3.5*; audiobook narrated by Stephen Crossley very well done.

This first book in "Parade's End" took me a while to warm up to. However, although Christopher Tiejens is not a person that I can easily understand, as the story progressed I did find myself interested in trying to figure out both Tiejens and his wife Sylvia. By the end of the book, I was persistently reminded of one of my father's favorite films - Grand Illusion. Both are set about the same time (WW1) & deal with the coinciding battle going on between people who still believed in the ideals of nobility and gentlemanly behavior and those who believed in practicality and ambition.

The book and the film are quite different but despite that I get the same feeling from them about the sadly inevitable failure of those "gentlemen". I have seen the movie several times (being, as I mentioned, my Dad's favorite) and for a long time, I didn't understand why he liked it so much - it's a very good film but to my mind somewhat depressing. Now, reading this book, I begin to understand what he saw. It is the tragic but noble stand of a man who knows that he will be misunderstood or misrepresented but continues to act as he believes right despite any negative consequences for himself. I don't personally consider that the Victorian morality was the correct one and certainly not the only one, so that explains why I have had some trouble identifying with Tiejens. But, although I don't share his views, I can sympathize with his position and admire his actions. And in any philosophy, the rumor-mongers and hypocrites are despicable. ( )

I start a novel like this with some trepidation - some modern writers like this get so experimental with style that I just can't follow what's happening. Here Ford is definitely playing with the same modern style features - quite a bit of stream of consciousness, primarily. But he provides enough clues to keep the reader oriented so I was never totally lost at sea.

Ford does a splendid job here of mapping out class and gender mores around the start of WW1. The whole plot is quite small: married Christopher Tietjens meets young Valentine Wannop and they fall in love. But this gets examined from a wide variety of perspectives across complex networks of relationships. The whole thing is richly human. ( )

Ein Stern Abzug für die Übersetzung von 2003, die in ihrem Übereifer für den zeitlich "passenden Ton" plüschiger daherkommt als das englische Original. Kommt jedenfalls bei mir so an. Davon abgesehen begeistert mich auch diese Fassung; es schimmert immer wieder ein stoisch-absurder Wortwitz hindurch, der dem Treiben in der Jauchegrube der britischen High Society rund um WKI die Würze gibt. Ein Treiben ohne "klassische" Höhepunkte in der Erzählung, wohlgemerkt, die Faszination ergibt sich aus dem Fluß mit Bocksprüngen im Handlungsablauf, den Schlenkern und Haken in den Gedankengängen der Protagonisten.

Und ja, ich seh immer noch bei manchen Dialogen Loriots Knollennasenmännchen in meinem Kopfkino, ich kann nix dagegen tun.

"Ach!" ( )

3.5*; audiobook narrated by Stephen Crossley very good

This first book in "Parade's End" took me a while to warm up to. However, although Christopher Tiejens is not a person that I can easily understand, as the story progressed I did find myself interested in trying to figure out both Tiejens and his wife Sylvia. By the end of the book, I was persistently reminded of one of my father's favorite films - Grand Illusion. Both are set about the same time (WW1) & deal with the coinciding battle going on between people who still believed in the ideals of nobility and gentlemanly behavior and those who believed in practicality and ambition.

The book and the film are quite different but despite that I get the same feeling from them about the sadly inevitable failure of those "gentlemen". I have seen the movie several times (being, as I mentioned, my Dad's favorite) and for a long time, I didn't understand why he liked it so much - it's a very good film but to my mind somewhat depressing. Now, reading this book, I begin to understand what he saw. It is the tragic but noble stand of a man who knows that he will be misunderstood or misrepresented but continues to act as he believes right despite any negative consequences for himself. I don't personally consider that the Victorian morality was the correct one and certainly not the only one, so that explains why I have had some trouble identifying with Tiejens. But, although I don't share his views, I can sympathize with his position and admire his actions. And in any philosophy, the rumor-mongers and hypocrites are despicable. ( )

SIX STARS. Reasons why HERE. ( )