better country were it not for the Norman invasion? Kingsnorth presents a strong argument that it would have been. The invasion of the Normans was, in Kingsnorth's words, "probably the most catastrophic single event in this nation's history", bringing "slaughter, famine, scorched-earth warfare, slavery and widespread land confiscation to the English population, along with a new ruling class who had, in many cases, little but contempt for their new subjects."
That England failed to have a king who spoke English as his first language (the Normans spoke French) until 1399 is stunning. Kingsnorth goes on to point out that many of the precedents established by the Normans remain in place even today, and their influence is widely felt in, among other things, the fact that 70% of English land is today held by a mere 1% of the population — an inequality of land ownership that's second only to Brazil's.
"The Wake" makes you mourn for the loss of a people and a culture. It also makes you mourn for what might have been.
1. Characters speaking a dead language? Check.
2. Story of the decline/fall of a people? Check.
3. Post-Norman Conquest English Kings cast as treacherous villains? Check.
Think "Braveheart" crossed with "Apocalypto" and you've got "The Wake".
As an English Major, I had to take a class that required us to record ourselves reading passages of "Beuwolf" out loud. The professor then graded us on the quality of our pronunciation. I'm not exactly sure what this taught me, as I remember almost zero words in Old English.
The author notes at the end of the book that while his characters would have been speaking Old English, the book itself isn't written in Old English as that would have made this unreadable to anyone who wasn't a scholar. So while "The Wake" brought some Old English words back to me, it's actually written in a "shadow tongue" intended to give the feel of the old language in a way that modern-day readers are easily able to comprehend.
Initially, a book written entirely in this "pseudo-language" struck me as a bit jarring. But I found myself getting used to it rather quickly. Maybe that class really did pay off.
This all makes "The Wake" a refreshingly original read. It's not so much the story itself that is special, but the way it's told. It would be a good book if it were written in modern English, but the fact that Kingsnorth wrote it this way makes it an extraordinary one.
I don't think I have been as excited about the language in a book since I first read "A Clockwork Orange". The language is everything here, and you can't help but feel like you are in England in 1066 while you're reading.
Books that seek to innovate deserve our attention and admiration. That "The Wake" manages to innovate and tell such a good story at the same time makes it particularly worthy of our admiration.
Would England have been a better country were it not for the Norman invasion? Kingsnorth presents a strong argument that it would have been. The invasion of the Normans was, in Kingsnorth's words, "probably the most catastrophic single event in this nation's history", bringing "slaughter, famine, scorched-earth warfare, slavery and widespread land confiscation to the English population, along with a new ruling class who had, in many cases, little but contempt for their new subjects."
That England failed to have a king who spoke English as his first language (the Normans spoke French) until 1399 is stunning. Kingsnorth goes on to point out that many of the precedents established by the Normans remain in place even today, and their influence is widely felt in, among other things, the fact that 70% of English land is today held by a mere 1% of the population — an inequality of land ownership that's second only to Brazil's.
"The Wake" makes you mourn for the loss of a people and a culture. It also makes you mourn for what might have been.
drusebookparty's review against another edition
4.0
Genius, weird and challenging. I had to read the first thirty pages aloud to adjust to the rhythm and cadence of Kingsnorth's Middle English, but what an excellent story. A book worthy of wrapping and knocking your brain around.
ottopivnr's review against another edition
4.0
What are we to make of Buccmaster of Holland, a socman with three oxgangs?
Is his madness understandable, a consequence of the catastrophe that has befallen his village, or simply his own failure to adapt to the upheaval of the order of his way of life?
He has always rejected authority and anything foreign, because he deeply believes his is the one trieuw way and the only way. He is a man of the land, and his unique social position causes him to view both those above him and those below him as unworthy (this is a trait that certainly mirrors the attitudes of modern folk).
He is not likable, nor honorable, nor did I find any sympathy with his plight, and yet his descent made for a compelling read.
This book is a challenge, but not as daunting as it seems at first, due to the repetitive nature of the narrative. It is worth the effort.
Q: 4
E: 4
I: 3
19
Is his madness understandable, a consequence of the catastrophe that has befallen his village, or simply his own failure to adapt to the upheaval of the order of his way of life?
He has always rejected authority and anything foreign, because he deeply believes his is the one trieuw way and the only way. He is a man of the land, and his unique social position causes him to view both those above him and those below him as unworthy (this is a trait that certainly mirrors the attitudes of modern folk).
He is not likable, nor honorable, nor did I find any sympathy with his plight, and yet his descent made for a compelling read.
This book is a challenge, but not as daunting as it seems at first, due to the repetitive nature of the narrative. It is worth the effort.
Q: 4
E: 4
I: 3
19
ajamieson's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely a very interesting read, and one that took a lot of thought thanks to the shadow Old English tongue! It was worth it though -- very dark and twisted and a different view on the Norman Invasion of England.
emmafwhitworth's review against another edition
4.0
As facinating as this book was, it has taken me about sepia weeks to read, which is terrible for me! I think that's down partly to my mental state, but also because I got to the last 100 pages and started to get quite bored. The ending stretched out in front of me, predictable and a little monotonous... It was hard to get myself to finish it. I'm glad I did though. The book really does transport you back a thousand years: there is something about the use of shadowscript that helps one to fully commit into Buccmaster's mindset and the time period. The constant debate I had with myself as to whether the gods were truly talking to him or if he was simply mad was interesting, and I learnt a lot about pre-Christian English religion which was really interesting.