A review by lucyb
With Fire and Sword: Volume I by Henryk Sienkiewicz
2.0
I'm sure I'd give this book at least one more star if I'd read it in a different translation. This was heavy, awkward with proverbs, and strange in tone (I was often puzzled by the range of emotions or actions covered with the same English word.) Also, I strongly suspect that the translation is more antisemitic than the original. True, anti-Jewish violence in the seventeenth century is to be expected, but the way that Sienkiewicz describes it, and includes Jewish characters, makes me think the translator is to blame there.
I really don't know what to make of this book. The male protagonists are lovable, and have relationships with each other that are reminiscent of Dumas. The greatest strength of the book may be its gorgeously lyrical descriptions of the Polish landscape. There were times when I thought I was going to scream if the Roman republic was invoked one more time. And I think I would have enjoyed the drama of trying to overcome both the political rebels and the personal nemesis of our hero if they hadn't been presented as, first and foremost, guilty of being Cossacks, and Not Civilized, and Pagan, and thus Bad Generally. I remember Quo Vadis as being much more nuanced, and humane, and humorous. If I continue with this trilogy, it will be in a different translation.
I really don't know what to make of this book. The male protagonists are lovable, and have relationships with each other that are reminiscent of Dumas. The greatest strength of the book may be its gorgeously lyrical descriptions of the Polish landscape. There were times when I thought I was going to scream if the Roman republic was invoked one more time. And I think I would have enjoyed the drama of trying to overcome both the political rebels and the personal nemesis of our hero if they hadn't been presented as, first and foremost, guilty of being Cossacks, and Not Civilized, and Pagan, and thus Bad Generally. I remember Quo Vadis as being much more nuanced, and humane, and humorous. If I continue with this trilogy, it will be in a different translation.