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The Wake (2014)

by Paul Kingsnorth(Favorite Author)

3.93 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1908717866 (ISBN13: 9781908717863)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Unbound

review 1: I want to push this book into the face of everyone who ever tried to write historical fiction with stylized language. I want to shout THIS, THIS IS HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE. See, I hate when writers try to give the language a historical feel by peppering the narrative with anachronisms. It just doesn't work. It comes off as shallow and unnecessary. But "The Wake"? Excuse me when I'm jumping around in enthusiasm for this linguistic feast. "The Wake" conveys the (assumed) way of thinking in Old England. It doesn't shy away from alien-ness of that time and place, from social differences, or hierarchy of values. And if linguistic delight isn't enough, there's the plot - deceptively simple at first, then pulling the reader into a narrative of apocalypse, and annihilation of a whol... moree culture. In the endnotes, Kingsnorth draws a comparison between the Norman invasion and great wars of 20th century. And I'm convinced he's right - "The Wake" felt like the end of the world indeed.
review 2: There is so much I need to say about this book, but I need to go away and think about it. In short, if you enjoy being wholly immersed in a world you thought you knew but really do not, and are prepared to stick with a protagonist who is, quite frankly, an insane "esol" but whose journey will take you to all sorts of places you never thought you'd go to in an exploration of land and identity, you will get a lot out of this book. less

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