Ovaj francuski roman spada u grupu mojih najomiljenijih "uredničkih" postignuća... Nesvakidašnji, čudnovat, ljudski... ratni roman i sudbine običnih ljudi... I ah, da, ta ljubav... na francuski način :) Sjajna ekranizacija romana, sjajna muzika iz filma... :)

http://stildescriitor.ro/blog/2019/11...

This was a wonderful novel -- with fascinating
characters, a good mystery, plus an interwoven
love story.

I learned a lot about WWI in France, about France
during that time period, and about French geography.

What is remarkable about this novel is the way that
the clues are many tiny snippets of information,
told by different people in different ways. Over
the years, the protagonist gathers these snippets
(often helped by her many assistants) and fits them
together. Reading the book requires careful attention.

I thought of a lecture by Bob Woodward that I attended
where he discussed how he does research for his books:
he does many hours of interviews and investigation,
fills files with the results, and then goes back
and painstakingly puts all the tiny bits together to
make something out of it. [As an aside, Woodward was
the one played by Robert Redford--not Dustin Hoffman--
in the movie version of the well-known Woodward and
Bernstein book, "All the President's Men.":]

O carte despre război, supraviețuire, încăpățânare, curaj, speranță, o iubire molipsitoare.
Cartea descrie acțiunile de condamnare a 5 infanteriști la moarte de tribunalul militar pentru mutilare voluntară.
O logodnă lungă se referă la o căutare lungă a adevărului de către logodnica credincioasă unei iubiri ce durează o viață.
Mathilde are o fire optimistă, nu-și pierde curajul, ba dimpotrivă cu cât timpul trece, cu atât ei îi sporește încrederea și atenția.
Mathilde copleșită de mărturisirile cutremurătoare privind condamnarea logodnicului refuză să accepte pierderea acestuia și parcurge un tunel anevoios în speranța descoperirii adevărului.

"Luăm totul așa cum e, atunci când se întâmplă, nu luptăm nici împotriva războiului, nici împotriva vieții, nici împotriva morții, ne prefacem, singurul stăpân al lumii e timpul".
"În tranșee, au toți aceeași vârstă,
vârsta oboselii și a nenorocirii".
"În război, fiecare are colțișorul lui de griji, mizerii mărunte, mici bucurii, nu vezi decât frânturi din ce se petrece și nu mai departe de sfârșitul corvezii de moment".

Five soldiers, all found guilty of maiming themselves to escape the war, are sent out into No Man's Land and left for dead. Five bodies are recovered and buried, their loved ones told they were killed in action. Mathilde, the fiancée of one of the men, sets out to determine what happened.

A Very Long Engagement begins with an interesting premise. It combines mystery with the misery of the Great War and seems to suggest a well-developed female lead character. I was keen to read this, especially since it was published by Vintage Classics and I was excited to read it when I started.

And yet the whole experience was miserable.

I read the first chapter, closed the book and didn't pick it up for two days because I loathed the whole "couple so in love they'd self harm to be with each other". Yes, Japrisot makes it clear that Manech – Mathilde's fiancé – was suffering from shell-shock but he also explicitly states that Manech twice injured himself to be with Mathilde. And if you think that Mathilide's any more rational, the chapter concludes with:

She tells herself that if this wire doesn't lead her back to her lover, that's all right, she can always use it to hang herself. (p. 27)

Sweet baby Jesus.

And then there's the fact that what this book is crying out for is an editor who can say to Japrisot, "actually, dude, you need to pick a name – one name – for each of the five soldiers and all the other characters in your story and stick to it". Or at least give the readers a list of characters with all aliases and nicknames listed. Because he gives them at least three names each, uses them all variously and indiscriminately and expects the reader to keep up and not sit there trying to work out who's who.

I found the book crass at times – a paragraph dedicated to Mathilde's breasts, a patch of dialogue where Mathilde encourages one of her interchangeable sidekicks to give his wife such a great orgasm that "the rafters ring" so the wife won't complain about him taking Mathilde out the next day. Crass and disturbing that the heroine would treat another woman – one who cared for her – like that.

Leading on from that is the character of Mathilde. She had had potential, I don't deny it, and I thought that the decision to make her wheelchair-bound added something different and interesting to the story. And I think Japrisot meant for Mathilde to be a plucky and brave woman, and sure, she was driven and I admired her courage, but that was pretty much it. There's the way she talks about her friend in the paragraph immediately above, there's the fact that her whole life seems to be dedicated to finding Manech, there's the fact that everyone goes out of their way to tell her what she wants to know. And there's the impatience she shows when dealing with other World War I veterans, the sense that she doesn't give a fig about their trauma and experiences, and that she wishes they'd just hurry up and tell her about her darling beloved Manech.

So, no, I didn't like her. I didn't find her sympathetic at all and given how much was just given to her because she asked, I didn't find her relatable.

The prose is difficult and stiff – just plain unenjoyable. Now that I think of it, I'd call it ugly, which might be appropriate for a book about World War I, but it's not an exquisite ugliness or an ugliness that's painful for the horrors it invokes. It's ugly and boring and unnecessarily complex. I gave up on deciphering the characters and events and just rolled with it – which made for a safer option.

So that's, what, five strikes against the book? It's a thoroughly miserable book that I do not recommend to anyone at all.

After seeing the movie, I had to read the book, and this translation stuck very closely to the quirkiness I loved about the film.

There are asides to the audience, and the language is at times funny, at times poignant, and at times heartbreaking.

I LOVED this book.

Very obviously translated from the French. Not that it's a poor translation - the way words and thoughts are put together just seem very French.

I enjoyed the mystery of whether or not Manech was dead. Mathilde is a very intriguing (though somewhat prickly) character.

Quite enjoyable.

Nu prea știu unde să o încadrez exact, undeva între roman polițist și dramă amestecată cu romantism, dar nu un romantism dulce-dulce, ci unul din vremuri apuse, când oamenii foloseau scrisori și credeau în așteptarea omului iubit. Dacă sunteți o fire mai sensibilă și delicată, cred că o să apreciați îndârjirea de care dă dovadă Mathilde și refuzul ei de a renunța la căutări și veți fi impresionați de cum sunt descrise efectele pe care le-a avut un război nedrept asupra celor fără de vină, asupra tuturor, până la urmă. O logodnă foarte lungă este, de fapt, (despre) o căutare foarte lungă, o iubire care transcede timpul, frontul și tot ce îi stă în cale și care se agață de orice ar putea anula pierderea persoanei iubite. Recenzia aici: https://sandradeaconu.blogspot.com/20....

,, Pe deasupra, în război, fiecare are colțișorul lui de griji, mizerii mărunte, mici bucurii, nu vezi decât frânturi din ce se petrece și nu mai departe de sfârșitul corvezii de moment. ''

I read this book during my last life-altering interval, and I sobbed through the last twenty pages . Out and out sobbed. Tears, running nose, inadvertent noises, the whole deal.

It's beautiful. Plain and simple beautiful. Mathilde is such a simply strong character, the sparse dialogue allows the story to move without interruption and to exist in its own space and time, and the predominantly female cast is varied and distinct. What a brilliant man to create such women so inherently unique and real. The novel seems effortless, no small achievement.

This was so very lovely. It's earned a place on my mental "best books to recommend to acquaintances who ask me what they should read because they know I'm a librarian" list.

The book is simultaneously an effortless historical novel set in WWI-era France, an intricate mystery, and a sincere and deeply-felt love story. I was so hooked on this book that when I accidentally left it my office desk drawer two nights ago, I felt positively forlorn and moped around the house all evening, such had been my anticipation for finishing it. I would defy someone to not like this book. The heroine, Mathilde, is funny, and mule-headed, and completely delightful. I loved the secondary characters as well; Japrisot's women are phenomenal and their stories weave together around those of the soldiers so beautifully and unexpectedly.

Someone go pick up this book and tell me what you think!

O carte draguta dar cu nimic deosebita (din punctul meu de vedere). O tanara isi cauta logodnicul disparut in razboi si porneste pe toate pistele disponibile, pune cap la cap informatii si nu se da batuta pana cand adevarul este descoperit.

Non ricordo esattamente come questo libro è entrato nella mia wishlist, anche se sicuramente l'ho acquistato perché parla della guerra. Dal giugno del 2011 langue fra i miei non letti, nonostante l'entusiasmo iniziale infatti fin da subito ho temuto fosse molto noioso (senza un motivo, non so perché ma ogni tanto ho dei pregiudizi del genere).

http://robertabookshelf.blogspot.it/2...