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melanie_reads's review
3.0
Eh ... got a lot of historical information regarding Casement's work in the Congo, Brazil and Ireland. However, it was very uneven in that the narrative and historical simply didn't match well from the reader's perspective.
oisin175's review
3.0
Roger Casement led an interesting life. He traveled the Congo with experienced and famous explorers. He was a Diplomat for Britain and worked on several reports detailing the human rights abuses of colonial powers in rubber plantations. He drew a connection between the plight of the colonized he reported on with the plight of the Irish. During World War I he traveled to Germany in an attempt to gain an allegiance that would help Ireland gain its independence. Despite his work for a free Ireland, he was largely ignored for decades because he was gay.
Despite the large amount of interesting information on Casement's life, this book fails to bring about much excitement. It's well written, though it acts as more of a fictionalized biography. It's written in the second person, though large sections read like a normal biography. This book seems to suffer from a lack of ambition. It's as if the author decided that Casement's life was so interesting he could spend a third of the book dealing with the final few days of Casement's life (which really works to provide information about his life/beliefs that weren't apparent otherwise, kind of like backstory). He then devoted the rest of the book to writing a straight forward biography with digressions into Casement's thoughts/ailments. It felt as thought the author wanted to write a fictional account of Casement's life but was worried about the book being inaccurate at the same time.
All in all, it is a decent book, though it isn't anything special or exciting. Based on the subject, the lack of interest in the reader is a pretty big disappointment.
Despite the large amount of interesting information on Casement's life, this book fails to bring about much excitement. It's well written, though it acts as more of a fictionalized biography. It's written in the second person, though large sections read like a normal biography. This book seems to suffer from a lack of ambition. It's as if the author decided that Casement's life was so interesting he could spend a third of the book dealing with the final few days of Casement's life (which really works to provide information about his life/beliefs that weren't apparent otherwise, kind of like backstory). He then devoted the rest of the book to writing a straight forward biography with digressions into Casement's thoughts/ailments. It felt as thought the author wanted to write a fictional account of Casement's life but was worried about the book being inaccurate at the same time.
All in all, it is a decent book, though it isn't anything special or exciting. Based on the subject, the lack of interest in the reader is a pretty big disappointment.
wittenbergman's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
blackoxford's review
2.0
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Roger Casement had consistently disappointing experience with modern institutions. His work as a shipping clerk in a private firm in Liverpool had no adventure. His time as an adventurer in the Congo for the Belgian monarch lacked humanity. His diplomatic efforts as part of the British government on behalf of humanity had little practical success. And his association with the ultimately successful 1916 Easter Uprising in Ireland led to his conviction for treason against his country and death by hanging. If he had survived into the Republic, I’m confident he would have found that Eire didn’t meet his expectations either. And incidentally he was gay, which did him little good among many institutions with which he had yet to have contact.
One might accurately call Casement a serial idealist. He moved from one idealistic fantasy to another throughout his life, seeking that true cause within an organization composed of other similarly dedicated true believers. When he failed to find the right ideal or a sufficiently sympathetic organization, he doubled the stakes, plunging into more and more radical causes until he ended up conspiring with Germany to free his native Ireland from British rule. He was, in short, somewhat of a social menace.
There are numerous poems, ballads, and mythical stories about Casement as an Irish national hero. Brian Inglis wrote his biography in 1973; this was republished 20 years later, and then again in 2002. Casement has been the subject of international television documentaries, a stage play, another biographical novel contemporaneous with that of Vargas Llosa, a graphic novel, as well as numerous articles, government reports and literary references. Casement’s memoirs, journals and diaries have been published and extensively analyzed in the popular and academic press. He is even the theme of an American country rock song. The man, in other words, has been well studied.
Therefore it seems to me odd that Vargas Llosa would choose Casement as the subject of this biographical novel. At times it is unclear if Vargas Llosa had decided definitively either to write a biography or a novel. He ends up providing immense amounts of historical detail but very little about what’s going on in Casement’s head, except his progressive disillusion with the way the world had been organized in his absence. There are no innovative insights, no obvious literary themes, no controversial interpretations as there are in his other biographical novel The War of the End of the World. Other than as a somewhat strident cautionary tale for today’s young idealists, therefore, I don’t see the point.
Roger Casement had consistently disappointing experience with modern institutions. His work as a shipping clerk in a private firm in Liverpool had no adventure. His time as an adventurer in the Congo for the Belgian monarch lacked humanity. His diplomatic efforts as part of the British government on behalf of humanity had little practical success. And his association with the ultimately successful 1916 Easter Uprising in Ireland led to his conviction for treason against his country and death by hanging. If he had survived into the Republic, I’m confident he would have found that Eire didn’t meet his expectations either. And incidentally he was gay, which did him little good among many institutions with which he had yet to have contact.
One might accurately call Casement a serial idealist. He moved from one idealistic fantasy to another throughout his life, seeking that true cause within an organization composed of other similarly dedicated true believers. When he failed to find the right ideal or a sufficiently sympathetic organization, he doubled the stakes, plunging into more and more radical causes until he ended up conspiring with Germany to free his native Ireland from British rule. He was, in short, somewhat of a social menace.
There are numerous poems, ballads, and mythical stories about Casement as an Irish national hero. Brian Inglis wrote his biography in 1973; this was republished 20 years later, and then again in 2002. Casement has been the subject of international television documentaries, a stage play, another biographical novel contemporaneous with that of Vargas Llosa, a graphic novel, as well as numerous articles, government reports and literary references. Casement’s memoirs, journals and diaries have been published and extensively analyzed in the popular and academic press. He is even the theme of an American country rock song. The man, in other words, has been well studied.
Therefore it seems to me odd that Vargas Llosa would choose Casement as the subject of this biographical novel. At times it is unclear if Vargas Llosa had decided definitively either to write a biography or a novel. He ends up providing immense amounts of historical detail but very little about what’s going on in Casement’s head, except his progressive disillusion with the way the world had been organized in his absence. There are no innovative insights, no obvious literary themes, no controversial interpretations as there are in his other biographical novel The War of the End of the World. Other than as a somewhat strident cautionary tale for today’s young idealists, therefore, I don’t see the point.
punt11's review against another edition
dark
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
doireann_ni_chaoimh's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I only gave it one star because it made me want to read other books about Roger Casement and the time period. It didn’t make me want to read this book itself.
It felt like the writer was too afraid to lean into the fictional element of the book, or the factual, so you just kind of get the worst of both. I never connected with Casement’s character as written and I felt the subject matter just wasn’t covered in a meaningful way at all. The whole way through, it felt like a slog so I wasn’t even bothered about getting to the end.
It felt like the writer was too afraid to lean into the fictional element of the book, or the factual, so you just kind of get the worst of both. I never connected with Casement’s character as written and I felt the subject matter just wasn’t covered in a meaningful way at all. The whole way through, it felt like a slog so I wasn’t even bothered about getting to the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Racism, and Homophobia
orestisgeo's review
5.0
"I say that Roger Casement
Did what he had to do
He died upon the gallows
But that is nothing new"
- W. B. Yeats
"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes."
- Walt Whitman, Song of Myself
The book written by Llosa is nothing less than a deep and intense exploration of human existence. The cosmopolitanism and peculiar character of its historical protagonist, Roger Casement, manage to weave together the personal and the global, as Roger travels throughout Africa and Latin America, in an attempt to observe and ameliorate the suffering caused by the authorities of the Crown upon the indigenous populations.
Writing in beautiful prose, the author manages to bring Roger Casement back to life. A brilliant read, all the more so if seen as an attempt to counter the smear campaign initiated by the british authorities a century ago, in order to deface the legacy of one of Ireland's most treasured thinkers and revolutionaries.
This is the way stories and histories should be written.
Did what he had to do
He died upon the gallows
But that is nothing new"
- W. B. Yeats
"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes."
- Walt Whitman, Song of Myself
The book written by Llosa is nothing less than a deep and intense exploration of human existence. The cosmopolitanism and peculiar character of its historical protagonist, Roger Casement, manage to weave together the personal and the global, as Roger travels throughout Africa and Latin America, in an attempt to observe and ameliorate the suffering caused by the authorities of the Crown upon the indigenous populations.
Writing in beautiful prose, the author manages to bring Roger Casement back to life. A brilliant read, all the more so if seen as an attempt to counter the smear campaign initiated by the british authorities a century ago, in order to deface the legacy of one of Ireland's most treasured thinkers and revolutionaries.
This is the way stories and histories should be written.
lbast's review
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
lep42's review
3.0
Review that I posted on the Goodreads Ireland discussion thread
"Well despite having had the book out from the library for 6 week and having been the one to nominate it, I didn't finish this until yesterday due to an incredibly hectic June.
I struggled with whether to rate this 3 or 4 stars. I ultimately gave it 3 because I thought a well done biography could have actually given us just a good of a sense of Casement's life, motivations, and feelings, as did this fictionalized biography. I could have given it 4 stars if Llosa had taken better advantage of the literary form. I found the quote "That was history, a branch of fable writing attempting to be science." interesting. Did Llosa write his book about Casement as a fictionalized biography, because he feels that the telling of history is always distorted anyway?
Another favorite quote of mine was having Casement say "Though it seems obscene to establish hierarchies among crimes of this magnitude." That one seems like it could be a direct quotation from Casement's writings. I would have liked to have seen an afterward that talked about Llosa's research and writing process
I was bothered by the passages that described Casement lusting after boys. I'm not sure what historical evidence he had that the objections of Casement's fantasies (or actual encounters) were teens. I was also a bit bothered by Casement's tendency to romanticize(or Llosa's tendency to have Casement romanticize) the natives of the Amazon as closer to nature and less prudish. One problem with it being a work of fiction and not a biography, was that it made it harder to tell what was conjecture on the part of the author.
Unlike most people, I enjoyed the Congo section better than the Amazonia section, perhaps because it was more succinct. I also was more familiar (but just a tiny bit) with the history of Congo and Belgian colonialism (and its recent historical and present day reverberations) than I was with the Amazonia region.
It was also interesting that Casement knew the author Joseph Conrad. Heart of Darkness was one of my favorite books I read in high school. I think I may be due to for a reread of it soon. The question of what drives men to commit horrific acts is one which Casement, Conrad, and Llosa are all concerned with.
Overall I thought this book was a solid introduction to a historical figure I knew nothing about. I'm glad to have read it. I would be extremely interested in checking out the book Alan mentioned that's a side by side comparison of the White and Black diaries.
Finally, can anyone recommend a good biography of either Patrick Pearse or Joseph Plunkett? I'd also be interested in a book on Cumann na mBan."
"Well despite having had the book out from the library for 6 week and having been the one to nominate it, I didn't finish this until yesterday due to an incredibly hectic June.
I struggled with whether to rate this 3 or 4 stars. I ultimately gave it 3 because I thought a well done biography could have actually given us just a good of a sense of Casement's life, motivations, and feelings, as did this fictionalized biography. I could have given it 4 stars if Llosa had taken better advantage of the literary form. I found the quote "That was history, a branch of fable writing attempting to be science." interesting. Did Llosa write his book about Casement as a fictionalized biography, because he feels that the telling of history is always distorted anyway?
Another favorite quote of mine was having Casement say "Though it seems obscene to establish hierarchies among crimes of this magnitude." That one seems like it could be a direct quotation from Casement's writings. I would have liked to have seen an afterward that talked about Llosa's research and writing process
I was bothered by the passages that described Casement lusting after boys. I'm not sure what historical evidence he had that the objections of Casement's fantasies (or actual encounters) were teens. I was also a bit bothered by Casement's tendency to romanticize(or Llosa's tendency to have Casement romanticize) the natives of the Amazon as closer to nature and less prudish. One problem with it being a work of fiction and not a biography, was that it made it harder to tell what was conjecture on the part of the author.
Unlike most people, I enjoyed the Congo section better than the Amazonia section, perhaps because it was more succinct. I also was more familiar (but just a tiny bit) with the history of Congo and Belgian colonialism (and its recent historical and present day reverberations) than I was with the Amazonia region.
It was also interesting that Casement knew the author Joseph Conrad. Heart of Darkness was one of my favorite books I read in high school. I think I may be due to for a reread of it soon. The question of what drives men to commit horrific acts is one which Casement, Conrad, and Llosa are all concerned with.
Overall I thought this book was a solid introduction to a historical figure I knew nothing about. I'm glad to have read it. I would be extremely interested in checking out the book Alan mentioned that's a side by side comparison of the White and Black diaries.
Finally, can anyone recommend a good biography of either Patrick Pearse or Joseph Plunkett? I'd also be interested in a book on Cumann na mBan."
girlvsbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
“Slowly his compatriots became resigned to accepting that a hero and martyr is not an abstract prototype or a model of perfection but a human being made of contradictions and contrast, weakness and greatness”
This is an odd book - purportedly a fictionalised account of the life of Roger Casement, it definitely feels more like a straight biography, with lots of ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’ of events. I found the start of the book about Casement’s work in the Belgian Congo to be quite dry & slow-going. Things picked up later in the book, though, and I became quite immersed in the story of his time in Peru and his involvement in Irish nationalism. What a life he led. There is lots of food for thought about the muddying of the waters between humanitarianism and colonialism, the fine line between patriotism and nationalism, and the lasting impact that homophobia has had on this man’s legacy.
This is an odd book - purportedly a fictionalised account of the life of Roger Casement, it definitely feels more like a straight biography, with lots of ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’ of events. I found the start of the book about Casement’s work in the Belgian Congo to be quite dry & slow-going. Things picked up later in the book, though, and I became quite immersed in the story of his time in Peru and his involvement in Irish nationalism. What a life he led. There is lots of food for thought about the muddying of the waters between humanitarianism and colonialism, the fine line between patriotism and nationalism, and the lasting impact that homophobia has had on this man’s legacy.