I had very low expectations going into the book. Frankly, I expected to not like it. But, my sister added it to my read list and once its on the list, how can I not ready it, right?
As the story unfolded, however, I found that i was getting drawn into it by the sheer simplicity and pure goodness that I have not experienced in real life.
Yet, it was a book about real life. Confusing.
Characters: 4
Professor Wilchur is a rare find of a human being. I wondered the entire time if the kind of a person that he is actually exists.
I want to believe it, but I don’t think I do.
Maybe Dalai Lama?
All the other characters were secondary to Wilchur in the book. They did , however feel real. Tadeusz Dolenga wrote believable stories of regular people living in the Poland’s countryside
Plot: 4
Yet another surprise here. Plot was so simple, and so predictable that by any definition I should not have liked it. Yet, once again, somehow the author’s delivery made me enjoy the flow of the story, despite the predictability of it all.
Descriptions, sawn together with dialogue and very slow story progression worked for me. That is one thing I need to mention. Be prepared for a slow pace. This is not the type of story where things explode and stuff happens every other page.
Setting: 3
What you can expect, is that this will be a beautifully put together slow paced journey through people’s lives. I found it interesting to delve into Polish culture of the times past. Description of the village, its residents and their daily routine give you an idea of what the every day lives are. The kind of injuries they come to Wilchur with illustrate the work they do.
The sheer simplicity of it is stunning.
Maybe its the city boy in me talking, I don’t know, but it made me take a look back when I was growing up in a village through my summer vacations from school and feel the sort of nostalgia that is hard to replicate.
Now that I think of it, maybe that’s what made me like the book, despite expectations.
If you can get your hands on a copy in a language you understand it mostly likely means you will feel a similar nostalgia.
I would suggest this to be a read on a cozy winter night, in your favorite chair or a corner, snuggled in warm stuff with a cup of whatever you fancy. Flip the cover and delve in a slow but satisfying rhythm of goodness that is Znakhar.
Roman “Ragnar”