fern17's review
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
araidso's review
5.0
It is not often that I rate a book this highly, which is a clear indicator of how I feel, so I will keep this brief: after a short hiatus of my reading-while-walking days, I decided to open up this novel half expecting incessant boredom. I was surprised to discover this was an excellent choice. As silly as it sounds, I could not help but feel the pace and style of the story were crafted just for me. The anonymity of our friendly narrator is captivating and the eloquence of the characters' speeches are astounding. Thank you, Mr. McGuinness, for such an eye-opener.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty decent insider look at the decline of a communist dictatorship. I think the author wants it to carry a little more weight than it can with the running "What is freedom?" angle but overall, it's a solid read.
hey_laura_mc's review against another edition
3.0
Ok, Zanna (see below) has effectively written my review for me - scroll down, read it, it's very good, but I'll make some brief points.
Firstly, I know nothing about Romania apart from what I gleaned during episodes of Challenge Anika in the early 90s-orphanages? Disabled children? Yeah, that's it. The context, though, is something McGuinness is desperate to get in, though, often in a bit of a hamfisted way ('once she's had the miscarriage, though, he was subject to police questioning because in 1989 in Romania inducing an abortion was a crime....' I'm paraphrasing, but you get the idea. Trust us to get it, Patrick!) and is gripping stuff. Hard to believe it happened in our lifetimes (if it did-there seems to be a bit of a debate raging here as to whether it did or didn't) and has certainly inspired me to read up more on the Ceausescus.
My main issue, though, was with style and credibility of the narrator. Like, firstly, he's parachuted in as a lecturer and he's 21. Really? He 'falls from the sky' as someone else on here has said to Leo's den of iniquity and gets involved in shady deals helping young idealists escape Romania's oppression. Err, what exactly does he have to offer these escapees? He seems to stand around on the sidelines drinking and smoking dope and not doing a right lot, really. And the sex scenes: bleurgh. 'I lifted up her skirt and fucked her quickly.' And then she came. Yeah, right. Course she did, buddy. Annoying.
Firstly, I know nothing about Romania apart from what I gleaned during episodes of Challenge Anika in the early 90s-orphanages? Disabled children? Yeah, that's it. The context, though, is something McGuinness is desperate to get in, though, often in a bit of a hamfisted way ('once she's had the miscarriage, though, he was subject to police questioning because in 1989 in Romania inducing an abortion was a crime....' I'm paraphrasing, but you get the idea. Trust us to get it, Patrick!) and is gripping stuff. Hard to believe it happened in our lifetimes (if it did-there seems to be a bit of a debate raging here as to whether it did or didn't) and has certainly inspired me to read up more on the Ceausescus.
My main issue, though, was with style and credibility of the narrator. Like, firstly, he's parachuted in as a lecturer and he's 21. Really? He 'falls from the sky' as someone else on here has said to Leo's den of iniquity and gets involved in shady deals helping young idealists escape Romania's oppression. Err, what exactly does he have to offer these escapees? He seems to stand around on the sidelines drinking and smoking dope and not doing a right lot, really. And the sex scenes: bleurgh. 'I lifted up her skirt and fucked her quickly.' And then she came. Yeah, right. Course she did, buddy. Annoying.
storycraft's review against another edition
from my blog:
The Last Hundred Days by Patrick McGuinness is a fictional account of the last months of Ceausescu’s rule in Romania. We visited Romania a couple years ago and couldn’t find a copy of this beautifully written book while we were there. McGuinness’s writing evokes memorable images. The narrator describes all the old guidebooks he sees laying around in contrast with the tremendous building boom happening in Bucharest when he arrives. He comments that “People around here seemed to have guide books for every epoch except the one they lived in.” The atmosphere is heavy, the weight of surveillance and mistrust is palpable. If you’ve ever been to or wondered about Romania, it’s a great book to read.
Original post: http://bit.ly/2HeSXja
The Last Hundred Days by Patrick McGuinness is a fictional account of the last months of Ceausescu’s rule in Romania. We visited Romania a couple years ago and couldn’t find a copy of this beautifully written book while we were there. McGuinness’s writing evokes memorable images. The narrator describes all the old guidebooks he sees laying around in contrast with the tremendous building boom happening in Bucharest when he arrives. He comments that “People around here seemed to have guide books for every epoch except the one they lived in.” The atmosphere is heavy, the weight of surveillance and mistrust is palpable. If you’ve ever been to or wondered about Romania, it’s a great book to read.
Original post: http://bit.ly/2HeSXja
sophronisba's review
4.0
An impressive evocation of Romania in the age of Ceaucescu. The milieu held my interest as much or more than the plot did. The viewpoint character seemed somewhat colorless to me, but the book still held my attention until the end.
sdjurek's review
2.0
I chose this book as a preparatory read before my trip to Romania. I wanted historical fiction because I knew simply reading about the history of a country would be too dry for me, but I wanted to have some basis of knowledge for experiencing the country.
The story was good enough, though none of the characters were very compelling, least of all the protagonist, who truly seems to be floating through life without reaction or analysis. I believe this to have been a storytelling tool, though it hardly seems possible that a person could live in a corrupt communist country in the 2 years leading up to its fall and never really have a thought about it. Even when the protagonist is helping people escape the regime, he just kind of tags along.
The book was decent and easy enough to get through, even if it was just so I could move on to a new book.
The story was good enough, though none of the characters were very compelling, least of all the protagonist, who truly seems to be floating through life without reaction or analysis. I believe this to have been a storytelling tool, though it hardly seems possible that a person could live in a corrupt communist country in the 2 years leading up to its fall and never really have a thought about it. Even when the protagonist is helping people escape the regime, he just kind of tags along.
The book was decent and easy enough to get through, even if it was just so I could move on to a new book.
andrewrobins's review
4.0
The Last Hundred Days is about an English academic posted to a job (having not even turned up for the interview, such was the lack of demand for it) at a university in Bucharest, 100 days before the fall of Ceaucescu.
Arriving at his new job, he falls in with an interesting mix of characters, including his black market operative English colleague and numerous Securitate informants, begins an affair with the privileged daughter of a government minister, and is subsumed into the Western community in Romania, which consists mostly of hopeless diplomats.
The storyline takes in people smuggling, black marketeering, the destruction of old Bucharest in favour of concrete monstrosities, the climate of fear where every other person seems to be an informant, and the truly dreadful privations suffered by the masses.
I say storyline, but this book isn't really about the story as such, it is a picture of Bucharest in 1989, standing alone as a bastion of unbudging European communism as around it other communist bloc states fall prey to increasing liberalisation.
McGuinness writes excellently, and conveys what it was like to be there at the time fantastically well.
I'd give this five stars but am deducting one for the people smuggling part of the story line which didn't really seem hugely realistic, and didn't really add much to what is otherwise a very good book.
As an aside, as someone who was studying politics / government at the time, and in particular writing a dissertation on eastern european politics, therefore taking a close interest in these events, it seems incredible to think that these events took place almost a quarter of a century ago.
Arriving at his new job, he falls in with an interesting mix of characters, including his black market operative English colleague and numerous Securitate informants, begins an affair with the privileged daughter of a government minister, and is subsumed into the Western community in Romania, which consists mostly of hopeless diplomats.
The storyline takes in people smuggling, black marketeering, the destruction of old Bucharest in favour of concrete monstrosities, the climate of fear where every other person seems to be an informant, and the truly dreadful privations suffered by the masses.
I say storyline, but this book isn't really about the story as such, it is a picture of Bucharest in 1989, standing alone as a bastion of unbudging European communism as around it other communist bloc states fall prey to increasing liberalisation.
McGuinness writes excellently, and conveys what it was like to be there at the time fantastically well.
I'd give this five stars but am deducting one for the people smuggling part of the story line which didn't really seem hugely realistic, and didn't really add much to what is otherwise a very good book.
As an aside, as someone who was studying politics / government at the time, and in particular writing a dissertation on eastern european politics, therefore taking a close interest in these events, it seems incredible to think that these events took place almost a quarter of a century ago.
rogerb's review
4.0
Really very good, but in line with the new austerity policy I stop short of 5 stars.
The author is a literature professor and the story - of which he has first hand knowledge - is both compelling and largely true, so how could you go wrong? You can really feel the corruption and wretchedness, written about beautifully - marvellous!
No spoilers, but it's only in any sense attenuated by Leo being too far fetched for reality, a couple too many contrivances, and a failure until rather late in the book to let you know that this was in no sense a game of catch as catch can, and the the Securitate really were a gang of vicious bastards.
The author is a literature professor and the story - of which he has first hand knowledge - is both compelling and largely true, so how could you go wrong? You can really feel the corruption and wretchedness, written about beautifully - marvellous!
No spoilers, but it's only in any sense attenuated by Leo being too far fetched for reality, a couple too many contrivances, and a failure until rather late in the book to let you know that this was in no sense a game of catch as catch can, and the the Securitate really were a gang of vicious bastards.