tres déçue par ce livre que j'attendais avec impatience aprés avoir beaucoup aimé 'l'ile des oubliés' Hislop fait partie de ces auteurs qui suivent le même schéma avec une constance affligeante quel dommage !
The Sunrise, a book I had expected for some time. After enjoying The Thread immensely, I was impatient to discover Victoria Hislop's latest novel.
Cyprus, 1972. In Farmagusta, Savvas and Aphroditi Papacosta open The Sunrise, the grandest hotel in town. Here, Greeks and Turks work and live together, welcoming tourists to their small parcel of heaven, oblivious to the building political tensions on the island. However, a Greek coup is all it takes for hell to break loose: the town is deserted as everybody tries to salvage what they have left and run for their lives… everybody but two families, the Georgious and the Özkans. One is Greek, the other Turkish, but they both have reasons for staying behind.
As in Victoria Hislop's previous novels, I enjoyed the mix between fiction and history, love and violence, hope and despair. I must admit, however, that something was lacking to make the story enthralling. Do not misunderstand me, it is an easy and pleasant read, but I had expected much more of it given the context.
It appears early in the story that the author is familiar with the history of Cyprus. The reader is given details about events taking place on the rest of the island as well as in Greece and Turkey, which will help understand what is at stake for the two families. From the bombing to the camps, we are given a grim and detailed description of what life was like for hundreds of people.
The situation is different for the Georgious and the Özkans. They have stayed behind and they are in hiding. Their story is different to that of the fleeing Cypriots, be them Greek or Turkish, but it is also about survival, help, fear and hope. As touching as it is, I have not been involved as much as I was with The Thread and I think it is due to the characters.
While there was great potential in the plot, I found that there were too many stereotypes and that the characters notably lacked depth and personality. I have not been able to feel many emotions because I found them rather simply depicted, serving the purpose of advancing the story rather than really existing for themselves. In a story about two families, I expected more focus on their emotions and feelings, which would have rendered the story more likely. They almost disappear in the background several times and this revealed weaknesses in the plot.
Although I had expected the story not to be all rosy, I had not expected to finish reading it feeling frustrated and dissatisfied; we can expect a developing love story to be difficult in the context, but not that it would be wasted like this; we can accept some lucky turns of events, but not completely unlikely twists and turns; we can understand that some characters are not as good as they seem, but clearly separating good and evil does not contribute to the realism of the story, especially in the context of the civil war.
The Sunrise is overall an entertaining book, but in my opinion it does not compare with Victoria Hislop's previous novels. Fiction and history are combined and, although the characters' personalities leave somewhat to be desired, it gives a good overview of the consequences of an important episode of Cypriot history, which explains today's political tensions on the island.
Lien : http://iletaitun-livre.blogs..
Cyprus, 1972. In Farmagusta, Savvas and Aphroditi Papacosta open The Sunrise, the grandest hotel in town. Here, Greeks and Turks work and live together, welcoming tourists to their small parcel of heaven, oblivious to the building political tensions on the island. However, a Greek coup is all it takes for hell to break loose: the town is deserted as everybody tries to salvage what they have left and run for their lives… everybody but two families, the Georgious and the Özkans. One is Greek, the other Turkish, but they both have reasons for staying behind.
As in Victoria Hislop's previous novels, I enjoyed the mix between fiction and history, love and violence, hope and despair. I must admit, however, that something was lacking to make the story enthralling. Do not misunderstand me, it is an easy and pleasant read, but I had expected much more of it given the context.
It appears early in the story that the author is familiar with the history of Cyprus. The reader is given details about events taking place on the rest of the island as well as in Greece and Turkey, which will help understand what is at stake for the two families. From the bombing to the camps, we are given a grim and detailed description of what life was like for hundreds of people.
The situation is different for the Georgious and the Özkans. They have stayed behind and they are in hiding. Their story is different to that of the fleeing Cypriots, be them Greek or Turkish, but it is also about survival, help, fear and hope. As touching as it is, I have not been involved as much as I was with The Thread and I think it is due to the characters.
While there was great potential in the plot, I found that there were too many stereotypes and that the characters notably lacked depth and personality. I have not been able to feel many emotions because I found them rather simply depicted, serving the purpose of advancing the story rather than really existing for themselves. In a story about two families, I expected more focus on their emotions and feelings, which would have rendered the story more likely. They almost disappear in the background several times and this revealed weaknesses in the plot.
Although I had expected the story not to be all rosy, I had not expected to finish reading it feeling frustrated and dissatisfied; we can expect a developing love story to be difficult in the context, but not that it would be wasted like this; we can accept some lucky turns of events, but not completely unlikely twists and turns; we can understand that some characters are not as good as they seem, but clearly separating good and evil does not contribute to the realism of the story, especially in the context of the civil war.
The Sunrise is overall an entertaining book, but in my opinion it does not compare with Victoria Hislop's previous novels. Fiction and history are combined and, although the characters' personalities leave somewhat to be desired, it gives a good overview of the consequences of an important episode of Cypriot history, which explains today's political tensions on the island.
Lien : http://iletaitun-livre.blogs..
J'avais adoré "L'île des oubliés". Ici je me suis un peu ennuyée. Trop de longueurs, mais assez bon roman dans l'ensemble.
J'ai trouvé que ce dernier roman de Victoria Hislop était plus noir que les précédents. Les événements qu'elle relate ne sont jamais gais mais cette fois ci, les personnages sont plus sombres.
On retrouve la description de situation de guerre, des personnages attachants, pour lesquels on tremble. Mais elle nous offre également des personnages plus complexes, plus humains dans leurs défauts, surtout dans ces périodes troubles. C'est intéressant.
Enfin, comme tous ses romans, je les dévore et j'ai toujours hâte qu'elle sorte le prochain !
On retrouve la description de situation de guerre, des personnages attachants, pour lesquels on tremble. Mais elle nous offre également des personnages plus complexes, plus humains dans leurs défauts, surtout dans ces périodes troubles. C'est intéressant.
Enfin, comme tous ses romans, je les dévore et j'ai toujours hâte qu'elle sorte le prochain !
J avais adoré l ile des oubliés, ce qui m a poussé à lire celui ci,.
J ai moins aimé , mais il est quand même bien écrit, il est plus historique et nous apprend beaucoup de choses sur l histoire de Chypre.
Je le recommande et ne regrette pas cette lecture
J ai moins aimé , mais il est quand même bien écrit, il est plus historique et nous apprend beaucoup de choses sur l histoire de Chypre.
Je le recommande et ne regrette pas cette lecture
n 1974, un putsch grec éclate à Nicosie, capitale de Chypre. Suite à cela, une partie de l'île, dont Famagouste, la perle des stations balnéaires, va être en proie à des bombardements puis à l'occupation de l'armée turque. On va suivre le destin de deux familles, l'une grecque et l'autre turque, toutes deux restées à Famagouste. « La Ville orpheline », c'est l'histoire de leur survie et des conflits si enracinés entre les peuples grec et turc.
Comme toujours, Victoria Hislop nous livre une saga historique comme elle sait bien le faire. Rien à dire là-dessus, j'ai appris beaucoup de choses sur ce pan de l'Histoire que je ne connaissais pas. En revanche, je n'ai pas vraiment accroché à l'histoire en elle-même et aux personnages. C'est un peu fade à mes yeux, l'écriture manque de relief et l'émotion n'était pas au rendez-vous… de la même auteure, je vous recommande « L'Île des oubliés » qui m'avait plus emballée !
Comme toujours, Victoria Hislop nous livre une saga historique comme elle sait bien le faire. Rien à dire là-dessus, j'ai appris beaucoup de choses sur ce pan de l'Histoire que je ne connaissais pas. En revanche, je n'ai pas vraiment accroché à l'histoire en elle-même et aux personnages. C'est un peu fade à mes yeux, l'écriture manque de relief et l'émotion n'était pas au rendez-vous… de la même auteure, je vous recommande « L'Île des oubliés » qui m'avait plus emballée !
J'aime beaucoup Victoria Hislop mais ce roman là m'a déçue. La mise en place est un peu longue et on est captivé par l'histoire, avec cependant des envolées historiques un peu lourdes, mais surtout d'un seul coup j'ai trouvé que cela s'essoufflait... et que la fin manquait de délicatesse face aux autres de ses romans.
L'intérêt de ce livre s'est situé pour moi, dans la description de la façon dont s'est passé l'invasion de Chypre par les turcs. Pour le reste, l'ennuie.
Je n'ai pas reconnu une seconde les qualités romanesques de V. Hislop dans ce livre navrant de banalité, à l'écriture plate et sans intrigue. Une réelle déception après deux précédentes belles découvertes. Je n'ai pas pu dépasser la 100ème page, et encore j'ai insisté longuement, mais le roman de décolle pas...
Mièvre. Mais, il est vrai que j'ai un problème avec les romans sentimentaux... même sur fond historique...
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