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abetterjulie's review against another edition
5.0
This book will not be for everyone. As the author explains, it is written in pseudo-Old English, a type of shadow language. It requires some patience at the beginning, but it reads like swimming in wild water. There is a pull and glide with effort rewarded in muscles stretched and smoothed. There is a brief appendix for those words that don't untangle easily, but it was rarely needed.
The unreliable narrator is beautifully done. The story itself is simple, and the reader knows things will not end well, but the mystery comes in the parsed language. There is little punctuation. The description is sparse. The dialogue is clipped. There is just the stroke of one sentence leading to the next and next drawing the swimmer to the far shore. The old gods are brought into a dark light. The French are there to stay. The English ways are gone. It is a solid perspective on life under oppression, and the land and people never fully recovering.
The unreliable narrator is beautifully done. The story itself is simple, and the reader knows things will not end well, but the mystery comes in the parsed language. There is little punctuation. The description is sparse. The dialogue is clipped. There is just the stroke of one sentence leading to the next and next drawing the swimmer to the far shore. The old gods are brought into a dark light. The French are there to stay. The English ways are gone. It is a solid perspective on life under oppression, and the land and people never fully recovering.
ktonks's review against another edition
4.0
A necessary read for anyone interested in English history. The pseudo Old English was surprisingly easier to read as the book went on. Makes me wish all historical writers went to such lengths.
thebobsphere's review
5.0
I would have never believed that I would enjoy reading a book taking place during the Norman invasion of Britain AND it's told through a modified form of Old English.
The Buccmaster of Holland is living well. He has two sons, a lot of land, a huge house and a loving wife. Then after the Battle of Hastings, he loses everything and decides to put together a band of mercenaries to kill all French citizens.
However there are some problems, the main one is that The Buccmaster is stuck to the old ways i.e believing in pagan gods and old fashioned rites and refuses to keep up with the the current (1066) mentality of his kinsfolk, coupled with a dodgy past which is revealed slowly throughout the novel and you have got a riveting read.
Whilst reading The Wake I couldn't help comparing the Buccmaster's attitude to last year's 'Brexit' campaign. Think of this. One person does not want foreign people in England in order to keep it pure and tries his utmost to get rid of them. Sounds familiar? I do understand that the Norman Invasion was a time of rape and pillaging but there are some similarities with the mentality.
A good number of reviews seem to point out the language but honestly after a couple of pages the language becomes poetic and fun to read, there is a glossary for the more obscure worse and the Kingsnorth does give an explanation on pronunciation so reading The Wake is not a chore. If one can cope with books such as Trainspotting or A Clockwork Orange, even Shakespeare then there's no reason why this book should be a turn off.
The blurb of my copy states that The Wake could easily become a modern classic. Although such statements bother me, I have to agree with this one as it hits all points: creative, slightly funny, dashes of mythology and pagan rituals, and more importantly, a strong story.
The Buccmaster of Holland is living well. He has two sons, a lot of land, a huge house and a loving wife. Then after the Battle of Hastings, he loses everything and decides to put together a band of mercenaries to kill all French citizens.
However there are some problems, the main one is that The Buccmaster is stuck to the old ways i.e believing in pagan gods and old fashioned rites and refuses to keep up with the the current (1066) mentality of his kinsfolk, coupled with a dodgy past which is revealed slowly throughout the novel and you have got a riveting read.
Whilst reading The Wake I couldn't help comparing the Buccmaster's attitude to last year's 'Brexit' campaign. Think of this. One person does not want foreign people in England in order to keep it pure and tries his utmost to get rid of them. Sounds familiar? I do understand that the Norman Invasion was a time of rape and pillaging but there are some similarities with the mentality.
A good number of reviews seem to point out the language but honestly after a couple of pages the language becomes poetic and fun to read, there is a glossary for the more obscure worse and the Kingsnorth does give an explanation on pronunciation so reading The Wake is not a chore. If one can cope with books such as Trainspotting or A Clockwork Orange, even Shakespeare then there's no reason why this book should be a turn off.
The blurb of my copy states that The Wake could easily become a modern classic. Although such statements bother me, I have to agree with this one as it hits all points: creative, slightly funny, dashes of mythology and pagan rituals, and more importantly, a strong story.
pumpie's review
5.0
this is a manly man book which i wouldn't normally like but......the language in this is so good + immersive. i love it. it is slow reading but it really gets into u, u feel the connection with england from 1000 years ago. kingsnorth is still angry about the norman conquest this is so refreshing idk
jerianne's review
5.0
This book perfectly illustrates how very similar our time is to the medieval era. I truly believe that we are in the new Dark Age, where flat earthers abound, chaos reigns, and the Christ and the Old Gods alike turn their backs on the farcical self-destruction of humanity. Will we survive? Will we rise? Will we tear each other apart while the true enemy builds fortifications?
jgwc54e5's review
I couldn’t be bothered finishing this book. Once upon a time I would’ve loved the challenge of reading a book like this but frankly I don’t have the time. I’d argue with the author that his made up old English is the best way to get across the characters of the times minds because how would he know anyway? Even when I was used to words the flow was never even and didn’t convey the mood, atmosphere etc of the subject.
aliciamae's review
4.0
This book was absolutely fascinating. I combined the actual text with an audiobook version read by Simon Vance. That worked best for me. It takes a little while to get into the "shadow language" but once you're used to it, it totally works. I combined it with the audio, because as I was reading this seemed like the sort of story that was best read aloud. Listening to the audio helped me see where some of the natural pauses and flow of things were-- there's no punctuation or capitalization in this novel. The story itself was arresting, and brutal. Which really, what can you expect? It's the story of an man who has lost everything to violent conquerors who have stripped the land of of what made it what it was. The man has devoted himself to avenging what he has lost in an attempt to resurrect the old ways. Keeping with the brutal story, there's quite a bit of swearing. Buccmaster is angry, and in pain, and we see it in a variety of ways.
I find myself pulled in two directions with this one. It's haunting, and mesmerizing. Beautiful but brutal. I both like and dislike the use of the shadow language. I like that it is super artsy and unique and that it does make you feel that you're actually in England around the time of the Norman Conquest (1066, for those who need a date reminder). One of my pet peeves is when the language does not match with the period of a historical novel (For example, Victorians should not sound like modern day people. They should sound like themselves). For an interesting discussion on the language choices by two linguists (one who is a medieval scholar): http://the-toast.net/2016/06/14/two-linguists-explain-pseudo-old-english-in-the-wake/
I find myself pulled in two directions with this one. It's haunting, and mesmerizing. Beautiful but brutal. I both like and dislike the use of the shadow language. I like that it is super artsy and unique and that it does make you feel that you're actually in England around the time of the Norman Conquest (1066, for those who need a date reminder). One of my pet peeves is when the language does not match with the period of a historical novel (For example, Victorians should not sound like modern day people. They should sound like themselves). For an interesting discussion on the language choices by two linguists (one who is a medieval scholar): http://the-toast.net/2016/06/14/two-linguists-explain-pseudo-old-english-in-the-wake/
stopsatgreen's review
4.0
Let’s get this out of the way: the writing style will put some off. Written in a ‘shadow language’ of Old English with modern grammar and some artistic license, the first 30 or so pages are very dense and slightly baffling. If, however, you persevere, you begin to follow the rhythm of the words and the vocabulary becomes normal to you, so by halfway through the book you almost forget about it. Almost.
Beyond that, the *real* problem with the book, I found, is that the protagonist is highly unlikeable. Proud, boastful, superior, unpleasant, cowardly… this is not a traditional hero’s tale.
But there is a wonderful sense of mood, of place, of time. The book rewards in many ways, even if it doesn’t please. It illuminates a mostly-forgotten period of English history, and has many allegorical parallels with today.
I recommend you read the notes on pronunciation first, and keep the glossary conveniently bookmarked for the first 30 pages; then immerse yourself in the language and you’ll find it was really worth the struggle.
Beyond that, the *real* problem with the book, I found, is that the protagonist is highly unlikeable. Proud, boastful, superior, unpleasant, cowardly… this is not a traditional hero’s tale.
But there is a wonderful sense of mood, of place, of time. The book rewards in many ways, even if it doesn’t please. It illuminates a mostly-forgotten period of English history, and has many allegorical parallels with today.
I recommend you read the notes on pronunciation first, and keep the glossary conveniently bookmarked for the first 30 pages; then immerse yourself in the language and you’ll find it was really worth the struggle.
lizzieb's review
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
catdad77a45's review
5.0
Like others, I attempted to get into this several times before being able to penetrate the language - but honestly, it only takes 20-30 pages before the difficulties disappear, and although some dismiss it as a gimmick, the language IS pretty much the book. Tip - it helps to read the author's notes on both the language and the history before starting, and familiarizing oneself with the partial glossary (which proved helpful, but there were still a few words I never did decipher: torr = door? terror? who knows). But this story of the resistance to the Norman Invasion of 1066 really does put you right into a different time and place, and I particularly liked the way in which buccmaster's defense of the 'eald gods' against the new 'crist' is played out. The repetition got annoying a few times, but again, it is an essential part of putting you back in the time period, so was only a minor annoyance. I understand this is to be the first book of a trilogy, and that Kingsnorth is writing a 2nd part set contemporaneously, and a 3rd to take place 1000 years from now - not quite sold on that idea, but will be interesting to see where he takes it. Oh, and on a side note, kudos to Unbound, the crowd-sourced publishing company, on not only landing this on the Booker Longlist, but in producing an exquisitely bound book - thick pages, great bas relief cover, interesting fonts, etc