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archergal's review against another edition
4.0
This was a challenging read in more ways than one.
The language the book was written in was a bit of a challenge. I did spend a good part of one evening's reading in reading aloud to myself. That really helped me get used to the words and to pull the meaning out. It definitely gets easier as you go along and you get more used to the writing.
I've seen this described as a post-apocalyptic novel. The apocalypse, in this case, was the Norman invasion/conquest of England in 1066. We follow the story of Buccmaster of Holland, whose world was absolutely shattered by the invaders. We come to learn that Buccmaster, however, was pretty broken himself long before the French came. He sees himself as one of the last of the true men of England.
Unfortunately, as we come to see, his self-assessment may not be quite accurate.
It's a sad, rather brutal story. It's not gory, just harsh and unflinching. And very well done.
The language the book was written in was a bit of a challenge. I did spend a good part of one evening's reading in reading aloud to myself. That really helped me get used to the words and to pull the meaning out. It definitely gets easier as you go along and you get more used to the writing.
I've seen this described as a post-apocalyptic novel. The apocalypse, in this case, was the Norman invasion/conquest of England in 1066. We follow the story of Buccmaster of Holland, whose world was absolutely shattered by the invaders. We come to learn that Buccmaster, however, was pretty broken himself long before the French came. He sees himself as one of the last of the true men of England.
Unfortunately, as we come to see, his self-assessment may not be quite accurate.
It's a sad, rather brutal story. It's not gory, just harsh and unflinching. And very well done.
n0rth3y's review against another edition
4.0
the first daeg i began this boc i was thincan this speac was just the prolog but then it went on and on and on and i becam afeart i wolde not be able to macc an heafod or tail oft
-- But surprisingly you do get used to it, and it's amazing how quickly you become accustomed to the language. Funded by crowd-sourcing through kickstarter and written in a "shadow tongue" that mimics 11th century English, the Wake is definitely the most daring book on the Man Booker Longlist.
The story follows the "buccmaster of Holland" who stands apart from his fellow men and wifmen of Angland as a man of the old gods apart from the circe (church). The French invade (true to history), and raze hams that refuse to pay a tithe of gold - hence the pitch of the story as a "post-apocalyptic tale." However - don't be fooled by that marketing pitch. It's really the psychological portrait of a man's descent that could be set in many eras.
Was it worth it to write the whole thing like this? Actually, yes, I think it was. While it requires a bit more work than your usual novel, it does give you the almost-sensation of reading an aged and yellow text - though the rhythm is a bit obviously modern to me. I didn't love the pace of the story - it felt just a bit longer than I needed - but it is still nevertheless an impressive and daring work.
(Man Booker Longlist #6/13)
-- But surprisingly you do get used to it, and it's amazing how quickly you become accustomed to the language. Funded by crowd-sourcing through kickstarter and written in a "shadow tongue" that mimics 11th century English, the Wake is definitely the most daring book on the Man Booker Longlist.
The story follows the "buccmaster of Holland" who stands apart from his fellow men and wifmen of Angland as a man of the old gods apart from the circe (church). The French invade (true to history), and raze hams that refuse to pay a tithe of gold - hence the pitch of the story as a "post-apocalyptic tale." However - don't be fooled by that marketing pitch. It's really the psychological portrait of a man's descent that could be set in many eras.
Was it worth it to write the whole thing like this? Actually, yes, I think it was. While it requires a bit more work than your usual novel, it does give you the almost-sensation of reading an aged and yellow text - though the rhythm is a bit obviously modern to me. I didn't love the pace of the story - it felt just a bit longer than I needed - but it is still nevertheless an impressive and daring work.
(Man Booker Longlist #6/13)
emilybryk's review against another edition
4.0
Thought-over and worked-over and agonized-over, no doubt. This is evocative as all hell of the end of a very particular way of life/the end of a very particular world.
That said, I felt like we didn't really see Buccmaster develop as a character until the last third (or even the last fifth) of the book. I don't think this was an issue of my own understanding, and it disappointed me. That transition from depressed and driven to action and EPICALLY MAD IN THE GRAND TRADITION OF EPIC MADNESS was forced and unforeseen in ways that aren't at all good.
That said, I felt like we didn't really see Buccmaster develop as a character until the last third (or even the last fifth) of the book. I don't think this was an issue of my own understanding, and it disappointed me. That transition from depressed and driven to action and EPICALLY MAD IN THE GRAND TRADITION OF EPIC MADNESS was forced and unforeseen in ways that aren't at all good.
johnmatthewfox's review against another edition
1.0
This was unreadable. I’ve tackled that chapter in David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas and I’ve read and enjoyed Clockwork Orange, but this was skewed beyond the realm of comprehension.
georgiat24's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
caitsidhe's review against another edition
undoubtedly an incredible achievement but it turns out reading a mostly constructed language is not something I enjoy
cryo_guy's review against another edition
5.0
First, thank you to Nick for not only recommending this book and keeping it in sight on his desk all year so i would not forget about it, but also for giving the book to me. What a guy!
Also, I love the cover art of the book
Onto the review: I'm going to try not to make this too spoilery, but there will be some quotes at the end that definitely might betray some plot and I'll end up saying some things too toward the end of this review but I'll have another reminder.
Some beginning stuff: the book is written in a "shadow tongue." Kingsnorth has created a pseudo-Old English language (Old English spellings of English words) that is readable for the modern English speaker. At first it made me want to look up every word and examine sentences until I was certain what they meant, but after 50 pages I had stopped pausing to consider words or looking them up completely (there is a partial glossary for specific Old English words). Related to this, as someone who knows Latin, it was fun to experience reading an English book with absolutely no Latin derivatives. Surreal even.
From the very beginning I loved Buccmaster. He has such a strong sense of himself and knows his place in the world. Kingsnorth does an amazing job making him the narrator and giving him an authorial voice. You hear about Buccmaster's thoughts from Buccmaster, the descriptions of the land are from him, and the descriptions of other characters--internal and external--are from Buccmaster. Maybe I've read too many multiple perspective books or ones with omniscient narrators but I found reading this book, where everything is filtered through Buccmaster was itself something enjoyable about the book. Of course this raises the issue of narrator reliability but I will say more about that later on. For Buccmaster, there are a lot of issues at stake that define his identity. Because of his strength of will, he can, effectively, abide no disagreement. He must be the master of his household (even though his sons are becoming men), he must owe fealty to no one (even though of course he must; he's not the king), he must believe in the old gods of the Angles (even though Christianity has been in England and has been integrated into its sociopolitical hierarchy), and more. It's when Buccmaster struggles against these things that he comes to define himself and so in some ways the book is about Buccmaster staying true to his own beliefs, ones that he inherited from his grandfather who also worshiped the old gods when it was still unpopular to do so. Having said that, there are also some uncomfortable scenes where Buccmaster feels he must assert his beliefs, his truths to maintain his social status (perceived or otherwise) or when he comes to blows about religion.
Theme-wise, the things i just mentioned feature heavily, social status, management of the household, religion, fealty, nativeness/foreignness. But there are also beautiful descriptions of the English countryside, whether forest or fenn, and the changing of seasons. Buccmaster, as a farmer, carries an intense bond with the land (which unites with his worship of the old gods who are also "of the land" unlike Christ who is a "god of men"). And I suppose the other thing to mention is the connection of the events of the book and actual history--without revealing to much, Buccmaster ends up commenting on and participating in historical events (or similar parallel ones) that also add to the book's vividness.
So at this point I'll say I really loved the book, Buccmaster is a truly intriguing character and all the things I mentioned coalesce slowly into an incredibly coherent and dynamic picture of life on the verge of the Norman Invasion and then 2 years into it.
I can't particularly think of something bad to say about the book, except that once or twice I noticed inconsistencies in the spelling of the shadow tongue. Although I might have been remembering it incorrectly, or there could have been two alternate spellings. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in William the Conqueror era history or anyone interested in the things I've mentioned. The book only spans 4 years so there isn't a whole lot of character development, more like character unfolding. Otherwise plot, narration, diction, style, punctuation--really its all just wonderful.
Now for a little bit of spoilery stuff:
While I loved Buccmaster from the beginning, reading the book was a bit like a punch in the gut if I empathized too closely. Because while Buccmaster, from the very beginning, sees himself and his identity being assailed from all sides (even from his sons and wife), he's as unreliable a narrator as they come. To this effect, there are dark secrets he conceals from you the reader. As I was reading, identifying with Buccmaster, this man who must constantly reinforce his beliefs and identity, I felt like a comrade in arms rooting him along. But at the end, I didn't even ask him at what cost he achieved the English identity he so badly wanted. I lamented for the violence and strife that dwells in the heart of all humans. And maybe that is what Buccmaster is--a cautionary tale, or a character that enthralls the reader only to repulse them. But I also think, deeper than that, there is something to be said about the formation and constitution of one's identity. In that respect, I must applaud the book again for being brilliant. What better juxtaposition could there be than a broken character in a broken nation, both of which hide their cracks so that you might see them as whole or becoming whole or fighting for wholeness--and join in it.
I think, in some way, Buccmaster broke my heart. But in others, history had already done that so many times. After all, he is just a character in a novel.
Here are a few of my fav quotes that at least partly illustrate some of the things I've mentioned:
Buccmaster in a nutshell
“well what is this scit i thincs what man wolde spec this way. thu is a fuccan hund i saes i is a socman of holland a man of the wapentac i has three oxgangs i answers to none”
On the old gods:
“thu wolde sae the eald gods is gan i saes and thu wolde sae the eald ways is gan well loc at this pal loc at it higher than thy cross efen now. to thu it colde be this is only sum treow what is grene as the sumor is grene but this is the eald treow of the world what we anglisc folcs loccd up to before the crist cum
there is stillness then only the sound of the fyr and the mofan of fox and aelf in the holt
this pal that thu pleges around i saes it is the world treow what cepes the seofon worlds together by will of the eald gods. at one root of this treow is the world of the gods and at an other is the world of the dead and betweon is the worlds of men of the light aelfs and deorc aelfs of the ents and the dweorgs. the world treow the great aesc treow what ties all things it grows through all the worlds and its stics hangs ofer all the world of men
this pal i saes this pal what thu steps around this cums to thu from the eald gods. i has seen the eald gods they has spac with me they is ired for thy luf of this hwit crist for he is not a god of the ground of treow and leaf of mere and snow of sumor and all the grene lif in the land. he is a god of men only and he tells thu to loc up to the heofon not around at thy place in this land. he is an ingenga god from a land where there is no treows and no luf neither for any thing what is not man and for this great yfel the folcs of angland has been gifen the ire of the frenc. if thu wolde lif thu moste feoht and the eald gods will feoht with thu and if thu does not feoht thu will die for this is the way of things and the only way”
More on the old gods and the old religion:
“oh i can sae these words and try to tell what it was lic there but naht can gif to thu what was in my heorte as i seen all of this cuman in to place. sum folcs who is dumb thincs the world is only what can be seen and smelt and hierde but men who cnawan the world cnawan there is a sceat of light that is betweon this world and others and that sum times and in sum places this sceat is thynne and can be seen through. on this daeg in this ham the sceat was thynne and scriffan in the light wind and through it i colde see all that the world triewely was beyond this small place of small men and deorc and strong and of great beuty and fear was what i saw.”
Buccmaster's Heart:
“we cums from the holt and to the ecg of the ham and we cum past swine rootan where the treows gan smaller and then through felds of beans lic what i was growan in my felds and peas also and leacs. there was aeppel treows then and a small ea and the heofon smelt of ealu and smoc and treows and folc. there was eight hus there small for small men but still it macd me loc baec on what I had been and what had been tacan
and what i was feelan then well it was felt mor deop when i seen what was in the ham for it seemed that the haerfest mass was happnan. long had we been in the holt and hard it was to tell the passan of the year in the treows but now here i colde see it was haligmonth the month of the haerfest and it was lic a spere in my heorte. then i colde feel deop the need for my land the need to worc it and be with it and i colde feel deop what was tacan from me. what had cum to my land i was thincan was it now becum treows again was it still blaec with aesc did sum other man cum to tac it was he frenc or anglisc. was there any left in my eald ham did any lif there. ah succ wundor there was in my land what had been the land of my grandfather and of his so micel worc in that ground so micel of my cynn and now.”
Buccmaster's identity:
“now in this small holt by bacstune locan at the treows i was thincan that these frenc they wolde gif all these things other names. i was locan at an ac treow and i put my hand on its great stocc and i was thincan the ingengas will haf another name for the treow. it had seemed to me that this treow was anglisc as the ground it is grown from anglisc as we who is grown also from that ground. but if the frenc cums and tacs this land and gids these treows sum frenc name they will not be the same treows no mor. it colde be that to erce this treow will be the same that it will haf the same leafs the same rind but to me it will be sum other thing that is not mine sum thing ingenga of what i can no longer spec
will they gif angland another name also i saes to this treow what will we call our cildren”
Also, I love the cover art of the book
Onto the review: I'm going to try not to make this too spoilery, but there will be some quotes at the end that definitely might betray some plot and I'll end up saying some things too toward the end of this review but I'll have another reminder.
Some beginning stuff: the book is written in a "shadow tongue." Kingsnorth has created a pseudo-Old English language (Old English spellings of English words) that is readable for the modern English speaker. At first it made me want to look up every word and examine sentences until I was certain what they meant, but after 50 pages I had stopped pausing to consider words or looking them up completely (there is a partial glossary for specific Old English words). Related to this, as someone who knows Latin, it was fun to experience reading an English book with absolutely no Latin derivatives. Surreal even.
From the very beginning I loved Buccmaster. He has such a strong sense of himself and knows his place in the world. Kingsnorth does an amazing job making him the narrator and giving him an authorial voice. You hear about Buccmaster's thoughts from Buccmaster, the descriptions of the land are from him, and the descriptions of other characters--internal and external--are from Buccmaster. Maybe I've read too many multiple perspective books or ones with omniscient narrators but I found reading this book, where everything is filtered through Buccmaster was itself something enjoyable about the book. Of course this raises the issue of narrator reliability but I will say more about that later on. For Buccmaster, there are a lot of issues at stake that define his identity. Because of his strength of will, he can, effectively, abide no disagreement. He must be the master of his household (even though his sons are becoming men), he must owe fealty to no one (even though of course he must; he's not the king), he must believe in the old gods of the Angles (even though Christianity has been in England and has been integrated into its sociopolitical hierarchy), and more. It's when Buccmaster struggles against these things that he comes to define himself and so in some ways the book is about Buccmaster staying true to his own beliefs, ones that he inherited from his grandfather who also worshiped the old gods when it was still unpopular to do so. Having said that, there are also some uncomfortable scenes where Buccmaster feels he must assert his beliefs, his truths to maintain his social status (perceived or otherwise) or when he comes to blows about religion.
Theme-wise, the things i just mentioned feature heavily, social status, management of the household, religion, fealty, nativeness/foreignness. But there are also beautiful descriptions of the English countryside, whether forest or fenn, and the changing of seasons. Buccmaster, as a farmer, carries an intense bond with the land (which unites with his worship of the old gods who are also "of the land" unlike Christ who is a "god of men"). And I suppose the other thing to mention is the connection of the events of the book and actual history--without revealing to much, Buccmaster ends up commenting on and participating in historical events (or similar parallel ones) that also add to the book's vividness.
So at this point I'll say I really loved the book, Buccmaster is a truly intriguing character and all the things I mentioned coalesce slowly into an incredibly coherent and dynamic picture of life on the verge of the Norman Invasion and then 2 years into it.
I can't particularly think of something bad to say about the book, except that once or twice I noticed inconsistencies in the spelling of the shadow tongue. Although I might have been remembering it incorrectly, or there could have been two alternate spellings. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in William the Conqueror era history or anyone interested in the things I've mentioned. The book only spans 4 years so there isn't a whole lot of character development, more like character unfolding. Otherwise plot, narration, diction, style, punctuation--really its all just wonderful.
Now for a little bit of spoilery stuff:
While I loved Buccmaster from the beginning, reading the book was a bit like a punch in the gut if I empathized too closely. Because while Buccmaster, from the very beginning, sees himself and his identity being assailed from all sides (even from his sons and wife), he's as unreliable a narrator as they come. To this effect, there are dark secrets he conceals from you the reader. As I was reading, identifying with Buccmaster, this man who must constantly reinforce his beliefs and identity, I felt like a comrade in arms rooting him along. But at the end, I didn't even ask him at what cost he achieved the English identity he so badly wanted. I lamented for the violence and strife that dwells in the heart of all humans. And maybe that is what Buccmaster is--a cautionary tale, or a character that enthralls the reader only to repulse them. But I also think, deeper than that, there is something to be said about the formation and constitution of one's identity. In that respect, I must applaud the book again for being brilliant. What better juxtaposition could there be than a broken character in a broken nation, both of which hide their cracks so that you might see them as whole or becoming whole or fighting for wholeness--and join in it.
I think, in some way, Buccmaster broke my heart. But in others, history had already done that so many times. After all, he is just a character in a novel.
Here are a few of my fav quotes that at least partly illustrate some of the things I've mentioned:
Buccmaster in a nutshell
“well what is this scit i thincs what man wolde spec this way. thu is a fuccan hund i saes i is a socman of holland a man of the wapentac i has three oxgangs i answers to none”
On the old gods:
“thu wolde sae the eald gods is gan i saes and thu wolde sae the eald ways is gan well loc at this pal loc at it higher than thy cross efen now. to thu it colde be this is only sum treow what is grene as the sumor is grene but this is the eald treow of the world what we anglisc folcs loccd up to before the crist cum
there is stillness then only the sound of the fyr and the mofan of fox and aelf in the holt
this pal that thu pleges around i saes it is the world treow what cepes the seofon worlds together by will of the eald gods. at one root of this treow is the world of the gods and at an other is the world of the dead and betweon is the worlds of men of the light aelfs and deorc aelfs of the ents and the dweorgs. the world treow the great aesc treow what ties all things it grows through all the worlds and its stics hangs ofer all the world of men
this pal i saes this pal what thu steps around this cums to thu from the eald gods. i has seen the eald gods they has spac with me they is ired for thy luf of this hwit crist for he is not a god of the ground of treow and leaf of mere and snow of sumor and all the grene lif in the land. he is a god of men only and he tells thu to loc up to the heofon not around at thy place in this land. he is an ingenga god from a land where there is no treows and no luf neither for any thing what is not man and for this great yfel the folcs of angland has been gifen the ire of the frenc. if thu wolde lif thu moste feoht and the eald gods will feoht with thu and if thu does not feoht thu will die for this is the way of things and the only way”
More on the old gods and the old religion:
“oh i can sae these words and try to tell what it was lic there but naht can gif to thu what was in my heorte as i seen all of this cuman in to place. sum folcs who is dumb thincs the world is only what can be seen and smelt and hierde but men who cnawan the world cnawan there is a sceat of light that is betweon this world and others and that sum times and in sum places this sceat is thynne and can be seen through. on this daeg in this ham the sceat was thynne and scriffan in the light wind and through it i colde see all that the world triewely was beyond this small place of small men and deorc and strong and of great beuty and fear was what i saw.”
Buccmaster's Heart:
“we cums from the holt and to the ecg of the ham and we cum past swine rootan where the treows gan smaller and then through felds of beans lic what i was growan in my felds and peas also and leacs. there was aeppel treows then and a small ea and the heofon smelt of ealu and smoc and treows and folc. there was eight hus there small for small men but still it macd me loc baec on what I had been and what had been tacan
and what i was feelan then well it was felt mor deop when i seen what was in the ham for it seemed that the haerfest mass was happnan. long had we been in the holt and hard it was to tell the passan of the year in the treows but now here i colde see it was haligmonth the month of the haerfest and it was lic a spere in my heorte. then i colde feel deop the need for my land the need to worc it and be with it and i colde feel deop what was tacan from me. what had cum to my land i was thincan was it now becum treows again was it still blaec with aesc did sum other man cum to tac it was he frenc or anglisc. was there any left in my eald ham did any lif there. ah succ wundor there was in my land what had been the land of my grandfather and of his so micel worc in that ground so micel of my cynn and now.”
Buccmaster's identity:
“now in this small holt by bacstune locan at the treows i was thincan that these frenc they wolde gif all these things other names. i was locan at an ac treow and i put my hand on its great stocc and i was thincan the ingengas will haf another name for the treow. it had seemed to me that this treow was anglisc as the ground it is grown from anglisc as we who is grown also from that ground. but if the frenc cums and tacs this land and gids these treows sum frenc name they will not be the same treows no mor. it colde be that to erce this treow will be the same that it will haf the same leafs the same rind but to me it will be sum other thing that is not mine sum thing ingenga of what i can no longer spec
will they gif angland another name also i saes to this treow what will we call our cildren”
sonofatreus's review against another edition
5.0
I thought the "shadow tongue" it is written in would be difficult or annoying, but it helped the story be much more immersive than it might have otherwise been. My only real complaint is that it is a little slow getting going, but once it does it runs.
birdnerdbookworm's review against another edition
2.0
Clearly this book wasn’t for me. Once the novelty of the invented language wore aware, I found the story lacking and tiresome.