Rating:  Summary: War and Peace meets Clive Cussler by 19th century author. Review: Anyone I have ever met from Poland has read this book. It is a national treasure. The main character fights insurmountable odds to redeem himself in the eyes of his King, lady and peers. It is everything you have ever wanted in a good historical fiction novel. If you have ever read it and know of a better book please let me know
Rating:  Summary: Lost in the Translation Review: By all means, buy this edition if it is your only way to enter the marvelous world that Sienkiewicz has given to Poland and to posterity. Discover why the Trilogy has been a best-seller in its native land for more than a century. Epic adventure, star-crossed love, villains, heroes, treachery, heartbreak and humor. Sienkiewicz wrote to lift up the hearts of his people, and if he doesn't lift yours, see a cardiologist immediately.But beg or borrow if you can, and steal if you must, the translation by W.S. Kuniczak that was published in the early 1990s. Discover what happens when a novelist translates. Kuniczak is true not just to the sentences, but to the spirit of the work. He blows the dust out of the century-old writing and lets it shine. And for readers not on intimate terms with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 17th Century (admit it), he effortlessly drops in helpful hints. Here's how Curtin starts: There was in Jmud a powerful family, the Billeviches, descended from Mendog, connected with many, and respected, beyond all, in the district of Rossyeni. ... Their native nest, existing to this day, was called Billeviche; ... In later times they branched out into a number of houses, the members of which lost sight of one another. They all assembled only when there was a census at Rossyeni of the general militia of Jmud on the plain of the invited Estates. And Kuniczak: In the part of the old Grand Duchy of Lithuania that was known as Zmudya, and which antedated the times of recorded history, there lived an ancient family named Billevitch, widely connected with many other houses of Lithuanian gentry, and respected more than any other in the Rosyen region. ... Their family seat, known as Billevitche ... so that in time they split into several branches that seldom saw each other. Some of them got together now and then when the Zmudyan gentry gathered for the annual military census near Rosyen on a plain called Stany... Honestly, which version would you rather spend 1700 pages with? The native nest or the family seat? (And just by the by, when will a smart publisher sell the Sienkiewicz Trilogy alongside Tolkien? Why do they squirrel it away with the Serious Literature in Translation that mostly gathers dust? There's millions and millions of dollars in these books, lying around, waiting for someone to market them properly.)
Rating:  Summary: An excellent, recommended book for all ages Review: I have never read a book with more interest and dedication. Together with Fire and Sword and Fire in the Steppe this are truly masterpieces which are hard to find in out times. Highly recommended.
Rating:  Summary: A True Classic that doesn't bore the reader to tears. Review: It would be ideal to read "With Fire & Sword" before this book; though by itself, this book is an excellent story of a people united to liberate their country after they have been sold out by their self-serving leadership.
Rating:  Summary: unforgettable Review: Much better than "With Fire and Sword" with its more complicated plot and wonderously contradictory hero, Andrei Kmita. If you want to know what great adventure writing with a genuine message is all about, this is it. I can't wait to start "Fire in the Steppe" the concluding novel of the Trilogy.
Rating:  Summary: Eyes have not seen... Review: Nor ears heard what Sienkewicz has prepared for those who love his works! Number two in the trilogy on the history of Poland, this is the best I have read in a long, long time. It stands alone as a story, but many of its characters have been proven in war in other stories of Sienkiewicz. If for that alone, it is worth reading this book after "With Fire and Sword". It tells the love story of a man and a woman tragically separated by foolishness, pride, confusion and the Swedish invation of Poland in the 1500s which divided a nation against itself and drew the best and worst out of its citizens. Above all, this is a romantic novel, but with enough battles, action and virtues to outdo the Illiad. You will cry and laugh as you read it; you will hope against hope; you will feel in the middle of the battle; you will want to unsheath your sword and run after the neighbours... In sum, another Sienkiewicz masterpiece. Written from a Catholic perspective, this book summarizes well the soul of the Polish nation and its love for the Church.
Rating:  Summary: Eyes have not seen... Review: Nor ears heard what Sienkewicz has prepared for those who love his works! Number two in the trilogy on the history of Poland, this is the best I have read in a long, long time. It stands alone as a story, but many of its characters have been proven in war in other stories of Sienkiewicz. If for that alone, it is worth reading this book after "With Fire and Sword". It tells the love story of a man and a woman tragically separated by foolishness, pride, confusion and the Swedish invation of Poland in the 1500s which divided a nation against itself and drew the best and worst out of its citizens. Above all, this is a romantic novel, but with enough battles, action and virtues to outdo the Illiad. You will cry and laugh as you read it; you will hope against hope; you will feel in the middle of the battle; you will want to unsheath your sword and run after the neighbours... In sum, another Sienkiewicz masterpiece. Written from a Catholic perspective, this book summarizes well the soul of the Polish nation and its love for the Church.
Rating:  Summary: MAGNIFIQUE Review: THE BEST ,MOST INTERESTING BOOK IN MY LIF
Rating:  Summary: The characters reflect deep internal conflicts, fascinating Review: The book has left a permanent imprint in my mind, as if the story being told had happened with me in it in some way...This historical epic has all going for it...probably the best of the trilogy - but one will be drawn to love and hate the main character; this is definitely the beauty of it.
Rating:  Summary: The Deluge trilogy: The greatest historical fiction ever! Review: The Deluge and its sister books With Fire and Sword, and Fire in the Steppe are undoubtably the best historical fiction I have ever read. The novels not only give insight into the feelings, virtues, and corruptness of man, but they also offer an amazing look into the workings of medieval Poland and eastern Europe. The historical facts, themes, and tales of these novels are still relevent today, continuing to affect politics in eastern Europe.
|