Paul Kingsnorth

Disappointing. Subject matter was interesting - England around the time of the Norman conquest. The much touted USP of the book is that it is written in an approximation of Olde English. That takes a bit of effort, but I actually enjoyed that aspect - unfortunately the plot really doesn't repay the reader. The protagonist is intensely dislikeable, and is taken with sitting around forests and fens - away from the remains of English civilization, and from the French that conquered them. It's a strange decision for a historical novel, to show as little as possible of the time in which it's set. The theme of the old pagan Gods being supplanted by Christianity was interesting, and the atmosphere was generally effective. But, overall, that was insufficient to counter the repetitive scenes, unengaging characters and aimless plot.… (més)

I do not usually read historical fiction, but I chose to pick this book up because I was intrigued by its use of language. It is written in modern English, but with some vocabulary & syntax lifted from Old English. This initially made the book challenging to read, but once I got used to the language, I was able to read nearly at my normal pace. I found this language effective in emphasizing how different this world was from our own. However, I imagine this would be incredibly difficult (if not near impossible) to read for someone who is not fluent in English.

This story is told from the first-person point of view of Buccmaster, a farmer living in England during the Norman Invasion. More than anything else, this is a story about him as he grapples with these events. We also learn about his past, which aids in explaining why he is the way that he is. The other characters were not as strong - but this makes sense, because Buccmaster as the narrator is going to focus primarily on himself. What I found especially effective was that, while Buccmaster tried to make himself out to be some great hero to the reader, the author still was able to show us his (numerous) flaws.

The plot itself is rather meandering. I felt this made sense, given Buccmaster's character. There were certainly some exciting moments, but the focus was much more on Buccmaster.

I have only just found out that this is the start of a trilogy. I think this book stands strongly on its own, but I would be interested in reading the other books as well… (més)

If this novel's protagonist, Buccmaster of Holland, was really the average English rebel against the Norman invasion in 1066, no wonder England never rose up successfully. Also, if this man was typical of followers of the old gods, they must have all despaired of their followers!
I did enjoy the pseudo Old English, even though it made reading the book more difficult. It was at one and the same time a pleasure and a nuisance. favourite word: wyrmfleoge - dragonfly.
also, Buccmaster was a fuccan esol.… (més)