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A review by archergal
The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth
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.