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A review by aront
She: A History of Adventure by H. Rider Haggard
3.0
What to make of this book?
This is the first Haggard book I have read, and one of his earliest books (his second success). The pacing is uneven, the plot is full of holes, and the writing can be terrible—he often runs out of over-blown adjectives so it seems he repeats the word “hideous” 10 times in 3 sentences. Nonetheless he manages to keep the story entertaining and engaging. He certainly is wildly imaginative and deserves props for creating a whole new genre (and being often imitated in books and films).
I also don’t find his racism or sexism too off the charts or obnoxious for a 19th century Englishman. The main character ends up longing for the days where polyandry will become the norm and describes positively a female led society. Sure he looks down on savages and poor people, yet he develops a true friendship with a “native” and gives arguments in favor of respecting cultural differences. He also has a deep respect for his old, not too bright servant. The only people Haggard truly despises are Jews (the “Hebrew” race) whom he has She viciously attack not once, but twice. But if Jew-hatred/stereotyping disqualifies English literature there wouldn’t be much to read out there, would there? (Ironically his main biographer was a Jew—Morton Cohen, how’s that for a stereotypical Jewish name?)
Finally, to his credit, he does on occasion rise above genre writing and raise interesting philosophical issues regarding sex, aging, culture and society. He puts highly unconventional views (even by modern standards) in the mouth of She and raises ideas clearly influenced by Indian & Chinese philosophies (albeit filtered through Victorian spiritualism).
I would give this 3.5 if I could (lost points for bad writing) and definitely recommend this book.
In regards to dealing with his uneven writing, I highly recommend listening to The Classic Tales audio book version which offers this book for free. BJ Harrison gives life to Haggard’s purple prose and makes it bearable . His excellent recitation style carries you through the boring bits and somehow makes the blow-hard narrator less insufferable.
This is the first Haggard book I have read, and one of his earliest books (his second success). The pacing is uneven, the plot is full of holes, and the writing can be terrible—he often runs out of over-blown adjectives so it seems he repeats the word “hideous” 10 times in 3 sentences. Nonetheless he manages to keep the story entertaining and engaging. He certainly is wildly imaginative and deserves props for creating a whole new genre (and being often imitated in books and films).
I also don’t find his racism or sexism too off the charts or obnoxious for a 19th century Englishman. The main character ends up longing for the days where polyandry will become the norm and describes positively a female led society. Sure he looks down on savages and poor people, yet he develops a true friendship with a “native” and gives arguments in favor of respecting cultural differences. He also has a deep respect for his old, not too bright servant. The only people Haggard truly despises are Jews (the “Hebrew” race) whom he has She viciously attack not once, but twice. But if Jew-hatred/stereotyping disqualifies English literature there wouldn’t be much to read out there, would there? (Ironically his main biographer was a Jew—Morton Cohen, how’s that for a stereotypical Jewish name?)
Finally, to his credit, he does on occasion rise above genre writing and raise interesting philosophical issues regarding sex, aging, culture and society. He puts highly unconventional views (even by modern standards) in the mouth of She and raises ideas clearly influenced by Indian & Chinese philosophies (albeit filtered through Victorian spiritualism).
I would give this 3.5 if I could (lost points for bad writing) and definitely recommend this book.
In regards to dealing with his uneven writing, I highly recommend listening to The Classic Tales audio book version which offers this book for free. BJ Harrison gives life to Haggard’s purple prose and makes it bearable . His excellent recitation style carries you through the boring bits and somehow makes the blow-hard narrator less insufferable.