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Bezig met laden... Any Old Iron (1989)door Anthony Burgess
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. Burgess is one of our most underrated novelists and this is a million miles away from his best known work, A Clockwork Orange. Spanning some of the great events of the 20th Century, this book follows the fortunes of a family of Welsh-Russians, the Jones, as they become bound up with the ancient sword of King Arthur, Excalibur, Welsh Nationalism and Anglo-Russian relations. There is also the small matter of the birth of the state of Israel and the Jewish family who's fortunes become entangled with the Joneses. If all this sounds slightly fantastic, it is a credit to Burgess' talent that he makes the whole thing immensely readable and enjoyable. Burgess takes the position that the world went to Hell in a handcart after the second world war and makes that point over and over again through the travails of the Jones family as they are buffeted by the events of the First and Second World Wars and their aftermath. A note to Dan Brown: this is how you weave a pseudo-historical mystery into your narrative and invest it with meaning and symbolism. Recommended. This book seems to be an homage to D.H. Lawrence's sons and Lovers, in my opinion. The story's engaging, and the prose sings along. I have read this book twice, and it is a lot more fun than "A Clockwork Orange". If you are going to have a colourful family past, Welsh-Russian could be wonderfully weird. read it twice. Exit, jigging to the tune of the same name....
During its planning stages, Anthony Burgess's first major novel since Earthly Powers (1980) must have seemed to its author an exciting opportunity to combine two themes: that of resurgent Welsh nationalism, against the backdrop of Zionism in Israel; and that of a two-generational family chronicle, in a romp through the history of the twentieth century. The narrative bogs down, however, just as Burgess's early enthusiasm for the themes seems to diminish. Onderdeel van de uitgeversreeks(en)Иллюминатор (68)
A story of survival in our century and the destinies of two families, one Welsh, and one Jewish, who are bound together by marriage. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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The title comes from word play as King Arthur's sword also factors into the plot (as an aside, there is an old British music hall song of the same name of which I admit, I was less familiar).
Maybe I am making a generalization, but the thing about multi-generational sagas than span fifty years is that you tend to get attached to certain characters as you watch them age. I know I did.
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