Itemize Books In Favor Of The Volcano Lover
| Original Title: | The Volcano Lover ISBN13 9780312420072 |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | William Hamilton, Emma, Lady Hamilton, Horatio Nelson |
| Setting: | Naples(Italy) |
Susan Sontag
Paperback | Pages: 432 pages Rating: 3.59 | 2070 Users | 198 Reviews
Narrative During Books The Volcano Lover
Set in 18th century Naples, based on the lives of Sir William Hamilton, his celebrated wife Emma, and Lord Nelson, and peopled with many of the great figures of the day, this unconventional, bestselling historical romance from the National Book Award-winning author of In America touches on themes of sex and revolution, the fate of nature, art and the collector's obsessions, and, above all, love.
Describe Out Of Books The Volcano Lover
| Title | : | The Volcano Lover |
| Author | : | Susan Sontag |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 432 pages |
| Published | : | August 1st 2004 by Picador (first published 1992) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction. Cultural. Italy. Novels. Literature |
Rating Out Of Books The Volcano Lover
Ratings: 3.59 From 2070 Users | 198 ReviewsRate Out Of Books The Volcano Lover
This was a hard book to get into. The challenge was gettin through the superficial lives of it's 3 main characters. It is discribed as an historical novel, but I thought the author spent way too much time with their internal struggles which were very common and disgustingly predictable. I also question whether this was a true romance novel.When the "action" picked up which is to say when somthing actually happens the possibility for a good situaltion to learn something about this period inA brilliant novel. Fiercely intelligent.
While the story never called the principal characters (Lord Hamilton, his wife Emma Hamilton, her lover Horatio Nelson, even the King and Queen of the Two Sicilies) by name, it is very clear who is who, and this device, meant to signify that the author has the right to do what she wants with the characters, is definitely de trop. Written in a style which I usually do not love, this is nevertheless a gripping story with a lot of era-specific and generally human nuances.
This is a DNF for me. Everything about it feels distant, pretentious, and I'm bored with it after just a few chapters. Moving onto something else...
Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson: war hero and butcher, the toast of London and the scourge of Naples. Lady Emma Hamilton: model and muse and wife and mistress, the toast of Naples and the scandal of London. Lord William Hamilton: English ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples, collector of vases, lover of volcanoes, husband to Emma and friend to Horatio, a power in Naples and a joke in London. A famous love triangle: brave, tragic hero falls in love with the young, enchantingly beautiful wife of an
This rating will no doubt seem harsh, compared to the rating I just gave another book, but I think at least in some ways, it's merited.I really like Sontag's essays, and think she's quite a wonderful writer and thinker, and a lot of that is on display here. I was curious to see what she'd make out of a novel, and she doesn't disappoint in that regard-- this really is a strange book, one that is as interested in argument and philosophy and culture as much as it is in more traditional novelistic
Who knew a volcano could give birth to such a wealth of conflicting symbolism? In Sontags gripping piece of historical fiction, it appears as a metaphor for destruction and preservation, the artistic and the scientific, the penis and the vagina and a whole lot more.I personally love historical fiction and The Volcano Lover is an enjoyable and thought-provoking example of the genre. It takes as its basis a very famous, real-life love affair from the Napoleonic Wars, but avoids directly naming
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