Alison (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
landofnowhere) wrote2023-07-05 07:23 pm
landofnowhere) wrote2023-07-05 07:23 pm
wednesday books has finished an epic
La Comtesse de Rudolstadt, George Sand. After about 1600 pages (on my tablet, but they are similar in size to book pages), I have finished the story of Consuelo, and what can I say but, that was a trip! I'm not sure that I would recommend it to people who aren't in the habit of reading lengthy novels in French for fun, but I was entertained the whole way through.
(I don't know how the translations are -- there are multiple from the 19th century, and a recent translation of La Comtesse de Rudolstadt, which can be read on its own, though I'd mainly recommend that if you want to start with the Frederick the Great fanfic and don't mind that the story leaves his court 1/3 of the way through and never come back).
Last post I was worried the story wouldn't wrap itself up in a satisfactory way, but it actually did a pretty good job -- the story proper ends with Consuelo's initiation into the secret society and wedding, which is celebrated with the Best Party Ever. All the Cool Guys are there! -- or at least all the cool guys who have been initiated into the secret society, sorry Joseph Haydn -- like the Chevalier d'Eon, who it turns out had befriended Consuelo back in Berlin, George Sand had just forgotten to mention it earlier! Despite my previous reaction "run! it's a creepy cult!", the Secret Society of the Invisibles grew on my somewhat, due to their having a good recruiting pitch and also to one of the members turning out to be Consuelo's supposedly dead mother-in-law (being buried alive runs in the family), who is badass and who also gives Consuelo some useful relationship advice -- which Consuelo ignores, but it's OK as her love triangle isn't actually a triangle after all.
Anyway, after that ending with a very strong "one brief shining moment" vibe, there is a lengthy epilogue, in which the narrator explains that the historical record on Consuelo becomes much more patchy after this point. This allows the epilogue to wrap up the various loose plot threads fairly expeditiously, and give a couple of peeks into Consuelo's later life.
(There is way more I could say about this book, but I'll leave it here.)
King Lear -- we finished the read-aloud, the second half is more exciting than the first, the language is beautiful, but didn't leave that much of a mark. I suspect it's more compelling when done visually on stage.
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, Brandon Sanderson. Going from a 19th century bestselling author to a 21st century bestselling author here. So far this is entertaining fantasy about two 19-year-olds from different planets in the same solar system who have got some sort of a body-swap/travel to each others' worlds thing going on. I think this one is doing something interesting with the worldbuilding but I'm not sure where it's getting to yet.
(I don't know how the translations are -- there are multiple from the 19th century, and a recent translation of La Comtesse de Rudolstadt, which can be read on its own, though I'd mainly recommend that if you want to start with the Frederick the Great fanfic and don't mind that the story leaves his court 1/3 of the way through and never come back).
Last post I was worried the story wouldn't wrap itself up in a satisfactory way, but it actually did a pretty good job -- the story proper ends with Consuelo's initiation into the secret society and wedding, which is celebrated with the Best Party Ever. All the Cool Guys are there! -- or at least all the cool guys who have been initiated into the secret society, sorry Joseph Haydn -- like the Chevalier d'Eon, who it turns out had befriended Consuelo back in Berlin, George Sand had just forgotten to mention it earlier! Despite my previous reaction "run! it's a creepy cult!", the Secret Society of the Invisibles grew on my somewhat, due to their having a good recruiting pitch and also to one of the members turning out to be Consuelo's supposedly dead mother-in-law (being buried alive runs in the family), who is badass and who also gives Consuelo some useful relationship advice -- which Consuelo ignores, but it's OK as her love triangle isn't actually a triangle after all.
Anyway, after that ending with a very strong "one brief shining moment" vibe, there is a lengthy epilogue, in which the narrator explains that the historical record on Consuelo becomes much more patchy after this point. This allows the epilogue to wrap up the various loose plot threads fairly expeditiously, and give a couple of peeks into Consuelo's later life.
(There is way more I could say about this book, but I'll leave it here.)
King Lear -- we finished the read-aloud, the second half is more exciting than the first, the language is beautiful, but didn't leave that much of a mark. I suspect it's more compelling when done visually on stage.
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, Brandon Sanderson. Going from a 19th century bestselling author to a 21st century bestselling author here. So far this is entertaining fantasy about two 19-year-olds from different planets in the same solar system who have got some sort of a body-swap/travel to each others' worlds thing going on. I think this one is doing something interesting with the worldbuilding but I'm not sure where it's getting to yet.
no subject
Trenck is a really fun character in the books (he shows up in the first book also, midway through the Consuelo/Haydn road trip). Amalie was also cool, though I felt like she was underutilized -- one of the weaknesses of the books is that Consuelo doesn't get to build any deep female friendships onscreen, so after the delightful secret dinner party with Amalie and the Countess Von Kleist there's not really any payoff -- though we are told in the epilogue that some of Consuelo's secret society work involves influencing Amalie.
(There's also a bit where Consuelo is in prison and learns that there is another woman in the prison named Amalie -- and she's like "I know two Amalies, the princess and my husband's cousin, it could be either or neither of them". A sketchy guard offers her the opportunity to visit this Amalie and sing to her, but this is derailed when Amalie said "I recognize Consuelo's voice -- that woman has ruined my life and I never have to see her again". Consuelo should think at this point "well, this doesn't actually help disambiguate between the two!" but instead goes "oh, no, Princess Amalie must think I betrayed her to Frederick the Great" -- she's wrong, it's actually her husband's cousin Amalie, who was seduced by Consuelo's ex-fiance.)