Official Review: The Romances of George Sand
Posted: 25 Dec 2014, 10:51
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Romances of George Sand" by Anna Faktorovich.]
2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
The Romances of George Sand takes us on a journey through the life of Aurore Dudevant, a woman of many talents who eventually supports herself by writing books and political columns. She achieves success and literary fame in her time by using a masculine pen name, “George Sand”.
She is well known for participating in many affairs during and after her turbulent marriage to Casimir Dudevant, including renowned author and poet Alfred Musset, nationalistic composer Frederic Chopin, and actress Marie Dorval.
George Sand rejected the idea of being forced to stay in a loveless, abusive marriage for the sake of financial security, and she found herself deeply immersed in the tense political scene in France, fighting for her independence as well as the rights of others. While she saw no great political successes in her time, she contributed to the staging of rebellions and boldly wrote subversive political columns despite the very real fear of imprisonment or execution.
George’s daring involvement in political affairs and commitment to her education sums up her unique character in a way that no amount of romantic liaisons could. The author does an excellent job of keeping the reader apprised of the political state of France, avoiding the pitfalls of romanticizing war or glossing over death and disease. These tidbits are some of the most vitally interesting subject matter in the story.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. George Sand was an intriguing woman, and this subject material was clearly very well researched. That being said, this novel reads very much like a history book, but without the chronological certainty one might expect from an academic text. We are given disjointed bits of information in one chapter that have very little to do with the subject matter being discussed at that point in the book. In other instances we are introduced for the first time to a person who has long been a part of George’s life for the sole purpose of detailing some wrong doing on his or her part. These accusations fall flat due to lack of character development.
These inconsistencies break up the flow of reading, but are not my biggest vexation with the book. What I found most lacking was the dialogue and emotion that should’ve fleshed out the historical content that the author took the time to research. I found it extremely difficult to be emotionally involved in these characters’ lives.
This isn’t a book I could re-read, but if you have taken an interest in the notorious private life of author George Sand, or if you are interested in the politics of Romantic era France, you may enjoy reading this.
***
Buy "The Romances of George Sand" on Amazon
2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
The Romances of George Sand takes us on a journey through the life of Aurore Dudevant, a woman of many talents who eventually supports herself by writing books and political columns. She achieves success and literary fame in her time by using a masculine pen name, “George Sand”.
She is well known for participating in many affairs during and after her turbulent marriage to Casimir Dudevant, including renowned author and poet Alfred Musset, nationalistic composer Frederic Chopin, and actress Marie Dorval.
George Sand rejected the idea of being forced to stay in a loveless, abusive marriage for the sake of financial security, and she found herself deeply immersed in the tense political scene in France, fighting for her independence as well as the rights of others. While she saw no great political successes in her time, she contributed to the staging of rebellions and boldly wrote subversive political columns despite the very real fear of imprisonment or execution.
George’s daring involvement in political affairs and commitment to her education sums up her unique character in a way that no amount of romantic liaisons could. The author does an excellent job of keeping the reader apprised of the political state of France, avoiding the pitfalls of romanticizing war or glossing over death and disease. These tidbits are some of the most vitally interesting subject matter in the story.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. George Sand was an intriguing woman, and this subject material was clearly very well researched. That being said, this novel reads very much like a history book, but without the chronological certainty one might expect from an academic text. We are given disjointed bits of information in one chapter that have very little to do with the subject matter being discussed at that point in the book. In other instances we are introduced for the first time to a person who has long been a part of George’s life for the sole purpose of detailing some wrong doing on his or her part. These accusations fall flat due to lack of character development.
These inconsistencies break up the flow of reading, but are not my biggest vexation with the book. What I found most lacking was the dialogue and emotion that should’ve fleshed out the historical content that the author took the time to research. I found it extremely difficult to be emotionally involved in these characters’ lives.
This isn’t a book I could re-read, but if you have taken an interest in the notorious private life of author George Sand, or if you are interested in the politics of Romantic era France, you may enjoy reading this.
***
Buy "The Romances of George Sand" on Amazon