Winkle - walk with Tess, Fran and me. English countryside at its best, even so muddy.
Monday 2 January 2012
Sunday 1 January 2012
Influence
Does the reading really matter? Today, I have been reading the Sunday Times. I loved the adaptation of Charles Dickens's story - Great Expectations. It was an article about Gillian Anderson who portrayed Miss Havisham. I liked the description of Miss Havisham as wizened old bat, jilted bride.
I also learnt: What's the Dickens?
We consume stories, articles, and will they just pass through us undigested like a grain of corn?
I also read summary about last year. I tried to recall all those events and remember them.
-January - Tabak was arrested on the 20th and Sudan was divided into two countries
-February - Forests were sold in England
-March - Japanese Earthquake
-April - Royal Wedding ....
My two miscarriages and unsuccessful application for a new job, new house and a mortgage, which needs finishing. Partner's lost job and living cheaply in his mum's house.
Great Expectations for Next Year?
I also learnt: What's the Dickens?
We consume stories, articles, and will they just pass through us undigested like a grain of corn?
I also read summary about last year. I tried to recall all those events and remember them.
-January - Tabak was arrested on the 20th and Sudan was divided into two countries
-February - Forests were sold in England
-March - Japanese Earthquake
-April - Royal Wedding ....
My two miscarriages and unsuccessful application for a new job, new house and a mortgage, which needs finishing. Partner's lost job and living cheaply in his mum's house.
Great Expectations for Next Year?
Thursday 29 December 2011
December 28, 2011 - Dunaj v Amerike (The Danube in America)
1. Author - Michal Hvorecky
2. Language - slovak
3. Publisher - Marencin PT, spol. s.r.o. 2010
4. City: Bratislava
5. ISBN 978-80-8114-004-4
Main Characters:
1. Martin Roy - a cruise manager, in his early 30th
2. Mona Mannova - Martin's first love, left for England in her early teens
3. Anastasia Prunea- captain of the river cruise ship and other crew of the ship - Venera, a Rumanian woman, the first victim murdered on the ship, Thai cooks, Gabor Kelemen- a pianist on the ship, Zoran - rude sailor
4. Passengers - many characters like Foxy - a divorced woman in her 40th wanting to have sex with Martin, Collins Clarke - an obese passenger, spending time in his own cabin, also murdered during the journey
5.William Webster - a customer who is turned out to be the murderer, living under assumed identity of a person who died in Sulina in 1986
Plot:
Dunaj v Amerike - The Danube in America
It is a story about a journey of a river cruise carrying American customers from Regensburg to the Black Sea - Sulina - It is the easternmost point of Romania and of the continental European Union.
There are detailed descriptions of many places and how they relate to the history also a few stories about people whose lives were somehow connected to the river - like Imrich Lichtenfeld, a Slovak jew who organised an escape boat from Bratislava in 1940 to escape the Nazis.
This main story connects another story line - two murders on the ship - Venera (a maid) and Mr Clark (a passenger) are the victims. Via these two main story lines we learn how Martin deals with customers and particularly how Martin deals with humiliation from Mr Webster and how he tries to find out who murdered these two people. Then there are events like Monna suddenly appears on the ship and stays with Martin. We also learn about Martin's past, why he is limping and what he did before he became a cruise manager. Martin was a translator.
The conclusion of the story unravels as the ship heads to its final destination - somebody tries to kill Monna, Martin saves her in the last minute and when pursuing the perpetrator he is locked in the fridge and as he tries to escape and save his life, he in fact causes the ship to sink. Because of this event, there is no need to worry about two people who died at the beginning of the journey and were just simply thrown overboard. The problem is solved. Martin then attends a funeral in Sulina for the captain of the ship, where he also notices the name WIlliam Webster on the gravestone and he realises that the guy who killed two people on board the ship and almost him was indeed Mr Webster (Monna also confirms that he proposed to her as well as the first victim Venera). Mr Collins received some sexual services from Mona so we guessed he had to die for it. Mystery solved by unrelated things, which the reader could not have guessed even if he/she wanted.
Martin returns home to Slovakia, resumes his work as a translator and a tutor at the university, gets his compensation from the American company and then he gets a message from Monna. She lives in Frankfurt with Dragan. She is married and has a little child Nora. However, she is on coke and drinks. The little child is fed by wine and coca cola. Martin tries to make Monna come with him to Bratislava and as she is not with it and does not appear to understand the concept of escape. Martin asks to take Nora for a walk and decides to act for the good of the child. He takes Nora with him to Bratislava.
Opinion:
I like facts in this book and rich narrative regarding the journey down the River Danube on a cruise ship. I liked learning about lives of Martin and Mona in more depth. However the story about two murders on the board of the cruise ship felt very artificial, very unreal, it did not give the story right direction as it was a nice story about the journey and life and then it became very confused and very poor detective story without any ground to stand on. A really good story spoilt by something so ridiculous, which in fact had to be solved only really ridiculously, like blowing a ship up with all passengers on and then..the clue to solving the murder was on the remote cemetery, on a gravestone, OMG...it felt like the writer was gasping for his last breath and running out of ideas as he was also sinking with his creation. (So I guessed this is why he called the book The Danube in America). The very end of the book, shows further moral decay of Mona, as she starts taking drugs and has a baby, which is being damaged by her and her husband. But Martin's reaction to this situation is again so ridiculous and immature. He kidnaps the baby. The book was advertised as an adventure story with love element and parody of modern travel industry. I am afraid it did not deliver any of these promisses. I suggest the author will be true to himself and writes about what he knows.
Do characters evolve? No. Martin is just the same - good guy. Mona is some sort of bad, but we never learn why. The female character is underdeveloped. We do not really learn why she is acting the way she is acting. For example her parents are great, but she turned out to be sort of bad and weak. The passengers do not change, it is a snapshot of them. The crew, just the same, they are the way they are and that it is.
Language:
Slovak - Back Translation - Translation
Rástli ako žihľava pri vode. They were growing like nettles by the fence.
Fakultatívny výlet. An optional excursion.
VIP. Veľmi významné osoby. VIP (transfer from English)
Single. Bez partnera. Single. (transfer-English word is favoured to Slovak equivalent)
Mikrofón s headsetom. Mike with headset. Headset. (transfer with Slovak suffix)
Zo sundecku. Zo slnečnej paluby.
Slovak language is very good, with many transfers from English = aim to sound authentic, because the Americans on board, I guess.
Has this book somehow influenced my life?
I really would like to go to some places, which were described there and learn more about some historic figures referred in it.
Emotions?
I felt annoyed with the stupid storyline of murders and underdeveloped female characters in the book. I found it pretty sloppy and disrespectful from a male writer. Positive: want to see some places.
Did you tell your friends about the book?
Yes. I told them my emotions. We had a good laugh.
2. Language - slovak
3. Publisher - Marencin PT, spol. s.r.o. 2010
4. City: Bratislava
5. ISBN 978-80-8114-004-4
Main Characters:
1. Martin Roy - a cruise manager, in his early 30th
2. Mona Mannova - Martin's first love, left for England in her early teens
3. Anastasia Prunea- captain of the river cruise ship and other crew of the ship - Venera, a Rumanian woman, the first victim murdered on the ship, Thai cooks, Gabor Kelemen- a pianist on the ship, Zoran - rude sailor
4. Passengers - many characters like Foxy - a divorced woman in her 40th wanting to have sex with Martin, Collins Clarke - an obese passenger, spending time in his own cabin, also murdered during the journey
5.William Webster - a customer who is turned out to be the murderer, living under assumed identity of a person who died in Sulina in 1986
Plot:
Dunaj v Amerike - The Danube in America
It is a story about a journey of a river cruise carrying American customers from Regensburg to the Black Sea - Sulina - It is the easternmost point of Romania and of the continental European Union.
There are detailed descriptions of many places and how they relate to the history also a few stories about people whose lives were somehow connected to the river - like Imrich Lichtenfeld, a Slovak jew who organised an escape boat from Bratislava in 1940 to escape the Nazis.
This main story connects another story line - two murders on the ship - Venera (a maid) and Mr Clark (a passenger) are the victims. Via these two main story lines we learn how Martin deals with customers and particularly how Martin deals with humiliation from Mr Webster and how he tries to find out who murdered these two people. Then there are events like Monna suddenly appears on the ship and stays with Martin. We also learn about Martin's past, why he is limping and what he did before he became a cruise manager. Martin was a translator.
The conclusion of the story unravels as the ship heads to its final destination - somebody tries to kill Monna, Martin saves her in the last minute and when pursuing the perpetrator he is locked in the fridge and as he tries to escape and save his life, he in fact causes the ship to sink. Because of this event, there is no need to worry about two people who died at the beginning of the journey and were just simply thrown overboard. The problem is solved. Martin then attends a funeral in Sulina for the captain of the ship, where he also notices the name WIlliam Webster on the gravestone and he realises that the guy who killed two people on board the ship and almost him was indeed Mr Webster (Monna also confirms that he proposed to her as well as the first victim Venera). Mr Collins received some sexual services from Mona so we guessed he had to die for it. Mystery solved by unrelated things, which the reader could not have guessed even if he/she wanted.
Martin returns home to Slovakia, resumes his work as a translator and a tutor at the university, gets his compensation from the American company and then he gets a message from Monna. She lives in Frankfurt with Dragan. She is married and has a little child Nora. However, she is on coke and drinks. The little child is fed by wine and coca cola. Martin tries to make Monna come with him to Bratislava and as she is not with it and does not appear to understand the concept of escape. Martin asks to take Nora for a walk and decides to act for the good of the child. He takes Nora with him to Bratislava.
Opinion:
I like facts in this book and rich narrative regarding the journey down the River Danube on a cruise ship. I liked learning about lives of Martin and Mona in more depth. However the story about two murders on the board of the cruise ship felt very artificial, very unreal, it did not give the story right direction as it was a nice story about the journey and life and then it became very confused and very poor detective story without any ground to stand on. A really good story spoilt by something so ridiculous, which in fact had to be solved only really ridiculously, like blowing a ship up with all passengers on and then..the clue to solving the murder was on the remote cemetery, on a gravestone, OMG...it felt like the writer was gasping for his last breath and running out of ideas as he was also sinking with his creation. (So I guessed this is why he called the book The Danube in America). The very end of the book, shows further moral decay of Mona, as she starts taking drugs and has a baby, which is being damaged by her and her husband. But Martin's reaction to this situation is again so ridiculous and immature. He kidnaps the baby. The book was advertised as an adventure story with love element and parody of modern travel industry. I am afraid it did not deliver any of these promisses. I suggest the author will be true to himself and writes about what he knows.
Do characters evolve? No. Martin is just the same - good guy. Mona is some sort of bad, but we never learn why. The female character is underdeveloped. We do not really learn why she is acting the way she is acting. For example her parents are great, but she turned out to be sort of bad and weak. The passengers do not change, it is a snapshot of them. The crew, just the same, they are the way they are and that it is.
Language:
Slovak - Back Translation - Translation
Rástli ako žihľava pri vode. They were growing like nettles by the fence.
Fakultatívny výlet. An optional excursion.
VIP. Veľmi významné osoby. VIP (transfer from English)
Single. Bez partnera. Single. (transfer-English word is favoured to Slovak equivalent)
Mikrofón s headsetom. Mike with headset. Headset. (transfer with Slovak suffix)
Zo sundecku. Zo slnečnej paluby.
Slovak language is very good, with many transfers from English = aim to sound authentic, because the Americans on board, I guess.
Has this book somehow influenced my life?
I really would like to go to some places, which were described there and learn more about some historic figures referred in it.
Emotions?
I felt annoyed with the stupid storyline of murders and underdeveloped female characters in the book. I found it pretty sloppy and disrespectful from a male writer. Positive: want to see some places.
Did you tell your friends about the book?
Yes. I told them my emotions. We had a good laugh.
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