Misfortune
by Wesley Stace
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This book is really bizarre. It's good, but it's bizarre. The back cover describes it as a cross between Charles Dickens and Pedro Almodovar (which I so thought would be right up my alley) and it definitely was exactly that. It's witty, sexy, quirky and intelligent satire a la Almodovar (if you liked "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!", this book shares that same sick-and-twisted-and-sexy-and-funny vibe), while also managing to be earthy and gritty and, well, Dickensian. So I really can't thi...more
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Read in August, 2007
A fun romp, with a Dickensian ending that would have worked better for Dickens than it does for Stace, unfortunately. The story of a boy raised as a girl takes you from an English great house to Turkey and back, with hints at dingier places in between like gutters and ships. I'm not quite sure if I am grateful or disappointed that these details were omitted.
I found the writing and pacing flagged a bit as it headed toward the conclusion. Great care is taken in creating eccentric supporting ch...more
I found the writing and pacing flagged a bit as it headed toward the conclusion. Great care is taken in creating eccentric supporting ch...more
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Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
Fans of Middlesex
This is what I thought Middlesex would be more like. I really enjoyed this book a lot. About a little boy who is abandoned on a garbage pile, a mad lord finds him and decides to raise him as the daughter he never had. Yep you got that right. He raises the little boy as a girl. His sister had died years before and when he looked at this baby boy all he could see was her. His servants think he is to fragile and don't say anything about him. As the child grows older he/she starts developing feeling...more
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Read in April, 2007
I bought this book at Barnes and nobles bargain section based on a quick scan of its description in the cover. I figured if I didn't like it, i was only wasting $4. As i got into the book, i enjoyed it more and more, i felt for Rose who couldn't understand why she was treated differently than everyone else. and i could almost understand why everyone kept her true gender a secret.
Although the book could be a bit confusing at times, with some chapters having a scene that didn't really make an...more
Although the book could be a bit confusing at times, with some chapters having a scene that didn't really make an...more
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How can a book be both so magical and fantastical and just plain strawberry times a bazillion? This book can, and after reading about the author, I can't help but realize that his musical leanings really affected the book in terms of how it's laid out. I don't mean he has an overabundance of metaphors pertaining to music, but more for the fact that there are times his prose just flows like a very natural song. The words dip and twirl and by the time you get to the climatic showdown, you'r...more
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Read in September, 2006
recommends it for:
anyone confused about their gender.
My dad bought me this for my birthday when he found out that Wesley Stace is John Wesley Harding, a musician I used to quite like.
Quite strange in that it deals with being transgender in the Victorian era--not really cross-dressing but rather being transgender, which I think is different. Unfortunately I feel that on the whole people are far more accepting of it in this book than they ever would have been in real life, but perhaps I should read a non-fiction book on transgenderism in the Vi...more
Quite strange in that it deals with being transgender in the Victorian era--not really cross-dressing but rather being transgender, which I think is different. Unfortunately I feel that on the whole people are far more accepting of it in this book than they ever would have been in real life, but perhaps I should read a non-fiction book on transgenderism in the Vi...more
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Read in July, 2006
Nothing beats the Powells in the Portland Airport. When you don't have Powells, you must make do with whatever looks like it isn't being read by housewives, and so I ended up with this: it's the story of a boy raised as a girl in Victorian era England. Interesting when it delves into the ways in which we lie to ourselves and one antoher, a little overlong, but not a bad read. It was written by an NYC singer/songwriter who started with the songs that are in the book and then wrote an entire book ...more
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Read in May, 2005
I picked this up because its publicist sent postcards about the book to the Hadley store while I was working there. It's the story of an abandoned boy raised by a wealthy family as a girl, and it is in many ways heartbreaking as well as entertaining. Really, it's a fascinating look at wealth, family, status, and gender in Victorian England. The end feels a little forced, but I really enjoyed the insightful narration of the boy-raised-as-girl as she comes to terms with her situation.
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Read in October, 2006
One of the most enjoyable and engaging novels I've read in the past year. Melds the synchronistic and enchanted weaving together of characters' lives and fates of a Dickens or Bronte novel with the wit and humor of Oscar Wilde at his best, with a contemporary overall sensibility. Rose Old is the most charming and endearing embodiment of a fictional gender outlaw I have yet come across. Highly recommended to anyone interested in gender identity who likes a good long rollicking novel.
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Read in February, 2005
I loved this gender-bending novel! It's a bit like a fairytale, and a bit like a Dickens novel, and a bit like pretty much nothing else. It concerns one Rose Loveall, raised as a girl, who discovers that she is actually a boy when she hits puberty. Rose travels through personal tragedy and trial by fire in true picaresque fashion, finally emerging as a whole being who manages to embrace both genders. It's funny and beautifully written, and I loved it a lot.
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Read in March, 2008
What a fun read! I admit it took me a bit over the first 100 pages to really get caught up in the story, but after that I was hooked. And the weekend's blizzard gave me lots of time to finish this novel.
With the ballads and the time period and the literary research and the nutty family dynamic, this book reminded me at times of Possession and also Fingersmith. I could very much see a movie being made from this book.
With the ballads and the time period and the literary research and the nutty family dynamic, this book reminded me at times of Possession and also Fingersmith. I could very much see a movie being made from this book.
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Read in September, 2007
This rags-to-riches, boy-to-girl-to-boy-to-something-in-between story set in early-Victorian England is wildly improbable ... but that's kind of the point. It's fairy tale more than anything else, an opportunity for Stace (aka the musician John Wesley Harding) to create a lavish stately home, a tangled family tree, and a meditation on gender all in one. The book is not overwhelmingly awesome, but it was fairly good fun.
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Read in January, 2006
this book took me a while to actually get through. It was a slow starter but once I was hooked, I was hooked! The music that goes with this is great and check out the DVD a Bloody Show which has readings from the book by Robin Hitchcock as well as great music!!!! It all ties together I swear.
Actually after having the music I want to re-read this book to see what I missed!
Actually after having the music I want to re-read this book to see what I missed!
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this is wordy, in the best way. i can see the dickens influence, in some cases actual dickens characters down back alleys and city streets. i can see the almodóvar influence and the two work very well together. misfortune, whose inspiration comes from a song, is not for everyone but if you like it at all you'll probably like it a lot.
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Read in November, 2005
I really wanted to like this book. Everything I'd read about it said how great it was. Unfortunately, I found it hard to follow and dull. You'd think with a main character that was raised as a girl, but was actually a boy - that would be interesting. It was overly verbose and it just didn't hold my interest.
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Read in April, 2006
recommends it for:
anyone who likes books that are a little odd
This book is one of those books that keeps you up until 3 in the morning when you wanted to go to sleep at 11 o'clock.
It is an unconventional fictional fairy tale about the deviance of a family of nobility. The twists and turns are unbelievable, halarious, and jaw dropping.
It is an unconventional fictional fairy tale about the deviance of a family of nobility. The twists and turns are unbelievable, halarious, and jaw dropping.
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Read in November, 2006
Confused gender identity, English humor; sometimes very clever and sometimes quite slow paced... While I enjoyed the writing style and the overall plot, the latter portion of the book isn't constructed as well as the first. Oh, but I did enjoy it, and was disturbed by it.
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Genderbending in the Victorian Era. Need I say more? Oh, all right, then. This book is about a boy who is raised as a girl and the life that s/he and his family lead. It's kind of a cautionary tale about how parents influence their children, but a really good story also.
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Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
those who'd rather read a rottweiler than a chihuahua.
more fun than middlesex. the cover has a quote on it describing the book as almodovar meets dickens, and i think that's fairly accurate. kind of audacious, intensely personal, epic and silly. it's a bacon bleu cheese burger disguised as jasmine-infused sushi.
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Read in June, 2007
Very light reading, although long. Lyrical. Occasionally repeats itself too often. Great, though somewhat predictable, plot twist. Really enjoyed the resolution and description of characters. I didn't ravage the book but it was nice to pick up every night.
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