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dianacantread 's review for:
Hoa Tulilp Đen
by Alexandre Dumas
I laughed way more than I probably should have at The Black Tulip.
Now, from the description on my personal copy, I expected an adventure filled with murder and epic noble deeds and dramatized everyday occurrences. And then yeah, something about a flower and how it stands for justice. Instead, the first twenty pages feature gruesome murder, and the rest of the novel is about an overly dramatic love triangle between a man, a woman, and an actual tulip. That's right, the title isn't just symbolic. There is an actual tulip that not only exists but also steals the show with its incredible tulip-ness.
I think the over-the-top everything of The Black Tulip actually made it better. It's sappy and corny and, dare I repeat myself, overly dramatic, and that's kind of what makes it work. The overall ridiculousness of a story that revolves around a freaking tulip of all things lends to the ridiculous love story and the ridiculous actions of the villain of the novel, who is so eevveeeelll that he might as well be a James Bond bad guy with a tulip fetish.
I enjoyed The Black Tulip immensely, probably for all the wrong reasons. However, because I find it in the "so bad it's good category," I can't exactly give it five stars. On the other hand, I totally recommend this to anyone who can appreciate the cheesiness of classic romantic novels. Also, I suggest the Oxford World's Classics edition. The snarky explanatory notes made everything even better.
3/5 stars
Now, from the description on my personal copy, I expected an adventure filled with murder and epic noble deeds and dramatized everyday occurrences. And then yeah, something about a flower and how it stands for justice. Instead, the first twenty pages feature gruesome murder, and the rest of the novel is about an overly dramatic love triangle between a man, a woman, and an actual tulip. That's right, the title isn't just symbolic. There is an actual tulip that not only exists but also steals the show with its incredible tulip-ness.
I think the over-the-top everything of The Black Tulip actually made it better. It's sappy and corny and, dare I repeat myself, overly dramatic, and that's kind of what makes it work. The overall ridiculousness of a story that revolves around a freaking tulip of all things lends to the ridiculous love story and the ridiculous actions of the villain of the novel, who is so eevveeeelll that he might as well be a James Bond bad guy with a tulip fetish.
I enjoyed The Black Tulip immensely, probably for all the wrong reasons. However, because I find it in the "so bad it's good category," I can't exactly give it five stars. On the other hand, I totally recommend this to anyone who can appreciate the cheesiness of classic romantic novels. Also, I suggest the Oxford World's Classics edition. The snarky explanatory notes made everything even better.
3/5 stars