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Title: Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard, Dennis Butts ISBN: 0-19-282297-7 Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr Pub. Date: 01 September, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (6 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Adventure classic
Comment: ..."Allan Quatermain" is another adventure story of the character of the same name. After the King Solomon's mines, Quatermain is back in England, where his son dies, and he's eager for new adventures. With his two best friends, Good and Curtis, they depart again to the heart of Africa, where they expect to discover a nation of white people undiscovered until now.
This story, while a classic Haggard tale, has not all the good elements "King Solomon's mines" had. There is fighting, there's thrilling, but this book is somewhat slower. This might be because Allan Quatermain, telling the story in his point of view, is older, close to sixty-five years. In fact, there are some really anoying parts, where Quatermain is extra-shy and puritan, almost to the point of being ridiculous. And, as another reviewer wrote, there's no point in writing about a white race, civilized, organized and secret, in the heart of Africa, instead of a more plausible black one. This can only be excused in historical contexts. Back in the late XIX century, Africa was such a type of novelty and unknown that people thought almost everything could happen in there. But, today, if the reader doesn't have an open mind and doesn't know his History, this can be interpreted as pure racism, which is not. Haggard wrote this book in a time where the biggest thing about Africa was Livingstone trying to find where the Nile came from.
So this is how this book should be taken. A classic adventure.
Grade 7.6/10
Rating: 2
Summary: So disappointing after "King Solomon's Mines".
Comment: In the introduction of this book, Sir Henry Rider Haggard illustrates the differences, or rather the similarities, of the well-to-do "civilised" lady and the "savage" African. It is the recurring theme throughout the book and one which grates with today's reader. This novel is more like an early "equality of man" essay rather than the ripping yarn of "King Solomon's Mines".
I do not know if the author was being radical at the time, or whether he was on some form of race agenda, but it sits ill with the modern mind and it sits ill in this story. There are glaring inconsistencies such as the treatment of the "savage" Masai after the battle and the fact the that the race he finds in the middle of Africa is "white" and "civilised". If he is trying to make the issue of the African also being able to be civilised, why are the civilised Africans not black?
The story, however, is a reasonable read, and although occassionally plodding, the plot can be exciting. Of particular note, the tunnel scene and the final battle at Milosis are thrilling. Of rather less interest are the love lives of Curtis and Good, but these do not irritate as much as the race issue.
I may be expecting too much from a text over 100 years old, but the issue of race was largely ignored in "King Solomon's Mine", and the book is much better for it. "Allan Quartermain" ceases to be a harmless story of adventure, and instead becomes a rather contrived statement of the author's ideals.
Rating: 5
Summary: Things ain't what they appear!
Comment: Hi, I bought this book as I had not come across the title before in any Haggard listing. On receipt I found that it is really "Allan Quatermain" and the "new" title is presumably based on the film which starred Richard Chamberlain (which I have not seen).
The decription on the back cover of the book states "Allan must postpone his wedding to rescue his brother, who has been tracking a lost white tribe. Allan's travels take him through dangerous jungles and to a mythical city where the streets are paved with gold". I believe some liberties have been taken with this book but as a curio I suppose it might be worth the price.
regards
Paul Webb
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Title: King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard, Dennis Butts ISBN: 0192834851 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 July, 1998 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: Allan Quatermain and the Ice Gods by H. Rider Haggard ISBN: 158715708X Publisher: Wildside Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.99 |
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Title: The Ivory Child by H. Rider Haggard ISBN: 1587154323 Publisher: Wildside Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray by JEFFREY EUGENIDES, OSCAR WILDE ISBN: 0375751513 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 01 June, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: Allan and the Holy Flower by H. Rider Haggard ISBN: 1587150220 Publisher: Wildside Press Pub. Date: 01 December, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.50 |
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