A review by moira_davan
The Deluge: Volume II by Henryk Sienkiewicz
4.0
Is this an objective review of the book's literary merits? No. I'm going into full presentism mode here. But it's an accurate account of my experience with it, which in my humble opinion is still valuable.
Volume I of the Deluge was better (yes I'm rating them separately even though they're 'the same work'). This one lost my attention somewhere in the middle and required a lot more work to get through. I really dislike Kmita (side note did not particularly appreciate the "translated" names), and we're stuck with him for a lot more of Volume II. I understand that the second book is supposed to complete his redemption arc because he starts fighting for the "right side," but it's so incredibly violent that I can't say he won me over. There's also an increase in occaisonal casual 19th century racism in this volume that particularly made Kmita's character more problematic and irredeemable. We get a SECOND significant female character for part two... radical stuff! Overall, this book was just too aggressively male and too aggressively violent for my taste.
But I gave it four stars, so obviously I didn't hate all of it! The battle scenes were written in a compelling, page-turning style, and their stomach churning nature could be seen as a positive in the genre. I really like the descriptive style the book is written in, simultaneously both sprawling in scope and incredibly detailed. It has a very cinematic tone, which works for the war epic genre and doesn't feel overwrought. I enjoyed the ways that characters' relationships were further developed beyond the first volume. Parts of this volume (Pan Zagloba) actually made me laugh, which I can't say happens often with too many books.
SO overall, I'm glad I read it. Just not planning on doing a reread any time soon.
Volume I of the Deluge was better (yes I'm rating them separately even though they're 'the same work'). This one lost my attention somewhere in the middle and required a lot more work to get through. I really dislike Kmita (side note did not particularly appreciate the "translated" names), and we're stuck with him for a lot more of Volume II. I understand that the second book is supposed to complete his redemption arc because he starts fighting for the "right side," but it's so incredibly violent that I can't say he won me over. There's also an increase in occaisonal casual 19th century racism in this volume that particularly made Kmita's character more problematic and irredeemable. We get a SECOND significant female character for part two... radical stuff! Overall, this book was just too aggressively male and too aggressively violent for my taste.
But I gave it four stars, so obviously I didn't hate all of it! The battle scenes were written in a compelling, page-turning style, and their stomach churning nature could be seen as a positive in the genre. I really like the descriptive style the book is written in, simultaneously both sprawling in scope and incredibly detailed. It has a very cinematic tone, which works for the war epic genre and doesn't feel overwrought. I enjoyed the ways that characters' relationships were further developed beyond the first volume. Parts of this volume (Pan Zagloba) actually made me laugh, which I can't say happens often with too many books.
SO overall, I'm glad I read it. Just not planning on doing a reread any time soon.