book data
285 ratings, 3.59 average rating, 70 reviews
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published
May 5th 2005
by Jonathan Cape
binding
Hardcover, 352 pages
isbn
0224072765
(isbn13: 9780224072762)
description
One of the most auspicious debuts of recent years, Wesley Stace's Misfortune follows the rise, fall, and triumphant return of Rose Old, a found...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 449)
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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Read in December, 2008
I'm not sure what I have to say about this book. I feel like I should have some comment on what it says about social issues of gender, wealth/poverty, etc., but I haven't thought too deeply about it yet. I'm sort of a plot-whore, and this book has lots of plot. I think I'm still too busy sifting through all of that to think about larger implications.
I'm just kind of mad at the parents (though they were nice and did, after all, rescue an abandoned baby) for making the main character deal with...more
I'm just kind of mad at the parents (though they were nice and did, after all, rescue an abandoned baby) for making the main character deal with...more
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This was a very interesting book to say the least. About a very, very odd, wealthy man who finds a baby boy in a garbage heap and raises him as a girl in remembrance of his dead sister who he never quite got over (I think this was in the mid-1800s). Unfortunately the boy, named Rose, doesn't realize that he is a girl until he is 17 years old, and can't understand why he needs to shave, amongst other things, that his girl friends don't have to do. Really though, the way they explain everything it...more
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Read in February, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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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
Read in November, 2008
A rags-to-riches story that dabbles in the nature/nurture debate and discusses child sexual identity while creating a compelling story about 19th century bourgeois society. Reveals like a mystery novel. A baby is rescued and raised as a girl, even though it's a boy, and the novel explores his coming-of-age amidst a juxtaposition of Victorian England - greed and fiscal responsibility, idiocy and learning, splendor and squalor. A compelling read, indeed.
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Pale aristocrat accidentally saves a baby - the product of an abortion attempt - from death and then brings the little boy up as a girl in 19th century England. This is porn-classic-perfect for me. Gender bending? England? Love? Wit? Crossdressing? Wacky characters? Jesus, throw in Eddie Izzard and I'll be in love. So far the concept of this book rocks my world. Hoping it lives up to its promise.
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
ayone who likes semi-historical gender-benders
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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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 January, 2007
recommended to D.M. by:
Tim Coombsrecommends it for: readers of 19th century literature.
First off, let me say the jacket to my paperback is SO much nicer than this crappy Mills-and-Boon-ish hardcover!
That said, I was sent this book out of the blue by a longtime British friend of mine. Turns out the authour just happens to be singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding under his real name, and I'm a bit of a fan of him already.
The book looked an imposing length, especially for the Orlando-esque subject matter. However, by the time I'd reached the end, I found myself wishing it would g...more
That said, I was sent this book out of the blue by a longtime British friend of mine. Turns out the authour just happens to be singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding under his real name, and I'm a bit of a fan of him already.
The book looked an imposing length, especially for the Orlando-esque subject matter. However, by the time I'd reached the end, I found myself wishing it would g...more
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This was - very surprisingly - probably single most compelling book I've ever read. I'm still not sure why.
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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.
Read in July, 2008
recommended to Ms. Aguda by:
bargain books at B&Nrecommends it for: people who enjoy 19th century British novels
This book was a little crazy. It's about a boy who's raised as a girl in late 19th century England -- his father is forever grieving a dead sister, and wants to recreate the child in his lost sister's image. It's written almost like Dickens, but with such a post-modern plot and context -- weird combination. I wouldn't say it was an enjoyable read, but I did enjoy getting sucked in to the decadence and glamour of the time period. I'm always a sucker for historical novels!
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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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