A family story about the languages of different individuals in that family!

In the style of classic books

Without anything strange and unusual in it

And the family itself is like a fortress where everyone lives together

However, it progresses very cheerfully and smoothly

The translation was also good except for some strange and unusual words that were suddenly used

Such as "Allahu Akbar" or "La ilaha illa Allah".

Penmarric

What an engaging and fascinating novel it is! Penmarric is a long book, not for the faint-of-heart indeed. However, it is such a rewarding read. It is a multi-generational family saga centered in Cornwall around an ill-kept family estate known as Penmarric.

Susan Howatch has crafted an epic of sorts. There are three generations of characters who seem to parallel the history of King Henry II, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, their sons King Richard and King John, and Henry’s illegitimate son Geoffrey thrown in for good measure. Every power struggle known to humankind is present here: wealth vs poverty, legitimate heirs vs illegitimate ones, male vs female, old vs young, and the backdrop of two World Wars.

This story is told from the perspective of five individuals, all of them flawed and with something to gain or lose from their love of, or aversion to, Penmarric. The Cornwall countryside is a character in itself, and plenty of other interesting and well-developed personalities make an appearance, either within the family by birth or related to them in some way. I became completely caught up in this story! I did find the ending a bit abrupt and lacking, but every epic story has to end somewhere, especially a book of this length. I highly recommend Penmarric to those who love complicated sagas set in beautiful locations and are willing to embark on a lengthy novel.

As a young woman in my 30's and 40's, I had read numerous novels by Susan Howatch. So, when I came across "Penmarric", I was immediately intrigued. At first, I assumed it was a newer work. However, I was both surprised and impressed to discover that it was actually one of her earliest novels, written in 1971.

The story, like all of her novels, is an historical saga that delves deeply into the lives and psychological makeup of all the main characters. Set around the turn of the century, from the 1890's through the end of WWII, it is told through the narratives of several characters, focusing on the angst of the members of the Castallack family. One of the most fascinating aspects of this novel is its historical parallel with Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine and their "devil's brood", including Richard the Lionheart and the evil King John from the 12th century.

This is a long novel, but it manages to hold one's interest throughout. One of the things I personally appreciate most about all of Ms. Howatch's novels is that once you understand where the characters are coming from, none are entirely good or evil. The characters are quite introspective, even if they are often reckless in their actions. Overall, "Penmarric" was definitely a good read.

This book is way too long.

I almost gave up reading the book towards the end of Philip's story because it seemed to drag on and on. It felt like the narrative was stretching and losing its momentum. Then, all of a sudden, it changed to Janna's point of view. In my opinion, this was a good thing. I really enjoyed her story. It was engaging and held my attention. Towards the end, I was completely overwhelmed. As a mother, I cannot even begin to fathom what she went through. Honestly, at no point did I think she was a bad mother until story #3 told me she was. HUH?! It was quite a surprise.

Philip's story was the best, but being very familiar with the Devil's Brood, I kinda knew how it would go. And yet again, I found the story dragging. Towards the end of Philip's story, I resorted to skimming.

I skimmed the entirety of Jan's story. I just wanted the book to end. But after investing so much time (700+ pages), I had to finish it. It was a bit of a struggle to get through the last few sections, but I persevered.

I could not get through this book.

Generally, I'm one to always plow through to the end, no matter how difficult or uninteresting a book may seem at first. However, in this case, I only managed to read about a third of it before giving up.

The main reason for my inability to continue was that I simply couldn't find it in me to like any of the characters. They all seemed rather flat and unappealing, lacking in depth and personality.

As a result, I really couldn't bring myself to care about what happened to them. Without a connection to the characters, the story held little interest for me, and I found myself constantly losing focus and becoming bored.

It's a shame, really, because I had high hopes for this book when I first picked it up. But unfortunately, it just didn't live up to my expectations.

Most of what I said about Cashelmara can also be applied to Penmarric.

The writing in Penmarric is rich and engaging, bringing the story and characters to life. The characters are vivid and real, making it easy for the reader to become invested in their fates.

The parallels between the surface story and the historical events it retells are both individually and collectively fascinating. The chapters are large, and the narration skillfully switches from one character to another, adding depth and complexity to the story.

However, there were some aspects of Penmarric that didn't quite work for me. The historical parallel here is Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine and their "devil's brood," including Richard the Lionheart and the evil King John. Perhaps because I had more investment and knowledge of this historical period compared to that of Cashelmara, the characters in Penmarric felt a bit less seamless in their resemblance to their historical counterparts.

Janna as Eleanor was close, but not quite the real Eleanor. The nod to the Anarchy felt flat, as inheriting an estate after legal disputes lacks the same level of excitement and significance as fighting a civil war that tore apart England for over a decade. Philip's obsession with his tin mines, while an interesting parallel, seemed a bit of a stretch compared to Richard's famous crusades.

Despite these flaws, I still adored the book. The story made me think deeply about the historical nuances and events, and I gained a greater appreciation for and understanding of them. Susan Howatch's portrayal of John is one of the best and most humanizing I've ever read. He may not have been likable, but he was no longer the one-dimensional villain that history often portrays him as.

In conclusion, while Penmarric may not be perfect, it did make me think about the real historical events and people with a greater depth. Even with my quibbles, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.

Originally posted on Small Review

I truly desired to have a fondness for this book. However, it simply failed to meet my expectations and fell flat for me.

I have not delved deeply into the subject matter regarding the Plantagenet upon which the characters in this book are based. Nevertheless, without exception, all of the characters were dreadful. I found it impossible to develop any liking towards any of them.

On the whole, they were deceitful, self-centered, and completely uncaring about anyone other than themselves. Despite this, I did have an appreciation for Howatch's writing style. This is precisely the reason why I awarded it three stars.

It is a rather lengthy book, and I persevered until the very end, hoping against hope that at least one of the characters would exhibit some redeeming qualities. But alas, it was not meant to be.

I embarked on a journey back in time with this historical fiction piece that was released in 1971. I had come across Susan Howatch in Michael Korda's memoir, Another Life. He described her in this way: "It is a commonly held fundamental belief in book publishing that at any given moment, somewhere in the country, an unknown woman is penning a major best-seller (often referred to as 'the next Gone with the Wind') at her kitchen table while tending to her baby. However, this was the first time I had witnessed such a phenomenon in real life. Susan Howatch had written her extensive novel with one hand on the cradle and the other typing. But, like most successful authors, she had never once doubted that her book would become a bestseller."

The book achieved great success upon its release and is loosely inspired by the Plantagenet family. However, it is set in Cornwall, with a manor named Penmarric substituting for the throne.

I have always had a penchant for multi-generational sagas, and the interweaving of Eleanor of Aquitaine and the lives of her children offers some fascinating perspectives and plot turns.

Really more like 2.5 stars.

I had extremely high expectations for this book. I truly believed I had all the elements for a wonderful reading experience.

1. It was a book by an author whom I had previously read and adored. That was a checkmark.

2. The story and characters were based on the lives of the 12th century's favorite dysfunctional family - Henry II of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their devil's brood. Another checkmark.

3. There was the wet, cold weather and a 700+ page chunkster to cozy up with. Check.

4. And I had Anna, my reading buddy, to share the fun with. Check.

But what actually happened? I have no clue at all! Was this author really the same one who penned the fabulous The Wheel of Fortune? I wish I could say it wasn't, but unfortunately, it was.

This wasn't a terrible book per se as Howatch can definitely construct sentences well and her writing style is quite decent. However, the dullness was unyielding. I'm still amazed at how someone could manage to make Henry and Eleanor seem so uninteresting. I would have thought it was impossible. Until now. Where was the passion, the intrigue, and the treachery? Somehow, throughout those 700+ pages, I never felt it. And there's nothing worse than laboring through 700+ pages with little or no reward. Just a "meh" doesn't do it justice.

So why in the end did I decide on two and a half stars, rounded up to three? And not just a plain old two stars? Because towards the end, there was a section that was a pastiche of letters to a character serving overseas from various members of his family. It was cleverly done and lifted the overall tone towards the end of the book. I just wish the entire book had been like that.

A final word of caution, you will learn more about tin mining in Cornwall than you could ever desire to know within the pages of this book. I know I did.

This was a buddy read with Anna, and her company made it possible for me to reach the end of this behemoth. I couldn't have done it on my own, so thank you :).

A thorough mix of tiresome and fascinating, exasperating and bewildering characters and plotlines.

Told from multiple POVs, each character seems to have only a couple of redeeming qualities. For the most part, they appear self-absorbed and pig-headed, entitled, while at the same time wallowing in self-pity, jealousy, self-doubt, and rage.

And yet, the author has such a skill of writing that the book makes for an easy and absorbing read. The dialogues were sharply insightful, and the confrontations were laced with brutally honest and cutting words, which made me hold my breath at the depth of uncomfortable truths exposed.

However, the book was freakishly long and meandering. I was glad the plotline didn't alternate among the multiple POVs, but I was unhappy when reading about the lives of key characters in the third person, especially when they went through major crossroads and made out-of-character decisions that couldn't be explained from the third person's POV. It was definitely a weird experience.

The final POV is of a character I despised the most, and I really didn't care whether it was a HEA or not. It was an exhausting read, and yet I don't regret it somehow.

Somehow, the books from this era delve a lot more into the psyche of the characters and the depths of the lives they lived. Perhaps the lack of technological advancements at that age allowed them the time for such in-depth introspections and intense living.

First of all, let me say that the writer's pen is very fluent and the translation is very eloquent. It was Professor Ebrahim Younesi.

The novel is an exciting and captivating story of the lives of three generations of individuals from an aristocratic family. The story begins in 1890 with the story of Mark and continues until 1945. Of course, it is in a new and different way from the classic works. There are many independent and detailed characters in the story. The core of the story is an old building called Pemarik, and most of the events of the story take place in it. Pemarik is a charming and readable novel full of vivid characters with a very high storytelling style. According to the translator, this book has been on the bestseller list of The New York Times for 4 months.

The interesting point in the whole novel is that all the characters in the novel are after justice. Of course, they only want justice for themselves to get their rights as the saying goes. The right that is the old and decaying building Pemarik. But getting the right of each of them is achieved by sacrificing the right of another. In general, in the novel, Pemarik blames the decaying aristocracy and the class system of English society at the end of the nineteenth century. And finally, with World War II, all those aristocratic privileges and elitism in society disappear and a new era is created in human relations.

I was ten years old when I first saw the inheritance and twenty years old when I first saw Janna Roslyn, but my reaction to both was identical. I wanted them.

\\n  I was ten years old when I first saw the inheritance and twenty years old when I first saw Janna Roslyn, but my reaction to both was identical. I wanted them.\\n

Idly browsing through books at my town's equivalent of Little Free Library, I simply couldn't resist an opening paragraph like that. It piqued my curiosity and made me eager to delve into the story.

Turned out the opening was the best thing about this bloated, overblown book, which is loosely based on the Plantagenet royal house. The book had two things that I normally hate in fiction. First, it was more than 450 pages long. (I did know this before I started, but still, it was a bit daunting.) Second, it had a multiple POV structure. At least this book didn't jump back and forth between different characters' heads too erratically.

These weren't the main reasons this book became a DNF at around 46%, though. The real issues were that most of the characters were horrible people. Some characters were introduced only to disappear, leaving me wondering what their importance was in the first place. For whole chapters, nothing much happened, and some of the narrative was wooden and lacked vitality.

As you would expect in a book set in Victorian & Edwardian times (it finishes in WWII, but I had bailed before that), there was slut shaming and racism. While there is no reason to believe that the author shared these attitudes, it didn't make the read any more enjoyable. Overall, I think this book would have worked far better if told in the third person. However, even then, I probably still wouldn't have liked it. It is just too long and, unfortunately, just too dull.

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