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Title: Wildflowers
Macmillan Publishers
Item Number: 9780025545700
Number: 1
Product Description: Wildflowers
Universal Product Code (UPC): 9780025545700
WonderClub Stock Keeping Unit (WSKU): 9780025545700
Rating: 4.5/5 based on 2 Reviews
Image Location: https://wonderclub.com/images/covers/57/00/9780025545700.jpg
Weight: 0.200 kg (0.44 lbs)
Width: 0.000 cm (0.00 inches)
Heigh : 0.000 cm (0.00 inches)
Depth: 0.000 cm (0.00 inches)
Date Added: August 25, 2020, Added By: Ross
Date Last Edited: August 25, 2020, Edited By: Ross
Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
$99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub (9294 total ratings) |
Brenda Elmore
reviewed Wildflowers on April 13, 2021Rates of Exchange by Malcolm Bradbury
10 out of 10
Rates of Exchange is a Booker Prize finalist and a stupendous, hilarious, intriguing, sardonic, exquisitely entertaining, accurate, satirical, adored by this reader, who has been acquainted with Malcolm Bradbury – more in the manner in which omniscient Plitplov is so familiar with the hero, Angus Petworth, who has no idea of the existence of the former – though the reading of History Man Rates of Exchange was considered explosively funny, but on top of that, it is extraordinarily accurate, in its description of Slaka, a country that combines elements from my own land and countries trapped across the wrong side of the Iron Curtain…
One of the fantastic aspects of the Magnum opus is that it is so easy to read it and see that it reads at times as a diary, for most of the things that happen in the chef d’oeuvre have either taken place in the life of the under signed, or he knows of friends that have experienced – at least – similar stories…first of all, I have been a tour guide in the communist regime – and then went on with my own business, in the same filed – so I must identify with Marisja Lubijova on some level, though she is the opposite of what I was…while the personage keeps singing the praises of the regime – look at our workers, peasants, achievements, industry and all other false claims of the regime – the real me was telling the guests the jokes that we read in the masterpiece and others, pointing out that this is not the advertised heaven, but hell…
There is even that long joke – you can find it on the blog, or just ask for it…remember to subscribe, like, share, all that paraphernalia, to get more of our savory commentary – wherein Ceausescu is going to America – in my AT&T activity, I coupled it with AT&T, phones, their headquarters, whenever I attended team buildings and we were required to make reports, but in my case, in the last part, not getting paid for the work…that is another story though – and he talks on the phone with heaven, then at home he contacts hell –as the only place where he knows anybody – and at the end we discover that this is…well, Hell
Doctor Angus Petworth, the expert in languages invited by the Ministry of Culture of Slaka will have incredible, mirthful experiences in the country, starting with the flight on which he has different stewardesses than was the norm on western planes at that time, women with hair in their nostrils and an approach that said stay away and not come up and buy, which is of course at the center of services in capitalism…at customs, he is almost arrested, but then he is embraced in the tradition of the country – on the way out, they will intentionally break the only gift he will have bought – and then given the local raqi, a drink that appears similar, if not identical with our own tzuica or palinca and it can also be based on slivovitz or other specialties of our region…
At the exit from the customs area, there appears to be nobody expecting him, though he is approached then – and repeatedly throughout his two weeks stay, reminding me that there was yet another joke with changing money, presumably happening everywhere in communist paradise, even at Peter’s gate…if you know, remind me the details, for I have forgotten it, not having any tourists to tell it for the past…let us not place number of years here that will affect the impression of youth gathered from the Elixir offered in Rates of Exchange – by people wanting to change money, get dollars for sex (chaka, chaka) and by the controversial, changing, intriguing, ever changing figure of Professor Plitplov…
There are quite a few dimensions to this analytical, panoramic, extraordinary take on Slaka, communism, tyranny, for it is not all mirth and humor – albeit that is such a Joy, an absolute delight to take from the novel – it takes a hard look at the fake claims made by the communists, the shortage or complete absence of anything – the hero has to take a dump and there is no toilet paper in the otherwise expensive, leading hotel of the capital – the happiness enjoyed by the citizens – who would nevertheless rise up, only to be shot and killed, without the official visitor to be allowed in those areas where murders took place, his last legs of his journey being cancelled – in theory, but in practice they seem to be quite low, the misery of their life being limited to a very small place, if they get an apartment, advancements would be made ‘on their knees, or for some on their back’, as a reference that immorality reigned and some characters will have to have relations – carnal and otherwise improper, against the Categorical Imperative principle – with various apparatchiks that will ensure protection..
More is said in the comments bellow, this being one premiere, a note that is not just longer than the usual personal production, but three times as loquacious, for as mentioned, this particular magnum opus has not only offered jocularity, outstanding merriment, but it is also as an autobiographical book on many levels, given that I had to take people around the country, with dubious characters all around, just as in the book and both details and the big picture are extremely Accurate…take the instance when Petworth is giving a lecture at one of the universities and then the question of funds is raised, when they have to think lunch…it has happened to me in Timisoara, where I was guiding a group of Chinese apparatchiks…because they were so high up, I was more in charge of the logistics and they had some Stupid fellow sent by….actually I do not know his exact affiliation, just that he was in some kind of higher function, high enough for him to be suitable…when in Timisoara, he went with the head of the local Tourist office and the Chinese leaders to dinner and given that they were all crappy nomenclature among themselves, I excused myself and went on my own, to meet a girl and the next morning, I found there was big trouble, the Chinese were to wait in the bus for who knows…hours, maybe, because the Stupid fuck from the center and the local idiot found in the morning that they had agreed at night, after many drinks probably, to settle the bill one way, but it was not good in daylight…I fixed the problem, because I knew that in light of the grade, the rank of the fucking communists, there was no limit on how much we spend and what they can have and said at the restaurant that we will pay and they do not need to spend hours to see how many portions of file, beef, catfish and whatever there had been, just put 1300 bottle of champagne…I am kidding, but I said put whatever, drinks because it is easier and make it fast so that we get the hell out of here and avoid destroying any work done so far, by keeping the friends of Mao in the parking lot, for the rest of the day!
In conclusion, Rates of Exchange is that rare Superb Work that gives you Immense Delight, while at the same time dealing with calamitous issues, putting on canvas the atrocities of brutal, sadistic regimes, while looking at the humans that have had to suffer the immense benefits of Marxism…to add to what I have said, you have some thoughts written over the last couple of days, on the divine, mesmerizing, hilarious chef d’oeuvre…
What about the alternative universe in which he married the Queen of Beauty and went on to live forever happy, as in the cliché fairy tales, then added on top of that and read a lot, becoming a sort of a wise man of – at least some corner – the internet, involved in volunteer work, wealthy enough to sustain a life of comfort, surely with a degree of philanthropy, charity work, socializing with the good – turning some of the bad into the aforementioned – making time for the required rituals of exercise – seeing as the consort is the Queen…well, not that queen, he will have a lot of sexual intercourse and two alternatives come to mind, one is the Fidel version, as in the Witches of Eastwick, with Jack Nicholson, for some reason the movie seems to be better that the book, albeit this reader has been exuberant with all the books in the Rabbit series
The other option would be the Wild West option, in which the Queen and the consort would get tired of each other – to which degree, we can explore it if we Analyze This, without Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal, in some short story version, or just shooting the breeze here – experiencing the Honeymoon Effect, Coolidge Effect, or a combination of this and other psychological phenomena combined – come to think of it, there is also the Pygmalion Effect to be considered and based on that, we would have another outcome, but let us move on and apply one of the Jordan Peterson rules, be clear in what you say, which is does not sound like this, but anyway, let us move the hell out of here…
It can then be a free for all and in an open relationship or marriage, she would have sex with many, the trouble could be that they would be many more than he has, and they just have a fruitful marital equanimity nevertheless and jealousy, envy would not be involved…knowing him, that seems less likely, although other developments could deny, or better said stifle the initial fervent opposition to his consort having coitus with other men…with time, views can change on this and as mentioned, both parties are prone to see the attraction of the other fade, as studies show, by the time they will have been together for two years…
As Proust has said, we want what we do not have…incidentally, I am reading a stupendous, Hideous Kinky novel, Rates of Exchange by Malcolm Bradbury, in which Angus Petworth, the main character, meets with the second secretary of the British Embassy in Slaka, Felix Steadiman, the one in charge with traffic accidents, and among the things they discuss is the visits the diplomat makes to the British subjects that end up in prison – one has hit a peasant on the road…the attitude in this East European country, behind the Iron Curtain in 1981, is for the pedestrians to run to meet and collide with fast driving vehicles, and at the same time the drivers have an urge and drive faster to get them…which is amusing or abominable, perhaps both, but it reminds this reader of what he has seen in his own land…which has so much in common with fictional Slaka.
Felix Steadiman mentions, in his stuttering speech that gives occasion to many hilarious moments – the book itself is absolutely mirthful, and the Perfect Example of what I want to read always, spend infinite hours engrossed in and somehow the image of Eden…heaven sounds boring on many levels, but if it would have an immense dose of Rates of Exchange, White Man Falling, Lucky Jim and other such divine, angelic magnum opera, then there would be only a need to fill in say 25 percent of the rest of eternity and that would be indeed paradisiacal- such as when Steadiman says…just ask me for ass…ass…assistance…
The employee of the Embassy is just one of the mirth inducing personages, for attached to his stutter – and in itself I know it is not allowed to laugh at an impediment, but it is the alignment of propositions and words that would otherwise not be uttered, but as part of the fragments of speech they are in the open - he has quite a few other amusing traits, such as the furious speed with which he drives – in spite of being in charge with the traffic accidents – the wipers he takes off from the car, because stealing is illegal here, but natives have a way of appropriating things – though why do they do this with wipers, when they have so few cars is a mystery – he does not know where he is, loses track of the parked car and climbs a wall to get to it, then he offers a tour to the visiting doctor Petworth – called Pervert at the hotel and all sorts of other names by locals – and shows that he does not know a building from another, after spending three years in the city.
He asks for advice on what book to give to the British citizen waiting in jail for the sentence on hitting the peasant and he says he thought of Proust, but he mentions that he is a truck driver, Petworth disagrees with the Proust choice…however, sometime later, the Greatest Writer of All Time – for yours truly – comes as a choice again, after they will have all been involved in massive wrongdoing and then the length of the twelve Volumes of A La Recherche will not be half enough for the duration of the prison term…Budgie, the wife of Felix Steadiman is a very unsettled, dissatisfied, horny, voracious woman, who has her hands on Angus Petworth almost from the moment he steps into the apartment, making it clear that she is too lonely and disabused – the couple take trips out of Slaka to be able to shout and fight, for inside the communist tyranny, they spy and record everything to be used as blackmail, so they do not want their quarrels to imperil the career of Felix…
First, Budgie sends her spouse to take a shower, so that she can manhandle the guest, caressing him, putting hands in trouser pocket, on hair, only to have the husband return, because there is no water – as in other communist heavens, you would have nothing…food, water, electricity, everything was in short supply or unavailable – and see the wife at her usual game – he would later say that this is something she does, she wants to offer some spark in the dull life of the secret agents that listen in all the time and other such dubious, absurd explanations – which will continue during dinner with guests, brought in for a special treat and a secret…sausages from Britain, brought through the diplomatic bag and presented as a celebration at the meal…when the guests depart, Budgie keeps Angus with her, while the husband is driving the maid home, and she is clear about the coital intentions…it is to be on the table, or on the floor.
Nonetheless, Felix comes home and insists on separating his wife from her prey and because she does not relent easily – perhaps not at all – he has to grab the man – he would apologize later and the fun is limitless…he says sorry, I did not know I was so fit – and in the process, he tears the best suit of the official visitor to Slaka, splits his lip and causes injury which would have to be justified later, when he meets the official guide, Marisja Lunijova, who will hear that her assignment had walked into a door…
‘Why is Slaka like America…Because in America you can criticize America, and in Slaka you can criticize America too…Why is Slaka like America…Because in America you can’t buy anything with vloskan, and in Slaka you can’t buy anything with vloskan either’…there are these, other jokes and so many aspects of Rates of Exchange that echo into our lives…those who have lived in a country like Slaka, recognize characters, buildings, rules, tyranny and our whole lives in this marvelous, hila
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