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A review by michaelclorah
Pan Michael: An Historical Novel of Poland, the Ukraine, and Turkey by Henryk Sienkiewicz
2.0
I freely admit that the fault may lie in the translation (at least one reviewer here recommended a specific translator, and the edition I read - found in my Polish emigre in-laws' house - is NOT by that translator), but I found this book a slog.
No, the early chapters were decently readable - very Jane Austin in the weaving relationships of who loves who and what is proper in society, but then Michael and Basia marry and we're off to political intrigue and war, and ... who are these people as individuals or as sects? Maybe it's assumed I know (or should know) a lot more Polish history than I do. Maybe it's the translation. But it's tedious and vague and tiresome. I closed it for good around halfway through.
No, the early chapters were decently readable - very Jane Austin in the weaving relationships of who loves who and what is proper in society, but then Michael and Basia marry and we're off to political intrigue and war, and ... who are these people as individuals or as sects? Maybe it's assumed I know (or should know) a lot more Polish history than I do. Maybe it's the translation. But it's tedious and vague and tiresome. I closed it for good around halfway through.