Os caravanistas

by Elizabeth von Arnim, Celia Recarey Rendo (translator)

When Baron Otto Von Ottringel, a pompous Prussian, and his wife, Edelgard, begin a camping holiday in Southern England, he is unprepared for the English culture and the changes it causes in his wife's behaviour.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Travel, Humor, British Literature, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1909

About the author

Elizabeth von Arnim, born Mary Annette Beauchamp, was an English novelist. Born in Australia, she married a German aristocrat, and her earliest works are set in Germany. Her first marriage made her Countess von Arnim-Schlagenthin and her second Elizabeth Russell, Countess Russell. After her first husband's death, she had a three-year affair with the writer H.G. Wells, then later married Earl Russell, elder brother of the Nobel prize-winner and philosopher Bertrand Russell. She was a cousin of the New Zealand-born writer Katherine Mansfield. Though known in early life as May, her first book introduced her to readers as Elizabeth, which she eventually became to friends and finally to family. Her writings are ascribed to Elizabeth von Arnim. She used the pseudonym Alice Cholmondeley for only one novel, Christine, published in 1917.

Reviews

[JimZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third novel I have read by her, and I liked it very much….perhaps not as much as Enchanted April (1922) or Vera (1921) but those two were in my estimation over-the-top good, and this was still a most enjoyable read. 😊 I have about 20 of her books to go, which makes me happy!

“The Caravaners” was written in 1909, one year before her first husband died. Supposedly she was not happy at times but also from what I can gather she did love him and she was at his bedside with 3 of their daughters when he died. It is said that he had numerous affairs, and he was actually imprisoned in 1907 for fraud. So perhaps due to money problems she took up writing. However, she could not use her real name when submitting books to publishers as this would make her husband look inferior to her, and we can’t have that, can we! 🧐

Basically “The Caravaners” is about a vacation in the England countryside that the Baron (Otto) and Baroness (Edelgard) von Ottringel from Germany are supposed to take with several other people, some of whom they do know and some of who they do not know (but they will come to know upon vacationing with them). How best to describe Otto who is the narrator of the novel? He’s a pompous windbag who is in love with himself and as far as I can tell has a dim view towards pretty much everybody he meets. He is superior in intellect and morals and values to those around him, especially to the English people he meets on vacation. Why Edelgard decided to marry him when she was 24 and he was over 40 and had just lost his first wife of 19 years is beyond me. I guess it must have been his money, which isn’t a very good reason. Anyway, I digress.

They do actually go on vacation to celebrate their wedding anniversary. She calls it their fifth year anniversary and he feels slighted that his first wife died before their 25th wedding anniversary so he feels the trip is in honor of his 25th wedding anniversary (and if you don’t understand that then you are in good company as neither I nor you nor poor Edelgard can understand either).

They travel around the English countryside in as best I can tell precursors to mobile homes…looks like covered wagons to me, and the contraptions are drawn by horses. The caravaners as they are called camp out every night somewhere new as they move from Point A to Point B…and they supposedly save a whole lot of money that way versus staying in staying in hotels/lodges along the way on their trip. The novel describes the trip from the Baron’s point of view and also we are privy to his thoughts about his fellow travelers including his wife. You know there might be trouble with this vacation when you hear the following pop out of his mouth or that are part of his thoughts:

• A thought of his: “Indeed, the perfect woman does not talk at all. Who wants to hear her? All that we ask of her is that she shall listen intelligently when we wish, for a change, to tell her about our own thoughts, and that she should be at hand when we want anything. Surely this is not too much to ask. Matches, ashtrays, and one’s wife should be, so to speak, on every table; and I maintain that the perfect wife copies the conduct of the matches and the ashtrays, and combines being useful with being dumb.” 😲

• When Otto approaches one of his fellow caravaners to speak to him the other fellow always says that Otto’s approach reminded him of something he had to do and he went away to do it. Otto is annoyed by this and mentions it to his wife. “…and she said he never did that when she joined him. “Dear wife,” I explained, “you have less power to remind him of unperformed duties than I possess.” I suppose I have,” said Edelgard. Otto: “And it is very natural that it should be so. Power, of whatever sort it may be, is a masculine attribute. I do not wish to see my little wife with any,” “Neither do I,” said she. “Ah—there speaks my own good little wife.” “I mean, not if it is that sort.” “What sort, dear wife?” “The sort that reminds people whenever I come that it is time they went.” She looked at me with the odd look that I observed for the first time during our English holiday. Often I have seen it since, but I cannot recollect having seen it before.

• Another thought of his: “Women, it is true, are fairly safe so long as they have a child once a year, which is Nature’s way of keeping them quiet…”

I wonder if the author’s husband, Henning Count von Arnim, treated her this way. I mean, she didn’t use her real name when submitting her first book to a publisher because if it were to be published that would be an embarrassment to him (that she is more acclaimed than he is). Makes me wonder. Because I have to remind myself that even though this husband, Otto, is loathsome, the author creating it is Elizabeth von Arnim…so maybe if that character to her is not anything like her husband, she is aware of this sort of lack of respect from males born into German/Prussian nobility towards women…and also how they treat people who are not of nobility be they male or female.

Otto sort of reminds me of the central male character in the novel Vera, Wemyss, who is even worse than Otto. Far far worse if you can imagine that. I suppose Otto would have turned into a Wemyss if his wife Edelgard had not stood up for herself (she was very much unlike his first wife who was extremely subservient to him). And just as Katherine Mansfield, von Arnim’s cousin, when asked if she ever knew a character such as Wemyss answered “Oh, my dear, they are very plentiful!” I think there are many “Ottos” in this world.

Reviews:
An excellent review from a blog site: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2019/...

Another good review from a blog site: https://bookbound.blog/2019/09/22/boo...

https://www.scribd.com/book/442326734...

[Tania · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baron von Ottringel is a stiff, prim, bigoted and xenophobic German aristocrat who is all too aware of his own importance. Unfortunately, when he decides to go on a caravanning holiday in England, (because it's cheap and he won't have to stay in foreign hotels) it seems none of his travelling companions, including increasingly, his own wife, are as aware of his importance as he is. He is astonished and offended that he might be expected to chip in and help with domestic arrangements and get worse as his wife starts to enjoy herself, and not devote all her time to him.
Cleverly told in the first person, in the words of Baron Otto, Elizabeth von Arnim manages to make him very unsympathetic, and increasingly ridiculous. The narrative becomes more and more amusing the worse he gets and I was laughing out loud by the end.

I've upped my rating. I kept thinking back to the story and it made me smile.

[Amaranta · Rating 1 out of 5]

Il primo incontro con la Arnim è stato molto deludente. Mi aspettavo un libro leggero e ironico ma la sua ironia non ha forza e finisce per annoiare il lettore. Il personaggio del barone non suscita l'antipatia che dovrebbe e risulta debole. Anche la storia regge poco. Chi si affiderebbe a fare un viaggio in carrozzone abituato alle comodità di casa, servitù, pranzi luculliani e ozi, nonostante voglia provare qualcosa di nuovo? La scrittura scorre veloce, unico pregio del libro.

[Magrat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 1909, this is probably one of the funniest books I have ever read. The narrator is Baron Otto von Ottringel, a Prussian nobleman and army officer, and a most extraordinary character he is; conceited, parsimonious, lazy, greedy, misogynistic, snobbish and, worst of all, completely without insight into his effect on other people who he unhesitatingly blames for anything that goes wrong.

The Baron has been inveigled into joining in a group caravanning holiday in England (picturesque Kent and Sussex to be precise), so much cheaper than going to Italy or Switzerland. The reason for the holiday is his 25th wedding anniversary. He has actually been married to his much younger second wife Edelgard for four years, marrying her a year after the death of his first wife of 20 years. But he has been married for a total of 25 years and does not see why he should miss out on the customary silver gifts from his friends and relations, possibly even his servants. Needless to say he can't adjust to English attitudes and behaviour at all, stumbling from one hilarious misunderstanding to another.

Australian born Elizabeth von Arnim is one of the great English satirical writers. But apart from poking fun at bellicose junkers like her real-life husband, there are also threads of feminism giving The Caravaners more depth than a merely comic novel.

[John Purcell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this. Read it non-stop. To write entirely from an unsympathetic point of view, highlighting the good in others through negatives alone, without once breaking character and ruining the joke, is a tall order. I wondered whether Elizabeth von Arnim could keep it up all the way through. She does. She never flinches. It would have been so easy to give in and go against character to achieve the desired end, but von Arnim doesn't and we are left the more satisfied for her efforts.

[June G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh joyful jocosity! Enchanted Solitary German Garden Elizabeth, a high priestess of lampoon??? Patron saint of satire? Matron of mordant wit?? Yes, on every page YES!!! Was she friendsies with Oscar Wilde? Because here, in the years directly following his death, she takes on first-person male so acerbically, so glibly, so BRILLIANTLY it's as if she channeled that dearest deviant. An out-and-out outlandish delight.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read Elizabeth van Arnim after seeing the romantic comedy film Enchanted April, based on her novel of that name. The Caravaners is along the same line -- a variety of English people uprooted from their normal hum-drum existence, in this case going on a caravaning holiday. There's romance, lyricism, and sly humor in this book.

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pick the person in your personal life who annoys and angers you the most and imagine writing a novel exclusively from their perspective. E.V.A. seems to have done exactly that (wasn't she unhappily married to a German Count?). It seems more than likely this novel came of that relationship - certainly this was a character type she knew through and through. Her narration of Otto's inner life is amazing - she had me laughing so hard at times, but as the story unfolds, the humour (for me) lessens, becomes more serious in tone, possibly because the focus widens to the effect Otto has on the people around him. And there is always the lingering sense of the fact that although everyone else on the caravan holiday can walk away from him, his wife Edelgard is facing a lifetime of His Horribleness.

Nothing cuts so deep as humour can - and my Gosh, E.V.A. hits hard. This is the way to vent one's spleen!

"I stood in the narrow gangway lighting a cigar, and when I had done lighting it I realised that I was close to her and alone...I put out my arm, therefore, and proposed to draw her towards me as a preliminary to peace.

She would not, however, come.

Greatly surprised - for resentment had not till then been one of her failings - I opened my mouth to speak, but she, before I could do so, said, "Do you mind not smoking in the caravan?" Still more surprised, and indeed amazed (for this was petty) but determined not to be shaken out of my kindness, I gently began, "Dear wife -" and was going on when she interrupted me.

"Dear husband," she said, actually imitating me, "I know what you are going to say. I always know what you are going to say. I know all the things you ever can or ever do say."

She paused for a moment, and then added in a firm voice, looking at me straight in the eyes, "By heart".


Yeah.

E.V.A. is quite innovative as a writer, if you ask me, and I don't know that she's been given much credit for it. The way she handles POV ("In the Mountains" has a "confiding" - for lack of a better word - approach that I've not seen the like of before)is unique to herself. It makes this book, for sure. Entering the mind of a completely unimaginative man takes skill and endurance beyond - well, beyond.

[JacquiWine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth von Arnim is perhaps best known for The Enchanted April (1922), a delightful novel in which four very different English women come together to rent a medieval castle on the Italian Riviera. It’s a book I love for its wonderful sense of escapism, where lives are reassessed and transformed. There is a hint of transformation too in The Caravaners (1909), but more of that later…

First and foremost, The Caravaners is a satire of the highest order, not least because the novel’s narrator – the German baron, Otto von Ottringel – is a colossal ass; a pompous, insufferable individual with absolutely no self-awareness.

The focus here is a summer holiday, ostensibly to mark Otto’s silver wedding anniversary. (The fact that Otto has only been married to his current wife, Edelgard, for five years is somewhat irrelevant. He’s already ‘banked’ nearly twenty years of marriage to wife number one, giving him twenty-five years in total, hence the celebration.) At first, there is talk of a trip to Switzerland or Italy; but when one of the von Ottringels’ friends, the genial widow Frau von Eckthum, extols the benefits of the horse-drawn caravan, Otto and Edelgard are enticed. While Edelgard is drawn to rose-tinted visions of a bohemian experience, Otto sees the caravan holiday more in monetary terms – a relatively cheap option compared to staying in a hotel.

So, the vacation is agreed: Otto and Edelgard will accompany Frau von Eckthum on a four-week caravanning holiday through the countryside of Kent. Also joining the group are Frau von Eckthum’s sister, the perceptive Mrs Menzies-Legh, and her husband, Mr M-L; two young women whom Otto dismissively refers to as ‘fledgelings’ and ‘nondescripts’; and two Englishmen – Jellaby, a socialist MP, and Browne, who plans to go into the Church.

Right from the start, Otto is shown to be egotistical, misogynistic and conceited. He believes that a wife’s first duty is to be submissive. She must be there to tend to her husband’s every need, to be seen and not heard, to be grateful and dutiful. Opinions are permissible now and again, but only if they are likely to be met with approval.

To read the rest of my review, please visit:

https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2020...

[Gabrielle Dubois · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caravaners is the story of a real-life journey that Elizabeth von Arnim (1866-1941) made with the novelist E. M. Forster in 1906.
The novel is the fictional diary of the character Otto von Ottringen. It tells of a burlesque ride in horse-drawn wagons through Kent and Sussex with his wife and a group of eccentric English people.
The narrator, Otto von Ottringen, is a Prussian officer in his late 40s. This character is full of himself, stupid, lecturing, misogynistic. He is convinced that he is irresistible, both to high-ranking noble men, the only ones whose company he can bear, the others are not good enough for him, and especially to women, the youngest and prettiest, that goes without saying! He is so blinded by his own magnificence, which he is the only one to imagine, that he does not realize that his fellow caravaners see him for what he is: unbearable, pretentious, boring.
Elizabeth von Arnim's art is to have made of this character's diary a fine joke with English humor, which made me laugh out loud, even in the doctor's waiting room! If one laughs a lot at the narrator's setbacks, one always has in mind the pathos and tragedy of the situation that will lead not only to such wits in the First World War, but above all to the dramatic and obligatory submission of women to such husbands to whom the law gives reason.
This book is both a wonderful introduction to England and Germany at the turn of the century and Elizabeth von Arnim's funniest, liveliest, most feminist novel.

[Gina House · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat amusing, but highly frustrating satirical novel by one of my all-time favorite authors. If it wasn't for Elizabeth von Arnim's wonderful writing style, I don't think I would have made it through this book! Although I've read that many EVA fans love The Caravaners, it wasn't quite for me.

The entire novel is from Baron von Ottringel's point of view, which is pretty unfortunate. At least least for the reader! I found his views on everything to be horrendous, especially his opinions on women and wives, specifically. He's pompous, intolerant, conceited and utterly unlikable.

There were a number of hilarious moments (which I ended up reading out loud to my husband, to his amusement) and, because of these moments, I bumped up my rating to three stars.

But, overall, the amusing parts didn't balance out my (surprising) urges to ring the Baron's neck. Luckily, the edition that I have included black and white illustrations (plates) that gave some comic relief to this large book.

Many thanks to Sabine (@sabines.literary.world on Instagram) for buddy reading this book with me! I'm so grateful that she was ahead most of the time, which helped to motivate me to keep going.

I'm so relieved that I'm finally done reading The Caravaneers! I'm not sure if I would read this book again, but it's not totally improbable. On a side note, if you read and enjoyed The Pastor's Wife, this is a great companion book. The Pastor's Wife has a very similar premise (though without the caravan trip), but it's mostly from the wife's point of view. I enjoyed that book much more than this one. But, I do feel they go together in some way.

[Mary Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more I read Elizabeth von Arnim, well, she is quickly becoming a number 1 favorite author. I do have more than one in this category, yet it takes a lot to make it.
This is book is so tongue in cheek, written from the German husband's point of view, who is so utterly convinced he is correct, he cannot ever even think he is at fault.
The worse HE becomes, the more he himself becomes stronger in his beliefs.
It is screamingly funny.
I continue to read through her books, now on The Pastor's wife, and I haven't read one that is not 5 star to me. I mean, every author has some not so goods, right, like Northanger Abbey....yet to find von Arnim's.

[Moloch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un romanzo simpatico e garbato, ma se uno spera di replicare le risate di Tre uomini in barca (l'argomento è simile, una vacanza molto sfortunata) rimarrà deluso, almeno è quello che è successo a me. Qui si sorride un po', tutt'al più, e poi l'intento dell'autrice non è solo quello di divertire: il protagonista e voce narrante, il barone prussiano Otto von Ottringen in vacanza in Inghilterra con la giovane moglie, è una caricatura di un uomo di mezza età spocchioso, antipatico, maschilista e inflessibilmente retrogrado, e scegliendo lui come unico POV (e rendendolo assolutamente e ridicolmente cieco e inconsapevole di fronte all'imbarazzo e al fastidio che suscita nella sua giovane moglie, sempre più delusa e distante, e negli altri compagni di viaggio) la von Arnim intende mettere alla berlina e denunciare idee ancora nel 1909 (anno di pubblicazione del libro) tristemente diffuse. Tutto giusto e sacrosanto allora come oggi, ma sono idee e bersagli polemici che, portati così all'eccesso, mi sono sembrati fortunatamente datati e non mi hanno fatto indignare più di tanto. Anche perché la conclusione, a ben guardare, è un po' amara: ci si aspetterebbe che al barone Otto venga impartita una bella "lezione", o che torni dalla vacanza "illuminato", qualcosa insomma, invece finito il viaggio lui e la moglie tornano a casa e, a quanto pare, lei dovrà continuare a sopportarlo così com'è per tutto il resto della vita, non proprio un finale divertente; se voleva essere più sottile (questa recensione suggerisce ad es. che Otto è così ottusamente impermeabile a qualsiasi punto di vista che non sia il suo che forse non si rende neanche conto che la moglie è cambiata) io, al solito, non l'ho capito.
Anche la presa in giro del "tipico tedesco" (militarista, convinto della superiorità del suo popolo su tutto e tutti, inutilmente pomposo, rigido e poco adattabile) è una cosa che, oltre a essere irrimediabilmente datata, forse divertiva il pubblico inglese di primo Novecento e solleticava il suo orgoglio nazionale, ma al lettore italiano d'inizio XXI secolo dice poco (e vari riferimenti, ad es. al reciproco disprezzo tra anglicani e luterani, vanno persi).
Molto meglio allora, per me, le parti più scanzonate e meno "ideologicamente programmatiche" sulle disavventure e gli inconvenienti dell'estenuante vacanza in carrozzone (una specie di odierno camper ma trainato da un cavallo), che effettivamente qua e là suscitano più di un sorriso, o la bizzarra e comica UST (che ahimè vive solo nella mia immaginazione, temo) tra il barone e la sua "nemesi", la spigliata e intraprendente e così poco "femminile" signora Menzies-Legh, altra compagna di viaggio (questa idea me la tengo buona per la mia slash fiction mentale).

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Free download available at Project Gutenberg

An interesting review is provided by The International Society Devoted to Scholarship on Elizabeth von Arnim

4* The Enchanted April
3* The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen
3* Vera
4* Elizabeth and Her German Garden
3* The Caravaners
3* The Solitary Summer
TR Christopher and Columbus
TR The Pastor's Wife
TR Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther
TR All the Dogs of My Life
TR In the Mountains

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recensione originale: https://sonnenbarke.wordpress.com/202...

Qualche tempo fa in un gruppo qualcuno aveva chiesto consigli su Elizabeth von Arnim e, fra i tanti libri citati, era stato raccomandato questo The Caravaners (pubblicato in Italia da Bollati Boringhieri con il titolo La memorabile vacanza del barone Otto). Siccome adoro questa autrice e non avevo mai sentito parlare di questo romanzo, non mi sono fatta scappare l'occasione di scaricarlo da Internet Archive. Le persone che lo consigliavano ne parlavano come di un libro molto divertente. Le recensioni su Goodreads sono un po' miste, c'è chi l'ha trovato noioso e chi divertentissimo.

Ora, il mio dubbio è questo: sono strana io o sono gli altri lettori ad essere superficiali? Perché vi assicuro che questo libro non è affatto divertente. Non mi fraintendete, non faccio parte dei lettori che lo hanno trovato noioso. È una questione del tutto diversa.

Una delle caratteristiche migliori dei libri di Elizabeth von Arnim è l'ironia e la leggerezza dietro cui l'autrice riesce a parlare di temi importanti. Von Arnim è eccezionale perché critica molte convenzioni del suo tempo, senza farti subito rendere conto di quello che sta facendo. I suoi libri hanno una superficie di tale leggerezza che un lettore meno attento potrebbe quasi non accorgersi del pensiero assolutamente innovativo e fuori dagli schemi di questa scrittrice di inizio Novecento.

Ho letto sette dei suoi libri e ho trovato questa sottile ironia assente solo da uno, Vera , che al contrario è cupissimo (ma pure in quel caso, alcuni lettori sono stati in grado di vederlo come una storia d'amore...): ne ho parlato qui.

In La memorabile vacanza del barone Otto non c'è traccia di ironia: è una satira feroce del maschio alfa prussiano che crede se stesso (e la Prussia) il centro del mondo e ne è tanto convinto da non riuscire in nessun caso a vedere al di là del proprio naso, finendo per rovinare qualunque situazione.

Il barone Otto von Ottringel e la sua giovane moglie Edelgard decidono di trascorrere una vacanza estiva in Inghilterra, dove noleggeranno tre caravan insieme ad altre persone (due tedesche e le altre inglesi) e andranno in giro per la campagna inglese, in teoria per un mese. Invece la loro vacanza finirà dopo appena una settimana perché il barone inquina l'atmosfera fin dal primo minuto.

All'inizio il tutto può anche sembrare divertente, sicuramente alcune delle avventure lo sono. Ma ci vuole ben poco a cambiare idea, poche pagine, direi.

La storia è narrata dal punto di vista del barone: meglio ancora, questo è il diario in cui il barone racconta la vacanza; un diario scritto per poi leggerlo agli amici tedeschi e passare insieme qualche serata a parlare delle esperienze vissute in Inghilterra. Tanto di cappello a von Arnim che riesce a entrare nella testa di questo nobiluomo misogino e nazionalista tanto da farlo parlare in prima persona. L'autrice dimostra un talento eccezionale nel farlo. Non era scontato riuscire nell'impresa.

Il barone è ovviamente una caricatura, tutte le sue idee orrende sono portate all'estremo: infatti, come dicevo, è satira, e pure feroce. Altro che ironia.

Per il barone, la Prussia è inevitabilmente destinata a conquistare il mondo, o almeno l'Europa; l'Inghilterra è un paese chiaramente inferiore e gli inglesi sono dei poveri idioti; la fede luterana è immensamente superiore a quella anglicana e non parliamo poi dei poveri imbecilli cattolici (non ho capito chi parla di antisemitismo: non mi pare che il barone parli mai di ebrei). Ma la cosa più importante e intorno a cui ruota tutta l'essenza del barone: le donne sono così inferiori da non poter essere trattate nemmeno come cani o come oggetti. No, le donne sono schiave (non che il barone pronunci mai questa parola, tanto per lui questo punto di vista è naturale): la cosa migliore che possano fare è stare zitte, non devono in alcun caso esprimere un'opinione (del resto è certo che non siano in grado di averne una), devono obbedire al marito senza fiatare qualunque cosa egli chieda, anzi in certi casi non deve neanche chiedere e loro devono anticipare i suoi desideri. La moglie di von Ottringel è una moglie docile e sottomessa, ma la vacanza inglese la cambia rapidamente e il dovere del barone è quello di rimetterla al suo posto.

Il barone è palesemente innamorato di Frau von Eckthum, la giovane vedova che li ha invitati a partecipare a questa avventura. Frau von Eckthum è la donna perfetta per il barone: è molto bella ed è la donna ideale con cui conversare. Infatti, il barone cerca di passare più tempo possibile con lei parlandole dei suoi punti di vista da maschio alfa e lei risponde sempre e solo "Oh". Una donna chiaramente perfetta. Perché dal punto di vista del barone questi "Oh" esprimono chiaro assenso e condivisione dei suoi valori; oltretutto la vedova capisce alla perfezione quale siano il suo posto e il suo ruolo e pronuncia il numero massimo di parole consentite a una donna. Oh. Ovviamente Frau von Eckthum non è un'idiota, ma è così a disagio in compagnia del barone che non riesce ad articolare parola.

Ecco, non ho capito come si faccia a vedere questo libro come divertente. Non lo è, se non per alcune situazioni in cui il parossismo del barone è talmente portato all'estremo da avere risultati ridicoli. Ma il ridicolo non è leggerezza, non è ironia, non è divertimento. La satira è altro: certo che a volte fa ridere, se vogliamo fa pure sganasciare dalle risate, ma si ride *di von Ottringel*. Non si ride delle avventure in caravan perché sono simpatiche. C'è chi ha scritto che il barone è insopportabile. Certo che lo è: von Arnim vuole annientare questo tipo di maschio che probabilmente conosce fin troppo bene (è stata sposata per anni con un membro dell'aristocrazia tedesca che ha parodizzato con grazia in altri romanzi, per esempio in Il giardino di Elizabeth ).

Fra le molte recensioni che ho letto, mi pare che la stragrande maggioranza sia incline a considerare questo libro una lettura divertente, riuscita o meno. Chi l'ha odiato l'ha trovato noioso (ovvero, non faceva abbastanza ridere) oppure ha odiato il protagonista (non capendo che non c'era nessuna intenzione da parte dell'autrice di farlo sembrare simpatico). L'unica recensione, fra quelle che ho letto, che ha saputo capire il romanzo è questa. Poi, ehi, se tutti la pensano in un modo e solo io in un altro, magari non ho capito un accidenti io. Ma francamente questa mia lettura non scaturisce da una profonda analisi critica, anzi è stata per me l'interpretazione naturale fin dai primi paragrafi del libro.

Detto questo, il mio giudizio è comunque tiepido perché, sebbene io abbia apprezzato enormemente l'intento e abbia trovato l'autrice superba e il libro sostanzialmente eccellente, rimane comunque una lettura pesante perché sentire gli sproloqui del maschio alfa per più di 300 pagine è obiettivamente demoralizzante.

[Mighty Aphrodite · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un mese a zonzo per l’Inghilterra su un carrozzone insieme a una comitiva di inglesi a dir poco indisciplinati: questo è quello che si prospetta al barone Otto e alla moglie Edelgard, pronti a lanciarsi in un’avventura che permetta al barone di festeggiare i ben meritati venticinque anni di matrimonio, anche se con due donne diverse.

Non è di certo un uomo semplice, Otto, anche se ama definirsi un bon enfant, capace di essere allegro e divertente se solo gli altri non gli rubassero costantemente il buonumore.

Racchiuso nei limitati confini di Storchwerder, il barone è un uomo rispettato, completamente calato nel suo elemento: la Prussia e il suo esercito, di cui fa parte, con tutti i pregiudizi che questo comporta.

A contatto, però, con le menti inglesi, più libere e aperte, Otto assume le fattezze di una grottesca caricatura, il narratore cieco e fastidioso di una vacanza sempre più insopportabile.

L’unico a non accorgersi dell’atmosfera sempre più tesa e difficile, è proprio Otto, che non riesce a comprendere come tutti si zittiscano improvvisamente ogni volta che lui è nelle vicinanze.

Continua a leggere qui: https://parlaredilibri.wordpress.com/...

[Gwynplaine26th · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un viaggio in carrozzone nella campagna inglese, narrato in prima persona dal saccente, spocchioso barone Otto, un portatore di tedesca umana superiorità (a sua unica convinzione), sia nei confronti della moglie (inferiore in quanto donna) che dei compagni di viaggio. Una briosa, ironica descrizione di una società in cambiamento attraverso la metafora della comitiva male assortita e del viaggio rocambolesco.

Elizabeth Von Armin è imperdibile, oramai corteggiavo da un po' questo titolo che mi mancava all'appello dei letti finora: ironica, spregiudicata, fuori da ogni corrente letteraria, implacabile nel descrivere una società boriosa, fatta di identità montate e melliflue.

"Secondo me, - disse il socialista quando fu tutto finito, tirandosi da parte il ciuffetto di capelli - non avreste dovuto tirare le redini a quel modo". La sfacciata impudenza di affibbiarmi la colpa mi lasciò senza parole. "No, - intervenne Menzies-Leigh, - non avreste dovuto tirare per niente". Anche lui! Mi lasciarono di nuovo senza parole.. in verità, fui lasciato del tutto, perché immediatamente sparirono dietro, per aiutare (Dio ne scampi) Lord Sigismund a far passare la Ilsa.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book I ever read by Elizabeth, and mainly the reason I fell in love with her work. I found a price-slashed copy of the Virago edition at one of those fly-by-night remainder bookstores and picked it up for a dollar, on a whim, knowing nothing about the author or the book.

The author (Elizabeth) was married to a German count for quite a long time, and she really knows the inside of his head. This is a first-person narrative from the point of view of a stuffy man who goes on a caravaning vacation in England with his little wife, whom he rather treats as a child and poo-poos just about everything she does... But Elizabeth manages to show us that it's the narrator who is actually rather clueless while his little wife is charming and astute.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm baffled by the one-star reviews, because to me this is a perfect novel. 10 years back I came across a copy of "Elizabeth's German Garden" in a hostel bookshelf, and it was great because I was on vacation and had nothing else to read, but I didn't fall for it so hard that I wanted to go out and find all the rest of her writing. When I found this book in a used bookstore, however, I was instantly smitten, and loved it so much that I had to go out and read everything else she has ever written once I was done with it. To me, it is a perfect midwinter read, because sometimes you get just so sick of the cold that you need to curl up with something sunny and charming, leavened with that delicious black humor she does so well.

[Jaclyn Reding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the fact that this book was written a century ago, its message - its not so subtle message, that is - still rings true today. Baron Otto could (and still does) live in his own world. And how clever the author was for having told the entire story from his small-minded, self-indulgent viewpoint. We all know a Baron Otto and the tongue-in-cheek way in which the author told his story is as brilliant now as it was 100 years ago.

How I wish I could sit down to tea with Ms. Von Arnim. Somehow, I know it would be a hoot.

[Debra Roscoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the few books that I have had to put down so I can properly laugh. The characters are so cleverly drawn and the dramatic irony keeps the story developing.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the small story of a caravanning vacation. We spend an awful lot of time in the perspective of a pompous narcissistic gentleman in this book, and he spends the entire time ruining the vacation of the people around him. It’s frustrating if you don’t enjoy his narrative, but if you can see the humor, it’s a hoot.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed - very much. Will seek out other books by this author.

A view into another era, written from the point of view of a misogynist, privileged, wholly misguided main protagonist - but it works. Not so much as satire, or comedy, simply saying it how it was. How men like the baron really felt about their place in the world and the people around them. My approach to reading this was not to read as a twenty-first century reader but 'a reader'. So if you are going to give this one a try shut off your 'offended' valve and just read it for the sheer pleasure of storytelling, character study, English summer weather and the early days of caravan holidays (which in my mind where unappealing then and less than now, but each to their own).

I received this book in the London Review of Books monthly box for December. Would not have known about it otherwise. (However, I don't, sadly, think the box sub is a good deal - so will be seeking out the books but not getting the box each month!)

[Victoria Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very humorous and detailed account of group of English and German wealthy individuals "slumming it" in a horse drawn caravan through the roads of Kent. The German count is particularly good at hiding food from the others and shirking his part of the duties. They have to find places to sleep and forgo the comforts they are used to. Some deal with it better than the others. Quite cruel in some descriptions.

[Colin Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Making fun of the Germans: it's what we do best.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deliciously funny.

[Marina Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun read at this time - or any other time!
Full review: https://findingtimetowrite.wordpress....

[Maria Teresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Un romanzo che avebbe dovuto essere umoristico ma, come spesso accade, a me non ha fatto ridere per niente.
Il tronfio barone prussiano Otto von Ottingen parte con la moglie per una vacanza in Inghilterra. Si è lasciato convincere da alcuni conoscenti (che viaggeranno con loro) ad intraprendere una vacanza in caravan. La storia è ambientata a fine '800 pertanto il caravan è un carrozzone trainato da cavalli, privo di qualsiasi comodità.
Quella che doveva essere una vacanza estrosa e originale, da suscitare l'invidia di amici e parenti, si rivela invece disastrosa: la vita in caravan è tutt'altro che facile per il barone, abituato ed essere riverito e servito, a trattare la moglie come un essere inferiore e soprattutto convinto di appartenere a una razza superiore.
Il barone (che è anche voce narrante) è ovviamente una caricatura, un personaggio tramite il quale Von Armin intendeva mettere alla berlina un certo tipo di uomo presuntuoso, maschilista e retrogrado. Questa caricatura però, letta oggi, non può che risultare estremamente datata e certi episodi che sicuramente avranno fatto sorridere i lettori di inizio '900 (quando è uscito il libro) adesso risultano a dir poco fastidiosi.

[Uxía · Rating 4 out of 5]

al principio, me ha costado conectar con la historia porque el narrador me parecía extremadamente insoportable, al final le he cogido el gusto y me ha enganchado mucho. creo que lo mejor de este libro es el modo de narrar la historia, la autora recrea muy bien la mente de este tipo

[Karen Paramio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recuerda un poco a los Tres hombres en una barca de Jerome K. Jerome, pero, a pesar de toda la ironía, el protagonista principal es difícil de aguantar. La autora me sigue gustando.