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Baudas Meklētāja Stāsts (2011)

by Richard Mason(Favorite Author)

3.42 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Zvaigzne ABC

review 1: A bit of Lawrence, a dash of Balzac, a soupçon of Boccaccio and a whole lot of Fanny Hill—what could be wrong with that on a summer’s day? Cast in the style of Hill with sudden and inexplicable assignations, funny in its carefree coupling and wonderfully droll in its handling of the main character, Piet Bartol, this history crackles with wit and rollicking good humor from start to—well, it doesn’t really finish since the end is hardly the point in a semi-pornographic novel. Bartol is hired as a tutor for a family with, imagine that, three delicious daughters, each at a certain stage of desire and learning. Bartol doesn’t know everything about women and sex but what he doesn’t know he discovers in the whisk of a delicate pair of anything that can be flung arou... morend a boudoir. There are so many daughters, nannies, maids, friends and acquaintances in and out of the house that one cannot keep track of the traffic—or which guest for friend is in which bed accompanied or unaccompanied, but that doesn’t get in the way of fearless Piet. The setting is 19th century Amsterdam, a time for them of unparalleled religious strictness, piety and lust. As many skirts were lifted as were knelt upon, often within second of each other. Piet absorbs the holiness of both activities and finds himself popular with the daughters but even with the fathers who react well to his cleverness. It is made clear by the last page that there will be a sequel, implying that this “History” will be a multi-volume affair. That’s good news for the reader who likes this kind of romp.
review 2: This is not the type of book I normally read. Historical fiction that focuses less on history and more on sex and frivolous things. But I don't mean that in a bad way. I found it refreshing to read a book that was about a self-made young man and his adventures in early 20th century Amsterdam. It was nice to not read a book that was extremely heavy and deep, this book doesn't take itself too seriously and while there aren't any grand historical events reflected upon there is still some history knowledge being imparted. The story did begin to slow down once Piet left Amsterdam and I did grow disinterested. But 20th century Capetown is a topic I (surprise) know nothing about so maybe I will look for the sequel.he characters in this novel are all intriguing but-like Piet-I never felt a connection with any of them. Piet is a tutor and while he does get somewhat close to the family, for the most part they remain guarded. Except for the character of Maarten, the head of the househould. I found it fascinating that Mason used this character to reflect the deep contrasts in Amsterdam during the Belle Epoque. There was an emphasis on material wealth and yet Calvinism played a large part during this time as well. Maarten struggles to reconcile his wealth with his religious beliefs and constantly believes his business decisions are tied up with his faith. I've never read erotic fiction nor do I have any inclination to do so, I didn't enjoy the sex scenes in this book but they certainly didn't ruin the book either. I did find it interesting that Piet had bisexual tendencies, its funny (to me) to think of sexuality in history because I think many of us (including myself) have this idea of repression or at least that sex just wasn't talked about. While that may be true it certainly doesn't mean they weren't engaging in all types of adventurous sexual acts and that amuses me.An excellent beach read. less

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