سافرولا

by Winston S. Churchill, ونستون تشرشل, فؤاد صابر (translator)

ونْستون تشِرشل السّياسي وَالزَّعيم البريطاني الشهير أحَد أبطال الحَرب العالميّة الأولى بَطَل الحرَب العالميَّة الثانيَة الأديب المفكّر الرّسام الحائز على جَائزة نوبل العَالميّة للأدب. والذي حاول أن ينافس برناردشو هو صاحب هذه الرّواية في: الحُبّ والاجتماع والسّياسة وشؤون الحَياة في هذه الرّواية تحدّث تشرشل عن: • قيَم الحياة الكامنة في الحُبّ. • المفكّرين وأصحاب المُثُل الرفيعة. • موقف الشّرفاء من الحرب والقتل. • موقف الانتهازيّين من الناس. يكشفُ النّقَاب عَنْ: • حقيقة رجال السّياسَة. • حقيقة أهل «الغيرة » على مصَالح الأوطان والخير العامّ. • حقيقة العامِلين لمصالحهم الخاصّة تحت شعارات برّاقة. • طبيعة الجماعات في الانقلابات والثورات والمنازعات. موقف الجماعات من الصّادقين ومن المنافقين الانتهَازيّين. وَيُدَوِّن خبرته الواسعَة عن: • معاني الطّموح للسّلطان. • قيمة الفكر في كلّ عملٍ اجتماعي وإنساني. وَيروي أشيَاء كثيرة أخرى.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Classics, Crime, Comedy, Nobel Prize

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1900

About the author

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, politician and writer, as prime minister from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955 led Great Britain, published several works, including The Second World War from 1948 to 1953, and then won the Nobel Prize for literature.

William Maxwell Aitken, first baron Beaverbrook, held many cabinet positions during the 1940s as a confidant of Churchill.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can), served the United Kingdom again. A noted statesman, orator and strategist, Churchill also served as an officer in the Army. This prolific author "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values."

Out of respect for Winston_Churchill, the well-known American author, Winston S. Churchill offered to use his middle initial as an author.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston...

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve more than somewhat struggled with More Than Somewhat. It’s very popular with GR reviewers. To me, it seems so dated. The stories seem the same and the characters are cardboard cutouts. The best thing about the book is the dialogue which is pretty clever.

Guys and dolls and guys and dolls. I can’t get Sinatra’s Nathan Detroit out of my head.

[Paul Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

On Thursday evening I am in Mindy’s on 54th and 6th as that is where guys go who are enjoying a particular Hungarian beef goulash as it is a place where this may be enjoyed by one and all when into this joint is coming none other than Harry the Horse who is a guy I am known to be associating with from time to time in such matters as liquid merchandise distribution and ducket retail and one thing and another. I give Harry the big hello and he commences to ask what is it I am scribbling in writing in a little notebook I seem to be having in front of me and am so intent upon this matter I am having no inclination to lay my peepers on the chorines who are to be found almost destitute of clothing in Mindy’s at that hour of the night.

I say it is a review of a book by a scribbler called Damon Runyan and Harry is wanting to know which top class publication he may be reading this review in when it is done, not that he is knowing a book review from a bookie’s marker, but he is always a guy to take an interest. So I say it is not for no kind of publication but it is for a website on the internet. So he is asking me what potatoes I will be getting for this and I explain of course no potatoes are involved. I can see he is not connecting with this idea well, and his pan is commencing to froth in a slight way, with eyebrows going all the way up, and he commences to speak in this way

"Why do you be writing any kind of review stuff and not get any potatoes? This is a crime against all hard working guys."

So I explain about how many guys and dolls do exactly this and all this makes for a great amount of jollity amongst the citizens who like to push their beaks into a book from time to time and for these people it is like a day at the races for the likes of Harry the Horse. Then Harry the Horse says like this

"There is no doubt that fun can be had when parties interested in a particular activity will exchange frank views and what not but I am thinking that there is some scratch being made somewhere, and frankly this whole racket sounds like a racket, so may I enquire who is owning this website where you give your reviews and do not get in exchange any potatoes whatsoever?"

So of course I say well this website is owned by that famous other website called Amazon. Even Harry the Horse has heard of that although he disapproves as he prefers to deal strictly in cash transactions in a personal manner, in which on occasion he is having to pull out a large roscoe to complete a deal, as many parties around and about this town can testify to.

So then Harry the Horse is asking one further question which is who is it that is owning this Amazon, so naturally, I say Jeff Bezos, and Harry the Horse is asking who he is, not personally moving in those particular circles, and I am explaining to Harry the Horse that Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world. So Harry the Horse is looking inquiringly into my pan as if he is seeing parakeets perching on the top of my noggin and he is asking me and it is sounding to me like his heart is nearly breaking

"So you and many other citizens who are not being put inside any funny farms are spending your time giving the richest man in the world something for free?”

Then he is getting up from his seat and walking away and muttering and leaving most of his plate of goulash which I am happy to scoff rapidly as who will not like something for free.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1914561.html[return][return][return]Winston Churchill won the Nobel Prize for Literature, but this was his only actual novel, published in 1900 when he was 26. Savrola is the liberal opposition leader in the small western European republic of Laurania; once it becomes apparent that the dictator's wife is secretly in love with him, you know how the story is going to work out, but Churchill tells a good yarn, in particular with some brilliant descriptions of the street-fighting as the revolution takes place, only marred slightly by a rushed last couple of pages.[return][return]It's impossible to read the book without bearing in mind the author's future career. The dictator is wrong because he has trampled over ancient rights and freedoms in the name of stability; the radicals on the other hand want to take the revolution toward repression and socialism, and Savrola has to steer a course between them. I was particularly attracted by this early passage in which Savrola writes the speech which will kickstart the revolt:[return][return]"His speech - he had made many and knew that nothing good can be obtained without effort. These impromptu feats of oratory existed only in the minds of the listeners; the flowers of rhetoric were hothouse plants. [return][return]"What was there to say? Successive cigarettes had been mechanically consumed. Amid the smoke he saw a peroration, which would cut deep into the hearts of a crowd; a high thought, a fine simile, expressed in [return]that correct diction which is comprehensible even to the most illiterate, and appeals to the most simple ; something to lift their minds from the material cares of life and to awake sentiment. His ideas began to take the form of words, to group themselves into sentences; he murmured to himself; the rhythm of his own language swayed him; instinctively he alliterated. Ideas succeeded one another, as a stream flows swiftly by and the light changes on its waters. He seized a piece of paper and began hurriedly to pencil notes. That was a point; could [return]not tautology accentuate it? He scribbled down a rough sentence, scratched it out, polished it, and wrote it in again. The sound would please their ears, the sense improve and stimulate their minds. What a game it was! His brain contained the cards he had to play, the world the stakes he played for. [return][return]"As he worked, the hours passed away. The housekeeper entering with his luncheon found him silent and busy; she had seen him thus before and did not venture to interrupt him. The untasted food grew cold upon the table, as the hands of the clock moved slowly round marking the measured tread of time. Presently he rose, and, completely under the influence of his own thoughts and language, began to pace the [return]room with short rapid strides, speaking to himself in a low voice and with great emphasis. Suddenly he stopped, and with a strange violence his hand descended on the table. It was the end of the speech. [return][return]"The noise recalled him to the commonplaces of life. He was hungry and tired, and with a laugh at his own enthusiasm sat down at the table and began his neglected luncheon."[return][return]I think we can safely assume that Savrola's method of speech-writing was much the same as his creator's. (I wonder if they also shared Savrola's private passion for astronomy?)

[Felix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Savrola is a page-turner all right. One simply must find out what happens next and how this will all end so one is propelled to read on. Many - but not all - of the turns and twists are discernible from some distance yet one reads on.

Overall, however, I think there is no urgent and pressing need to read it in the 21th century. The whole thing is, alas, dated. In particular the female characters exist only as props for the men to interact (or shall I say - toy?) with. Consider this passage from the end of Chapter XV:

And so he departed to play a great game in the face of all the world, to struggle for those ambitions which form the greater part of man's interest in life; while she, a woman, miserable and now alone, had no resource but to wait.

Come on, dude!

This was not even an entirely accurate historical account for its own time, since many women actually took part in barricade fighting of the sort so ably described in this book. But it's also false and risibly so in a deeper sense. We simply know so much better today.

There is yet another big problem with the world-picture of Savrola . It is perhaps slightly less obvious but is for me a rather jarring one nevetheless. Let me explain. The whole fracas is about a popular rising against the despotic government of President Molara. But it is stressed a number of times that this government was formed by the victorious side after a protracted and bloody civil war and that Molara had been one of the pre-eminent war leaders of said side.

In fact, let us have it in Churchill's own trenchant prose:

For five long years since the Civil War the people had endured the insult of autocratic rule. The fact that the Government was strong, and the memory of the disorders of the past, had operated powerfully on the minds of the more sober citizens. But from the first there had been murmurs. There were many who had borne arms on the losing side in the long struggle that had ended in the victory of President Antonio Molara. Some had suffered wounds or confiscations; others had undergone imprisonment; many had lost friends and relations, who with their latest breath had enjoined the uncompromising prosecution of the war. The Government had started with implacable enemies, and their rule had been harsh and tyrannical. The ancient consitution to which the citizens were so strongly attached and of which they were so proud, had been subverted. The President, alleging the prevalence of sedition, had declined the people to send their representatives to that chamber which had for many centuries been regarded as the surest bulwark of popular liberties. Thus the discontents increased day by day and year by year: the National party, which had at first consisted only of a few survivors of the beaten side, had swelled into the most numerous and poweful faction in the State; and at last they had found a leader. The agitation proceeded on all sides. The large and tirbulent population of the capital were thoroughly devoted to the rising cause.

Do you see the problem?

A civil war cannot be won without a broad base of social support.

In fact, in many cases the winners get to benefit materially at the expense of the losers, providing them with an incredibly powerful stimulus to safeguard the new order. (For instance: who bought all the monastic lands that Henry VIII threw on the market? And isn't that one of the reasons England has never reverted to Catholicism again? Same thing on an even larger scale happened during the French Revolution: 6.5% of all French land changed hands and these sales were duly upheld even after the monarchy was restored.)

But even if no large-scale redistribution of property had occurred in Laurania, it is ipso factor certain that the winning side of the civil war must have enjoyed the support of some classes of the population. And not simply lukewarm or fair-weather support only because fighting and winning a civil war calls for far more than that.

Who were its supporters? It's hard to tell for sure without knowing any of the political, economic, social (and religious too!) history of Laurania, but I may hazard a guess. If indeed the population of the capital was overwhelmingly against the govenrment, then perhaps said government had been established by and for the landed aristocracy?

Once again, we don't know anything really about Laurania. Chapter 2 contains an amusing but useless precis:

Elaborate mosaics on the walls depicted scenes from the national history: the foundation of the city; the peace of 1370; the reception of the envoys of the Great Mogul: the victory of Brota; the death of Saldanho, that austere patriot, who died rather than submit to a technical violation of the Constitution. And then coming down to later years, the walls showed the building of the Parliament House: the naval victory of Cape Cheronta, and finally the conclusion of the Civil War in 1883.

- and that is all we ever get.

But what we do know is that if the State of Laurania had been subject to the regular laws of history, political economy, and sociology - then the Government of President Molara would have rested on more than the author had allowed it, namely the inertia of incumbency, some political dexterity, and ultimately the bayonets of just three battalions of Guards.

In reality, any government - unless it was led by utter fools - would call on its supporters in its hour of direst need. And whatever else one may think of President Molara and his advisers they were no fools.

(If my earlier guess was correct, for example, they would have had at their disposal a considerable number of armed retainers of the large aristocratic clans. But really any number of possibilities exist, we simply do not know enough beyond the certainty that committed and sufficiently militant supporters they would have had by definition).

To sum up: Winston Churchill went on to be a great man and I personally intend to remain an admirer even in spite of all the warts and blemishes that have inevitably come to light. He was also a really good writer and that prize was well-deserved. But the present book, while well-written and a jolly good caper, is forgotten by posterity with considerable justification.

[Xenophon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caesar conquered Gaul because it was the Roman thing to do. Benjamin Franklin played with lighting like a redneck because it's the American thing to do. Likewise ,the British penchant for novel-writing is probably what drove Churchill to write a political thriller.

Ol' Winston was at the very least a competent writer. The overall plot has a twist interesting enough to make me avoid spoiling a 120 year-old book. It's very well-paced to the point Churchill could insert blatant philosophical statements of his own without derailing the story. The action scenes are some of the best out there, being vivvid and punchy while leaving the gory details to the imagination.

Critics note that Savrola suffers from obvious faults and they're right- it's no Picture of Dorian Gray, but it does hold its own with the long list of mid-tier Victorian novels, and unlike those other novels, Savrola also offers some biographical insight into one of history's finest statesmen. What the young Churchill valued, how he saw himself, and how he saw where he was going are all there for the reader to chew on.

All in all, Savrola is an overlooked and underrated classic.

[Laurie Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost forget the delight of reading Damon Runyon when I am a young man. Within a few pages I am transported to New York of the 1920s and lose myself in the characters and adventures of the questionable types who seem to permanently hang around Broadway. Personally I am almost certain it is these books that lead me to an early career in newspapers, alas now well in the past. But later this year I go to New York for the first time and decide to re-read these stories to put me in the right frame of mind. Maybe while there I will run into Harry the Horse, Little Isidore, Spanish John and perhaps Regret the horseplayer who give me so much pleasure with their tales. Runyon writes in a unique style, never encountered elsewhere (except if you count attempts such as this). This volume of short stories is in fact part of an on omnibus edition called Runyon on Broadway which also contains Furthermore and Take it Easy. I am working my way through the lot, chuckling as I go. Meanwhile if we happen to meet along West Forty-seventh Street one day I will be greatly delighted if we go around to Mindy's to partake a little Hungarian goulash.

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: A novel in the tradition of "The Prisoner of Zenda", taking place in an imaginary European country, where a revolution takes place against a tyrannic dictator. The characters are stock puppets, but the fight scenes are impressive. They reminded me of the barricade scenes in "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo.

SPANISH: Esta novela sigue la tradición de "El Prisionero de Zenda", porque tiene lugar en un país europeo imaginario, donde estalla una revolución contra un dictador tiránico. Los personajes son de cartón-piedra, pero las escenas de lucha son impresionantes y me recuerdan las de las barricadas en "Los miserables" de Victor Hugo.

[Laura]

Free download available at Project Gutenberg.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Promising Work by a Young Man

This classical romantic tale tells the story of a revolution against a despotism in a fictional Mediterranean country. The author’s youth shows in places as the primary character, the eponymous Savrola, conducts long conversations with his lady love. Still, it moves briskly. I am sure that we will hear more from this promising young man in the future.

[Bert Corluy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only novel ever written by Churchill. It does betray his main interests and reveals an interesting part of his character. He himself was not very happy in later life with this endeavour and encouraged people not to read it. Which is understandable up to a point, but let the author's embarrassment not be a reason to not read this work because it does have a lot to offer to the Churchill aficionado. The story is revealing as it turns on a political struggle turning violent in a country that reminds us of Cuba, where he served shortly, of Ireland, in another way. The fictional situation is realistic because it is a reflection of what was happening - what was to happen - in the world. so many interesting parallels are to be found with the actual world it is more of a simulation than a novel almost. It deaply betrays churchills thought processes at that time, the things that preoccupied his mind. The ending without spoiling it was for me a bit of a letdown, but i'll attribute it to the young age of the author. I'll happily endorse this work to anyone even slightly interested in understanding the mind of one of the greatest statesmen of the 20th century.

[Whistler's Mom · Rating 5 out of 5]

The musical "Guys and Dolls" is one of the most beloved American classics and yet the brilliant stories that inspired it are largely forgotten. Every generation of children is introduced to Mark Twain, Booth Tarkington, and O'Henry, but never to Damon Runyon. Is it because he wrote about criminals? Do we really think that children who've cut their teeth on violent television, movies, and video games are going to be corrupted by these gentle, humorous, and (frequently) touching stories?

Runyon did what only a skilled writer can do. He took ordinary, not-very-admirable people and wrote about them in such a way that even the sternest Puritan can't help but care about them. None of his characters is likely to get a Congressional Medal of Honor or even a "thank you" note from the local Rotary Club, but they have their own code of honor and their rough kindness means more than a $1,000,000 "charitable" donation from a tycoon who will get a large tax benefit and (hopefully) enough good publicity to make the public forget about how he made the money in the first place.

These are people who do good (when they do it) from the heart, without expecting anything in return. Looked at in that light, they are the greatest "role models" we could find for our children. And these stories are American history, telling of a time when there were no "social services" and poverty meant hunger and sometimes early, preventable death.

Runyon's stories have been collected numerous times, although I've never found a collection that includes them all. These fifteen stories were hand picked by the great English writer E.C. Bentley, whose TRENT'S LAST CASE is considered one of the best mysteries ever written. This guy knew good stuff when he saw it and he was charmed by Runyon's uniquely American stories. Yet he vigorously opposed the idea that non-Americans need to have the vocabulary explained. As he pointed out, the unnamed narrator may not speak the Queen's English, but he's a damned fine communicator and the reader always understands what he's getting at.

I've read every Runyon story I could get my hands on and was delighted to find three stories in this collection that were new to me. At the end of his (too-lengthy) introduction, Bentley promises to bring out a second volume of Runyon stories and name it FURTHERMORE. Apparently he did so and it includes 21 more stories. Although I NEVER pay more than $5 for an ebook, I forked over $6.15 for this one and it's cheap at the price. I'm prepared to part with a similar sum for the second volume and I hope to be able to do so soon.

If you haven't read Runyon, you don't know what you've missed.

[Harith Alrashid · Rating 4 out of 5]

رواية نادرة للقائد العظيم ونستون تشرشل كتبها في العشرينات من عمره قبل ان يشتهر ويصبح زعيم بريطانيا والمنتصر في الحرب العالمية الثانية
في هذه الرواية يتبين فيها اطلاع كبير من المؤلف على طبيعة السياسين والاعيب السياسية رغم انه كتبها قبل خوضه غمارها كما ابدع الكاتب في وصف معارك المدن اثناء وصفه للثورة في الدولة الخيالية التي ابتكرها

[Vehka Kurjenmiekka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this was okay. Churchill isn't at his strongest when writing fiction, and there isn't anything particularly unique in this novel, but it was an easy read and an interesting view to his artistic side. However, if you want to read something from Churchill, I highly recommend his autobiographical works or collections of speeches.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read this book several times, as my parents had a copy. This re-read was initially because I was writing a story in the style of Runyon and wanted to get it right, but I ended up finishing the volume because I was enjoying the stories.

The way a Runyon story generally goes is this: the unnamed (and unreliable) narrator meets up with some shady characters, and finds out about a way in which someone else has been mistreated. In the end, though, someone, often not the person you'd expect, does the right thing, to the comfort of the good and the discomfort of the heartless.

It's not just a formula, though. The situations are as varied as the slang, and the characters as vivid as their nicknames. Everything takes place in a relentless present tense, including the dialog.

Because this is low life around Broadway in the 1930s, there is considerable casual sexism and indeed racism, though generally the "dolls" (women) who are mistreated by men end up at least getting avenged, if not avenging themselves. Justice, however rough, is generally served. There's a strong sense, though, that tragedy is an everyday thing for the varied characters, and that they seldom expect any better.

All in all, a bittersweet mixture of justice and injustice, tragedy and comedy, told in a distinctive and inimitable style.

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides]

Noteworthy mostly because it's Churchill's only published novel. Quoth Wikipedia: "Churchill first sought the opinion of friends and relations about the book. He asked his grandmother, Frances, Duchess of Marlborough, to comment, with particular reference to the character of Lucile. She responded that she felt the book was worthwhile for publication, particularly since it already had the prospect of a reasonable financial return, but felt the plot might be improved. She was impressed by the descriptions of fighting, but agreed with Churchill's concerns about Lucile, suggesting that the character betrayed his lack of experience of women."

Yeah. One of those books where the heroine only exists to look pretty and motivate the hero, ya know?

I'm not at all sure this is really a Ruritanian story, but because it deals with an imaginary company I'm leaving it there.

[Fionn · Rating 3 out of 5]

«Mire la ciudad. Es una gran masa de edificios; trescientas mil personas viven en ella. Examine su tamaño; piense en las potencialidades latentes que contiene, y luego observe esta pequeña estancia. ¿Cree usted que yo soy lo que soy porque he cambiado las ideas de todas estas mentes o acaso porque he expresado sus aspiraciones? ¿Soy su amo o soy su esclavo? Creáme, Moret, no me hago ilusiones. Tampoco debería hacérselas usted».

El género ruritano me ha interesado incluso desde antes de que me leyese El prisionero de Zenda, o más bien su versión diabólicamente bastardizada de Royal Flash, dos de mis lecturas favoritas del año 2022. Al fin y al cabo, se alinea bien con mis gustos por la efusión de escenarios palaciegos, intrigas políticas de gran calado, bucólicos y minúsculos países europeos y, finalmente, el fundamental romance que siempre enmaraña al protagonista entre amor y deber.

En Savrola, publicado en fascículos por el joven Churchill, se puede encontrar todo eso y mucho más. Casi sorprende saber que fuese publicado tan solo cuatro años después de El prisionero de Zenda, pero en modo alguno supone un plagio a la obra de Anthony Hope; más bien, parece un silencioso homenaje, fruto de la inspiración que le debió infundir a Winston Churchill en sus años de juventud, después de la guerra del Sudán y sus aventuras en la India.

Así pues, el autor cambia algunos de los parámetros "tradicionales" -si es que los había en un género que era joven cuándo se escribió esta novela- de Zenda y los convierte en sus fortalezas, basándose en sus propias experiencias, en sus convicciones políticas y en su entendimiento de los estados y su funcionamiento: Laurania, en lugar de ser un opulento gran ducado, es una república con un leve regusto mediterráneo; el protagonista toma el papel del héroe revolucionario, en lugar del garante del orden y finalmente, el romance resulta más osado de lo que cabría esperar al triangularse entre Antonio Molara, dictador de la República, su bella e inteligente esposa Lucile y el epónimo Savrola, cuya inteligencia y carisma pueden conducir a la nación al borde del abismo revolucionario o salvarla de las sutiles iniquidades del Presidente.

Churchill navega con destreza en el politiqueo, sin duda uno de los puntos fuertes de la novela. Su entendimiento del poder, aún siendo joven y sin haber alcanzado los cargos que alcanzaría después, resulta ardoroso y definitivo, pero algo ingenuo. Los personajes son bidimensionales en muchos casos, pues muchos están diseñados para ocupar roles con los que la novela debe funcionar, pero algunos ejemplos brillan al tiempo que otros se muestran opacados por las visiones decimonónicas del Gran Político, la Dama Ingeniosa, el Revolucionario con Bombas, el Funcionario Gris o el Militar Recto. Muchas de sus experiencias vitales son plasmadas en el libro y no duda en insertar también a personajes de su propia vida de una forma sucintamente escandalosa.

Lucile, por ejemplo, está inspirada en su propia madre, mujer dotada de una vigorosa influencia política que ayudaría a Winston a alcanzar sus primeras ocupaciones, como una suerte de Tetis auxiliando a Aquiles en las azarosas aguas del poder. Savrola parece estar modelado en la propia versión de sí mismo de Churchill, que por supuesto, estaba lo bastante elevada como para edificarse como protagonista de la novela, disimulando con algún que otro fallo y arrebato de modestia. Aún así tiene la decencia de diversificar sus experiencias militares en otros personajes, como el teniente Tiro, para que el self-insert que hace de sí mismo -según sí mismo- no se note tanto.

Otro de los personajes que nos muestran que esta novela se espeja en la vida de Churchill es el ama de llaves de Savrola, fidelísimo reflejo de Elizabeth Everest, su nana de infancia y reconocidamente una de las personas más importantes de su vida. Rinde homenaje a esta incansable mujer que le crió en su infancia y aunque en la conclusión no da más datos del ama de llaves aduciendo que "la Historia (sic) no se encarga de contar qué fue personajes tan insignificantes", sí me reconforta saber que la historia ha recogido que incluso en la vejez, Churchill seguía mandando flores a la tumba de su nana.

Más allá de los detalles autobiográficos que se pueden entrever si analizamos esta obra en conjunto con "My Early Life", publicada en 1930, Savrola resulta un particular ejemplo del género ruritano, una temprana subversión de las expectativas sobre este género romántico en el que, aún con todo el melodrama de la pluma winstoniana, se obtiene una lectura interesante y dinámica, muy evocadora en sus escenas de acción y con diálogos que, aunque fuesen criticados en su día por su "falta de profundidad" o "mala filosofía", hoy en día resultan cuánto menos enriquecedores por su carácter histórico y, para qué negarlo y haciéndome el carcamal, sólidos en contraste con el tipo de literatura que solemos leer hoy en día.

Quiero destacar, ya para acabar, que la novela narra un golpe de estado revolucionario de manera fresca, compleja y frenética, algo que nunca había leído en novela con tanto detalle y que me ha parecido uno de los grandes aciertos. Churchill mezcla el tórrido romance con la política al tiempo que cada minuto cuenta, pues hace partícipe al lector en el frenético vaivén de telegramas, movimientos militares y añagazas cortesanas.

Si os gusta el género ruritano u os interesa la biografía de Churchill, Savrola es una oportunidad única para disfrutar de las particularidades de la única novela que escribió el apodado "hombre del siglo".

[Lena Floser · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, the nobelprize in literature, hardly because of his stilistic abilities.

[Alex Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

More than somewhat underwhelmed by this I am afraid.

[Julio The Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

"My dear Winston: a lifetime of experiences has taught me that nothing ever happens". A friend, speaking to Winston Churchill

Believe it or not, there were two Winston Churchills writing novels at the start of the Twentieth century. The first Winston Churchill was a best-selling writer of adventure stories, such THE SPY, whose books I remember gathering dust at our neighborhood library in Los Angeles when I was a teen. The second was an ex-minister of the cabinet under Edward VII (the lover of Winston's mother, Jennie) who suddenly found himself unemployed after the Liberals came to power and decided to write fiction for money. (And, yes, the two Winston Churchills were aware of the other's existence. They even exchanged correspondence after this novel was published.) SAVROLA, a ghastly novel, nevertheless gives a great and even prophetic view of the author's politics. His hatred of revolution, in any form, was surpassed only by his hatred of socialism, in any form. SAVROLA takes place in a mythical European country that undergoes a revolution, led by a well-meaning and visionary liberal, against a tyrannical monarch, only to have the new democracy overthrown by a socialist revolution! All of this before World War I, the February Revolution in Russia, Kerensky, and the Bolshevik Revolution. As a writer Churchill made the classic first-time novelist's mistake of piling on characters and plots with subplots. Let him be his own critic: "I once published a novel entitled SAVROLA. I have since done all I can to persuade any of my friends from reading it."

[J. D. Román · Rating 4 out of 5]

En la República de Laurania, la clase obrera ha gestado una serie de protestas, exigiendo sus derechos laborales y un trato más equitativo. Sin embargo, ante el desdén de la clase alta, su líder Savrola decide llevar las cosas a otro nivel: es momento de formar una Revolución.

"Savrola" fue una novela que Winston Churchill, una de las figuras políticas más importantes del siglo XX, comenzó a escribir en 1897, tras su experiencia como periodista en el asedio de Malakand, y publicó en 1900.

Se trata de una obra que profundiza en las causas detrás de las luchas sociales y sus consecuencias en la vida personal de un hombre como Savrola, que en el frente de batalla se muestra como un estratega innato, pero en privado es un hombre temeroso de que todos, incluyendo su amada Lucile, conspiren en su contra.

Mi único problema sería que Churchill se centra tanto en la ambientación que varios personajes como Antonio Molara, que también es parte crucial dentro de la Revolución, quedan planos a comparación de Savrola y Lucile, que para mí fueron los más desarrollados. Fuera de eso, sí recomiendo esta novela.

[Jamie Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Churchill's first book and only novel. The protagonist, as well as the author, masters rhetoric to save a nation.

[Lilly June · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like you can’t read this straight through, you should read maybe one story a week, because the writing and the clever endings get old pretty fast

[Paul R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun

[Bettie]

Description: Churchill's only novel. A melodramatic tale of intrigue and daring escapades, it may shed some light on certain aspects of his career.


https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50906

Opening: There had been a heavy shower of rain, but the sun was already shining through the breaks in the clouds and throwing swiftly changing shadows on the streets, the houses, and the gardens of the city of Laurania. Everything shone wetly in the sunlight: the dust had been laid; the air was cool; the trees looked green and grateful. It was the first rain after the summer heats, and it marked the beginning of that delightful autumn climate which has made the Lauranian capital the home of the artist, the invalid, and the sybarite.

The shower had been heavy, but it had not dispersed the crowds that were gathered in the great square in front of the Parliament House. It was welcome, but it had not altered their anxious and angry looks; it had drenched them without cooling their excitement. Evidently an event of consequence was taking place. The fine building, where the representatives of the people were wont to meet, wore an aspect of sombre importance that the trophies and statues, with which an ancient and an art-loving people had decorated its façade, did not dispel. A squadron of Lancers of the Republican Guard was drawn up at the foot of the great steps, and a considerable body of infantry kept a broad space clear in front of the entrance. Behind the soldiers the people filled in the rest of the picture. They swarmed in the square and the streets leading to it; they had scrambled on to the numerous monuments, which the taste and pride of the Republic had raised to the memory of her ancient heroes, covering them so completely that they looked like mounds of human beings; even the trees contained their occupants, while the windows and often the roofs, of the houses and offices which overlooked the scene were crowded with spectators. It was a great multitude and it vibrated with excitement. Wild passions surged across the throng, as squalls sweep across a stormy sea. Here and there a man, mounting above his fellows, would harangue those whom his voice could reach, and a cheer or a shout was caught up by thousands who had never heard the words but were searching for something to give expression to their feelings.

[Tim Julian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damon Runyon is one of those authors I've always been meaning to get round to, but somehow never have, until now, despite having had one of his collections on my shelves for at least forty years. This is the first in a volume called On Broadway and it's a delight.
All the stories are told, or more often told to, an unnamed narrator who seems to do nothing much other than hang around speakeasies and cheap restaurants and have characters with names like Harry the Horse, Spanish John, Dave the Dude and Angie the Ox tell their tales of guys and dolls. Much like Wodehouse, Runyon essentially creates a world from language, a world which has only the faintest resemblance to any historical reality, and which is thus timeless. The stylistic peculiarities include the exclusive use of present tenses and lack of contracted forms, which together with slang forms like "rod" and "Roscoe" (gun) and locutions like "more than somewhat" make an odd hybrid of the pompous and the demotic. As irresistible as a fine Scotch, and not the variety supplied by Good Time Charlie, at that.

[John Morey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each of these short stories is blessed with a twist, sometimes humorous, sometimes philosophical, always entertaining.
Runyon's insights into human nature are as true today as they were in the 1930's, when they were written. The moral codes expressed by the author through his characters are surprisingly timeless, still relevant in today's world.
Gangster characters are larger than life, yet believable against the New York after the financial crash, speakeasies, prohibition, and amazing wealth of the underworld of the day.
Roll with the author's language for even more colourful enjoyment of a wonderful collection of capers to keep the pages turning, almost on their own.
My edition cost me £5.00 in a Topsham second hand bookshop, an early edition but one that will be kept on my shelves for many a re-read.

[Badr Mokrai · Rating 5 out of 5]

رواية ممتازة،كشفت لي عن جانب لم أكن أعرفه اطلاقا عن تشرشل، نشأت و أنا أحسبه من سافكي الدماء و السياسين المجانين الذين شاركو في الحرب العالمية الثانية. لكنه من الرقة و الاب��اع و الخيال ما جعلني أندهش. نعم تشرشل هو صاحب رواية '' سافرولا''، تلك الرواية التي تحكي عن الدكتاتور أنطوني مولار العاشق لكرسي السلطة و الرافض التنازل عنه، الذي خدع الشعب بانتخاباته المعدلة و سنوات من الحكم الجائر و التصفيات و الحيل اللا أخلاقية. الذي سيلقى هو و نظامه مصرعهم على يد الحزب الوطني المنتفض الثائر بقيادة البطل سافرولا و المستشار المتحمس موريه و العمدة غودو، و باقي الأعضاء و كذا المواطنين الثوريين الأبطال. و لا أنسى قصة الحب الرقيقة و الغريبة التي جمعت زوجة الرئيس المخلوع لوسيل و بطلنا سافرولا. تلك القصة التي أضفت جانبا عاطفيا رائعا على القصة، و أيضا سافرولا مع مربيته العجوز التي لن ننساها رغم ثانويتها و قلة ذكرها، لكنه ذكر عميق في الشعور.

[Viktor · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first Runyon, will not be my last. This is not a romanticized version of "Broadway" like some people like to think it is. Most folks think of Runyon when they think of the musical "Guys and Dolls". What lighthearted fun! they think. Fine. However, on the page, the narrator is a complete jerk, and his acquaintances are horrible people. He's a horrible person. Runyon does not shy away from this. So forget the Sinatra. Read the work.

Not the collection of lighthearted stories I expected. It's far better.

[Kratz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great storytelling

Damon Runyon tells great stories and is so colloquial in his telling. You get a real feel for his town and the people who reside there. The endings are a surprise. I used to listen to Damon Runyob Theater on Sirius and couldn't get enough of them. They are fun to read. I have read this book to my wife who likes hearing them a lot. The stories take you to the neighborhoods frequented by the characters and you feel at home.

[Nils Andersson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is simply excellent. The style is one of a kind, with the Runyon-ese setting the perfect stage for a set of short stories based on rather shady prohibition-era Brooklyn characters. I have not enjoyed a book as much as this in a long time. Certainly more than somewhat! It is a masterpiece worth its weight in potatoes.