misslezlee's review against another edition
3.0
Goodreads had a facebook post that asked you to sum up the book you were reading in three words. I put “ insufferable English ex-pats”. It’s true. The Pringles, Guy and Harriett, live in Bucharest during the lead up to Rumania’s invasion by Germany in 1940. Guy teaches English at the University and Harriett, who married him after a whirlwind romance during .his summer off in England, gradually learns to understand the man she so hastily fell in love with. Apparently, this is somewhat autobiographical. There are other English ex-pats, all equally awful. The novel was published in 1960 and is full of very insensitive observations about “the peasants”. There are also beautiful descriptions of the city. But the cast of characters is full of stereotypes and it’s hard to like any of them.
I *think* I may have read The Balkan Trilogy before, back in 1987. It was televised by the BBC as Fortunes of War, starring Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, who at the time were married to each other and the doyennes of British theater. They were very well cast - stiff upper lip and all that.
So I read the first book in the trilogy and it was slow going at first. Not an awful lot happens and, coming hot off the heels of another Outlander installment, I particularly noticed the lack of affection and hot sex between the protagonists. I mean, really, they are newly weds and there’s not even any kissing mentioned. I did learn that Guy owns just three pairs of underpants, but that fact was made know in a warehouse not a bedroom. There’s a hint of dissatisfaction on Harriet’s part and she does hang out with Clarence an awful lot, but, assuredly, there’s nothing going on there.
The book ends with the Germans on Rumania’s doorstep, making demands. I think they’ll have to leave and soon.
I *think* I may have read The Balkan Trilogy before, back in 1987. It was televised by the BBC as Fortunes of War, starring Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, who at the time were married to each other and the doyennes of British theater. They were very well cast - stiff upper lip and all that.
So I read the first book in the trilogy and it was slow going at first. Not an awful lot happens and, coming hot off the heels of another Outlander installment, I particularly noticed the lack of affection and hot sex between the protagonists. I mean, really, they are newly weds and there’s not even any kissing mentioned. I did learn that Guy owns just three pairs of underpants, but that fact was made know in a warehouse not a bedroom. There’s a hint of dissatisfaction on Harriet’s part and she does hang out with Clarence an awful lot, but, assuredly, there’s nothing going on there.
The book ends with the Germans on Rumania’s doorstep, making demands. I think they’ll have to leave and soon.
toniapeckover's review against another edition
3.0
I'm really enjoying this first of the Balkan Trilogy novels. Set just before WW2 in Rumania, it was smart, witty, unexpected. This is a character-driven novel, nothing much happens except eating, drinking and talking, but Manning is a strong writer and the characters unfurl slowly and deeply. Looking forward to the next two books.
ssjfaria's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
maria_1605's review against another edition
2.0
2,5. Am avut aşteptări foarte mari de la cartea aceasta, însă nu mi-au fost satisfăcute. Mi-ar fi plăcut să simt o acțiune adevărată, însă primele 100 de pagini nu conțin decât şuete pe Calea Victoriei şi mese în restaurante de fiță, pe care protagoniştii nu şi le permit. Încercând să evidențieze penibilul burgheziei bucureştene, cei doi nu fac decât să-şi evidențieze propriul caracter burghez şi snob, dovadă fiind tocmai faptul că cinează şi frecventează doar localuri high class. Da, e penibil cum femeile umblau pe Calea Victoriei cu blănuri de vulpe, sub care tremurau de foame. But let's face it, they were doing exactly the same.
exurbanis's review against another edition
4.0
Rounded up from 3.5
The first of the Balkan trilogy which I believe will follow the lives of a young English couple living in Romania during the Second World War.
It has a leisurely pace that depends a great deal on the setting, but I enjoyed it enough to want to continue with the next.
The first of the Balkan trilogy which I believe will follow the lives of a young English couple living in Romania during the Second World War.
It has a leisurely pace that depends a great deal on the setting, but I enjoyed it enough to want to continue with the next.
neom's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lizzysiddal's review against another edition
4.0
https://lizzysiddal.wordpress.com/2020/07/30/the-great-fortune-olivia-manning/
gh7's review against another edition
4.0
I knew before starting this that it wasn't going to be any kind of dazzling literary masterpiece (despite Anthony Burgess telling me Olivia Manning is the most considerable of our woman writers - a quote I find patronising and begs the question, how many women writers has he read?) What I was hoping was that it would be entertaining and also provide insights into how the second world war was experienced by a novelist living through it. It delivered on both those accounts.
An interesting debate would be whether or not a novelist has an advantage if she is writing about something she has experienced first hand. The advantages are obvious. First and foremost, the poignant and telling small details first hand observation provides. The disadvantages probably reside in the temptation to get carried away with all the minutiae of the personal experience. Manning, wanting to be faithful to her experience, probably tries to cram in too many characters all of whom you sense are modelled on real people and which necessitate too many sideshows. Which is why this novel, a trilogy, is so long. You also sense Manning perhaps uses the novel to settle scores. She doesn't seem very keen on most of her characters, including her blundering, insensitive well-meaning husband. Some details though would be hard for a novelist to invent. Like the battle between the German and British propaganda offices in Bucharest in 1940 where they war for attention with their window displays.
So, no, it's not any kind of dazzling literary masterpiece but yes, it is entertaining and I'm looking forward to reading the second instalment.
An interesting debate would be whether or not a novelist has an advantage if she is writing about something she has experienced first hand. The advantages are obvious. First and foremost, the poignant and telling small details first hand observation provides. The disadvantages probably reside in the temptation to get carried away with all the minutiae of the personal experience. Manning, wanting to be faithful to her experience, probably tries to cram in too many characters all of whom you sense are modelled on real people and which necessitate too many sideshows. Which is why this novel, a trilogy, is so long. You also sense Manning perhaps uses the novel to settle scores. She doesn't seem very keen on most of her characters, including her blundering, insensitive well-meaning husband. Some details though would be hard for a novelist to invent. Like the battle between the German and British propaganda offices in Bucharest in 1940 where they war for attention with their window displays.
So, no, it's not any kind of dazzling literary masterpiece but yes, it is entertaining and I'm looking forward to reading the second instalment.
epictetsocrate's review against another edition
3.0
Undeva, în apropiere de Veneţia, Guy intră în vorbă cu un bărbat greoi, mai în vârstă, un refugiat german în drum spre Trieste. Răspundea precipitat la întrebările lui Guy şi nici nu păru să observe oprirea trenului. In haosul acestui nou război se opreau la aproape fiecare douăzeci de minute. Harriet privea pe fereastră şi, în lumina difuză a înserării, începu să cerceteze traversele înnegrite care susţineau şinele. O pereche păşea orbecăind, cu efort, printre ele, întinzând când un picior, când un cot în raza de lumină venită de la ferestrele vagoanelor. Pe sub traverse se vedea apa licărind, reflectând globurile fosforescente ce luminau calea ferată.
Când trenul intră din nou în noapte, lăsând în urmă perechea de îndrăgostiţi şi reflexele apei, Harriet se gândi: „Acum, orice se poate întâmpla”.
Guy continua să discute concentrat cu refugiatul de la capătul celălalt al compartimentului, părând să nu mai vadă nimic în jur. II asculta, desigur, cu multă înţelegere şi asta-l făcuse pe german să se ridice pe jumătate în scaunul săU. Îşi întinse mâinile înainte, una lângă alta, cu palmele căuş ridicate în sus şi le agita, din când în când, pentru a-şi sublinia ideile. Guy, atent şi îngrijorat, se implica tot mai mult, încuviinţând din cap, vrând să sugereze că exact asta se aşteptase să audă.
Ce spune? întrebă Harriet, care nu ştia germana.
Guy îi prinse mâna, apăsându-i-o uşor. Trebuia să tacă. Toată atenţia lui părea îndreptată, cu o undă de simpatie chiar, asupra fugarului. Acesta privea însă, din când în când, şi spre ceilalţi pasageri, cu un fel de tupeu agresiv, de parcă ar fi spus: „Şi ce dacă vorbesc? Sunt un om liber!”
Când trenul intră din nou în noapte, lăsând în urmă perechea de îndrăgostiţi şi reflexele apei, Harriet se gândi: „Acum, orice se poate întâmpla”.
Guy continua să discute concentrat cu refugiatul de la capătul celălalt al compartimentului, părând să nu mai vadă nimic în jur. II asculta, desigur, cu multă înţelegere şi asta-l făcuse pe german să se ridice pe jumătate în scaunul săU. Îşi întinse mâinile înainte, una lângă alta, cu palmele căuş ridicate în sus şi le agita, din când în când, pentru a-şi sublinia ideile. Guy, atent şi îngrijorat, se implica tot mai mult, încuviinţând din cap, vrând să sugereze că exact asta se aşteptase să audă.
Ce spune? întrebă Harriet, care nu ştia germana.
Guy îi prinse mâna, apăsându-i-o uşor. Trebuia să tacă. Toată atenţia lui părea îndreptată, cu o undă de simpatie chiar, asupra fugarului. Acesta privea însă, din când în când, şi spre ceilalţi pasageri, cu un fel de tupeu agresiv, de parcă ar fi spus: „Şi ce dacă vorbesc? Sunt un om liber!”