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3.16 AVERAGE
3.16 AVERAGE
This is a good book but is a more challenging read due to differences in English writing in the past 100 years.
For a book originally intended for adults and children, She presents a challenging narrative. Not only does H. Rider Haggard muse upon topics metaphysical and religious but does so through an imaginative interplay of imagery and, especially, words. She may be a creature whose birth precedes that of Christ, but the world within which She lives is one that predated Her own existence by some 8000 to 10,000 years. And, of course, we, as contemporary readers are looking book on the telling of the tale through the scents and images of a now lost late Victorian era. Mirror upon mirror upon mirror reflect back on themselves. And the language works to the same effect. Haggard has chosen to use archaic words throughout--not just words from the Victorian era that have dwindled from our everyday use today but words and vocabulary that reach back to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and beyond. All broken up into contrasting styles of writing that sometimes echo the King James Version of the Bible in their pace, syntax, and rhythm. In general, he produces a mystifying and melancholy effect, exploring the issues of time, death, the worthiness of life, and meaning in a context of eternity.
This is a much better book than King Solomon's Mines. Lots of unusual adventure and no wholesale slaughtering of animals just for sport. The descriptions of navigating African terrain seems realistic, complete with bogs, mountains, plains, cattle, snakes, crocodiles, mosquitoes, other floral and fauna, and don't forget cannibals.
I was very much surprised to learn that the phrase "She Who Must Be Obeyed", was not originally a reference to a peace-keeping domestic philosophy (Rumpole of the Bailey). Instead it's accredited to the She of this novel, a vengeful, cruel and formidable queen.
Some proselytizing, misogyny and misandry. Both action adventures and phobia endangerments.
I was very much surprised to learn that the phrase "She Who Must Be Obeyed", was not originally a reference to a peace-keeping domestic philosophy (Rumpole of the Bailey). Instead it's accredited to the She of this novel, a vengeful, cruel and formidable queen.
Some proselytizing, misogyny and misandry. Both action adventures and phobia endangerments.
I really liked this one. He has such a beautiful writing style
Has some spectacular moments; the Philosopher's realization of the darkness surrounding human existence is beautifully captured. Aphorisms also abound - many of them racist and misogynist - that are woefully out of their times (with good reason). However, one has to see it as the account of a particular individual (the protagonist is also a prime participant in the action), and in some sense, it is an accurate depiction of what a typical Empire man of the nineteenth century would feel about the world around him. So take that away, you get an exotic adventure that grips the imagination in many places. It falters only because this once very fresh setting for a novel has been over harvested in the modern era. Still a good story to go through, all caveats stated.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A decent adventure novel with less racism than you’d expect for the time period but elements of the novel felt poorly fleshed out particularly she-who-must-not-be-named
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
It was a struggle to listen to this book. Beyond the footnotes that didn't add to anything in the story, the author needs a thesaurus badly. The actual story has potential.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated