Rate this book

De Wereldverzamelaar (2006)

by Ilija Trojanow(Favorite Author)

3.44 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

De Geus

review 1: The Collector of Worlds (English edition, 2009Sir Richard Burton was an explorer, littérateur and professional maverick who had the ability to change his character and appearance as slickly as a chameleon on a painter’s palette. In the late 19thcentury, there were still undiscovered realms in the British Empire, and Sir Richard had a yen to find the source of the Nile. En route, he inveigled himself into the cultures of the countries in which he lived, even making the hajj pilgrimage, indistinguishable from a devout Muslim Arab. Troyanov has created more than a novelized history of the famous Englishman’s life. He recreates the exotic worlds – Eastern and Western – in which Sir Richard lived, immersing the reader as completely and convincingly as Sir Richard had b... moreeen, when he had absorbed his identity into these foreign cultures.(Multi-award winning Troyanov won the Leipzig Book Fair Prize in the category of fiction for “The Collector of Worlds” – originally published in German as “Der Weltensammler”.)
review 2: Trojanow has some very rewarding moments and thoughts, but overall I found the book a bit tedious to get through, which I penalise a lot in my rating. I can't really put my finger on why this is, the language is clear and beautiful, I liked the structure and sub-structure of the narrative (i.e., the 3 journeys and the respective interweaving of Burton's perspective with an outside/native POV), there are some well-crafted characters (the British commander who sends Burton out to spy, Upanitsche, Speke) and some good dialogue, and the plot does have points of tension (Burton's imprisonment in India, parts of the journey to Mekka, the last part of the journey to the Victoria lake).I don't know. Maybe it's the mysticism element that I can't relate to enough, maybe it's the hardship of having to apprehend so many cultural specificities throughout the book (in native terms which are sometimes explained in the glossary and sometimes not, which I found really annoying), or the way in which all characters seem to speak in the same rather literary fashion, regardless of their origin or social background. Maybe I was missing an element of humour to get some relief once in a while. I suspect the non-Burton parts were supposed to be funny, but they didn't make me laugh, seemed rather contrived. I suppose I penalise this a lot, too.I don't think it was just a matter of reading effort though, for I found Wallace's "Infinite Jest" much, much harder to read, but also much more rewarding (and funny).By contrast, a book like The Hunger Games is most certainly less deep and insightful in terms of human nature, but never ever tedious. less

Download links for: De wereldverzamelaar

Advertising