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gageofthegoats's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
daemonad's review against another edition
4.0
If I were to judge this book only by its prose and language then this would be the best historical fiction I have ever read. The hybrid of old and modern English that mr. Kingsnorth devised to make the story sound "triewe" was a great bonus and in no way a hindrance. English is my second language and after few pages of getting used to this hybrid, it became easy to read and I would have it no other way. The story is told by Buccmaster of Holland. At first he comes off as strong and introspective; however, he strangely devolves into a petty, cowardly creature until finally we see him for what he is - a madman. If this transition was happening through longer period of time it would perhaps work but this happens in a span of 2 years. It was not the Buccmaster who filled my heart with yearning and sadness for the dying magic of his fens, lakes and forests. Such deep love for the earth and its magic couldn't come from a cowardly heart, it came from mr. Kingsnorth and perhaps it was the great smith Weland who wove such spell over me:)
quesarah's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
bibliothecarivs's review against another edition
5.0
2019, audiobook read by Simon Vance, ★★★★★
Wow! Vance's masterful narration revealed new layers of detail, enabled a deeper immersion into the plot and setting, and even more disturbingly exposed Buccmaster's mental disintegration.
Since first reading this in 2015-2016, I have stood on the battlefield of Hastings and now feel, if possible, even more of an attachment to the period of the conquest and the regular folk caught up in it.
The Wake has become one of my favourite books.
2016, paperback, ★★★★☆
Imagine the world described above as seen through the eyes of an angry, prideful, domineering, foul-mouthed, violent, desperate, delusional, and (though he would never admit it) conquered Anglisc man. Then imagine him telling you the story of his world falling apart in a language you only half recognize but which seems eerily familiar. Innovative, earthy, and shocking, The Wake will surely challenge you like it did me.
Wow! Vance's masterful narration revealed new layers of detail, enabled a deeper immersion into the plot and setting, and even more disturbingly exposed Buccmaster's mental disintegration.
Since first reading this in 2015-2016, I have stood on the battlefield of Hastings and now feel, if possible, even more of an attachment to the period of the conquest and the regular folk caught up in it.
The Wake has become one of my favourite books.
2016, paperback, ★★★★☆
'English history... seems the work of a temperate community, seldom shaken by convulsions. But there are moments when history is unsubtle; when change arrives in a violent rush, decisive, bloody, traumatic; as a truck-load of trouble, wiping out everything that gives a culture its bearings - custom, language, law, loyalty. 1066 was one of those moments.'
― Simon Schama, A History of Britain: At the Edge of the World? 3500 BC-AD 1603 (2000)
Imagine the world described above as seen through the eyes of an angry, prideful, domineering, foul-mouthed, violent, desperate, delusional, and (though he would never admit it) conquered Anglisc man. Then imagine him telling you the story of his world falling apart in a language you only half recognize but which seems eerily familiar. Innovative, earthy, and shocking, The Wake will surely challenge you like it did me.
merricatct's review against another edition
5.0
Incredible. This was one of those happy random finds on a random book list - something about the description prompted me to bump it up to the top of my TBR list, and I'm so glad I did.
First things first, the language. I didn't know what I was getting myself into, but it's hard to miss the fact that you open the book to the first page and are confronted with the author's "shadow version" of Old English. (Should that be "sceadu virsin"?) It's intimidating at first, and there is certainly effort required to make sense of what's written. The author helps you out a little by including an incomplete glossary in the back for the more obscure or impossible-to-recognize words ("fnaerettan" = snoring, "scramasax" = dagger, and my favorite, "wyrmfleage" = dragonfly), but most of the time the words either need to be sounded out phonetically or interpreted based on the context.** It does get easier as the book goes on - I began to recognize familiar letter patterns or words. At first, the "sc" combination being used for "sh" sounds was a killer, but eventually I'd see "sceap" and KNOW that it was actually "sheep" and not "skeep" like my modern-English ears wanted to hear. I got a real feeling of excitement and accomplishment from puzzling out the language and putting it all together! My six year old is at the stage of sounding out words, and reading this book reminded me of how much work it is to not only sound out words, but remember them and put them together in a multi-step process. I love that I've been given the opportunity to truly appreciate the gift of reading comprehension, instead of taking it for granted after so many years.
The language isn't just a chance for linguistic exercises, however - it's a vital part of this story. Old English is a hard, stripped-down, limited language, and a story told in such a confining tongue snaps you instantly into the world of Buccmaster of Holland. A world of subsistence farming, rigid social roles, superstition, and desperate survival. There's no fancy word play or metaphors or gentle sweeps of description to lull you - there is only Buccmaster's bitter, hate-filled thoughts and the brutal world he inhabits.
The description on the back of the book states that this is the story of the apocalypse from 1000 years ago, and this is true. Buccmaster's world is ending as a result of the invasion of 1066 and the repression that follows, and as he spirals further into paranoia and rage, you feel his desperation in every ground-out word. The desperation of someone who's lost everything he had and everything he was, and is now watching his country lose not only its fight against the invading "ingenga" outsiders, but its "aeld gods" against the "crist" as well. Buccmaster is a truly unlikable character, but he's also a product of his time, and his hypocrisy (hating his father for beating him when he beats his own wife and children) speaks just as much about the world he inhabits as it does about him.
I don't think this book is for everyone, but if you like a little challenge, go for it. I hope it enriches you as much as it did me!
---
** an example of the book's language and my version following:
of this haeric star i was specan but my grandfather a great tall man he
was hwit beard hwit haer his own sweord all on the beam of his hus what
becum my hus. he wolde spec micel of the eald daegs of the anglisc of
our folcs cuman here to these grene lands from across the wid sea. and
those daegs he wolde always sae those daegs was best for our folc for we
was as one agan the ingenga and we was free. no thegns there was then
no preosts no crist no cyng of angland but free men alone in the wilde
tacan the land men in freodom not in thrall.
Of this comet I was speaking, but my grandfather - a great tall man he
was, white beard and white hair, with his own sword on the beam of his house,
which became my house - he would speak much of the old days of the English.
Of our folk coming here to these green lands from across the wide sea. And
those days, he would always say, those days were the best for our folk, for we
were as one against the outsiders, and we were free. No lords there were, then;
no priests, no Christ, no king of England, but free men alone in the wild,
taking the land. Men in freedom, not in thrall.
First things first, the language. I didn't know what I was getting myself into, but it's hard to miss the fact that you open the book to the first page and are confronted with the author's "shadow version" of Old English. (Should that be "sceadu virsin"?) It's intimidating at first, and there is certainly effort required to make sense of what's written. The author helps you out a little by including an incomplete glossary in the back for the more obscure or impossible-to-recognize words ("fnaerettan" = snoring, "scramasax" = dagger, and my favorite, "wyrmfleage" = dragonfly), but most of the time the words either need to be sounded out phonetically or interpreted based on the context.** It does get easier as the book goes on - I began to recognize familiar letter patterns or words. At first, the "sc" combination being used for "sh" sounds was a killer, but eventually I'd see "sceap" and KNOW that it was actually "sheep" and not "skeep" like my modern-English ears wanted to hear. I got a real feeling of excitement and accomplishment from puzzling out the language and putting it all together! My six year old is at the stage of sounding out words, and reading this book reminded me of how much work it is to not only sound out words, but remember them and put them together in a multi-step process. I love that I've been given the opportunity to truly appreciate the gift of reading comprehension, instead of taking it for granted after so many years.
The language isn't just a chance for linguistic exercises, however - it's a vital part of this story. Old English is a hard, stripped-down, limited language, and a story told in such a confining tongue snaps you instantly into the world of Buccmaster of Holland. A world of subsistence farming, rigid social roles, superstition, and desperate survival. There's no fancy word play or metaphors or gentle sweeps of description to lull you - there is only Buccmaster's bitter, hate-filled thoughts and the brutal world he inhabits.
The description on the back of the book states that this is the story of the apocalypse from 1000 years ago, and this is true. Buccmaster's world is ending as a result of the invasion of 1066 and the repression that follows, and as he spirals further into paranoia and rage, you feel his desperation in every ground-out word. The desperation of someone who's lost everything he had and everything he was, and is now watching his country lose not only its fight against the invading "ingenga" outsiders, but its "aeld gods" against the "crist" as well. Buccmaster is a truly unlikable character, but he's also a product of his time, and his hypocrisy (hating his father for beating him when he beats his own wife and children) speaks just as much about the world he inhabits as it does about him.
I don't think this book is for everyone, but if you like a little challenge, go for it. I hope it enriches you as much as it did me!
---
** an example of the book's language and my version following:
of this haeric star i was specan but my grandfather a great tall man he
was hwit beard hwit haer his own sweord all on the beam of his hus what
becum my hus. he wolde spec micel of the eald daegs of the anglisc of
our folcs cuman here to these grene lands from across the wid sea. and
those daegs he wolde always sae those daegs was best for our folc for we
was as one agan the ingenga and we was free. no thegns there was then
no preosts no crist no cyng of angland but free men alone in the wilde
tacan the land men in freodom not in thrall.
Of this comet I was speaking, but my grandfather - a great tall man he
was, white beard and white hair, with his own sword on the beam of his house,
which became my house - he would speak much of the old days of the English.
Of our folk coming here to these green lands from across the wide sea. And
those days, he would always say, those days were the best for our folk, for we
were as one against the outsiders, and we were free. No lords there were, then;
no priests, no Christ, no king of England, but free men alone in the wild,
taking the land. Men in freedom, not in thrall.
jbdreau's review
adventurous
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
dbodinem's review against another edition
3.0
While I appreciate the challenge of writing the book in an "old English" like idiom, it really was just too much for me. Maybe a story, but a whole book doesn't lend it self to just really enjoying the work. Having written essays by Kingsnorth, I'm going to give the second book, The Beast, a shot, but it'll be a bit.
thomme_k's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A profoundly disturbing book, that I found challenging in the engagement with the dark spectra of the main character's psyche, as I simultaneously rooted for him - at least in part - whilst finding him abhorrent, and wondered whether the author expected me to find him attractive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Colonisation, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Xenophobia, Blood, War, Murder, and Sexual violence
Minor: Animal death, Sexism, Rape, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Torture
It deals with the colonisation of the British Isles by the Norman invaders, including all of the violence that a military occupation - and guerrilla warfare against that occupation - involves. It becomes progressively clearer through the book that the main character and narrator may be suffering from undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenia.scamp1234's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed learning how to read this book. The story was what was lacking for me. Or it could possibly be the bridge between reading this language and applying it the story didn't resonate as well at times.
mrpatperkins's review against another edition
5.0
This is not an easy read, as you have to translate the author’s version of Old English, but he tells a fascinating story of what happens when invaders destroy your world. Buccmaster is hardly sympathetic by the end, but his world has unraveled and what else can he do but fight.