≫ Libro Gratis Misfortune Wesley Stace Abbey Tyson Marie Mundaca Books

Misfortune Wesley Stace Abbey Tyson Marie Mundaca Books

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Misfortune Wesley Stace Abbey Tyson Marie Mundaca Books

I was beginning to describe the plot to someone who began to look more baffled as I went on. I'll try it here: A baby is saved from a certain death by a young English Lord whose mind has been somewhat fractured by the death of his younger sister. He brings the child home, and the family decides to raise the child to be the next Lady of Love Hall, except the Lady happens to be a Lord. Somewhere between 'Middlesex' and Charles Dickens lies 'Misfortune'. It's extremely well written and quite funny at times, although towards the end the gender argument presented became a bit tiresome, and the ending a tad convenient. However it definitely wins the prize for unique fiction entry, and if the book isn't enough, there is a companion cd of the many songs throughout the book.


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Misfortune Wesley Stace Abbey Tyson Marie Mundaca Books Reviews

I received this book as a gift a few years ago & was immediately put off by the unattractive cover and length. "Ummm...maybe later," I thought, as I stuffed it ont my bookshelf. Well, later came a couple of weeks ago when I was between library books and so I (reluctantly) pulled MISFORTUNE off the shelf. "At least I can give it a look & then put it in the donation pile," I told myself. I was very happily surprised to find myself immediately drawn into Rose's engaging story and the pages flew by very quickly. I highly recommend MISFORTUNE, and thoroughly enjoyed the ending in particular as well as the interview with the author after that. If there is a reprint someday I only suggest (beg, plead!) redesign that cover!!!
MISFORTUNE is a playful novel, alive with a love of a language and narrative--which is no surprise for anyone who has listened to Stace under his musical moniker, John Wesley Harding. Set in England in the late 1800s, MISFORTUNE is the story of Rose Loveall, a discarded orphan taken in by an eccentric Lord, who proceeds to raise the child as a girl--despite the fact that Rose was born with a penis. Rose's early life is an elaborate subterfuge to keep him and everyone else from discovering the truth, and when the conspiracy falls apart, the true misfortune begins.

Stace has a lot of fun with his shifting narrative. He plays many clever tricks with point-of-view, and he opens up the prose through songs, poetry, and diaries. All of them provide clues to unraveling Rose's true origin, and the possible pun work in the title MISFORTUNE is a mere hint of the wordplay that ultimately provides the key to Rose's triumph. Over the course of the work, Stace indulges in many classical genres, including the Victorian novel, pirate stories, and classical myths (Rose is obsessed with Ovid's METAMORPHOSES). He also creates a vivid surrounding, letting the landscape--both natural and manmade--play just as important a role in the plot as the living-and-breathing characters.

All in all, an amazing debut novel that the reader can't help but get caught up in. You'll want to read it in mammoth chunks all the way to the end.
Misfortune is the story about an abandoned baby boy saved from a dog on a trash heap, renamed Lady Rose Loveall, and raised as girl by two eccentric adoptive parents closeted away in a handsome estate in England. There is also a varied cast of relatives who are out to steal Loveall Hall away from Rose and his family.

With that very intriguing plot it is amazing that the author manages to such exciting and unusual premises and make it dull and tedious.

I think the book's main problem was a lack of research in all aspects. When you read the book you get almost no sense of the time period (Victorian England I think). But the part that bothers me the most is the way he portrayed Rose discovering his/her self. I just could not sympathise with the main character. I thought he turned a exciting pyscological problem into a passive rambling of pseudoliteray blah.

Overall, flat characters for whom I could not sympathize, stange awkward scenes in which I did not understand why the characters were acting the way they were, and almost no action just a plodding of page after page. A plus was that it was very easy to read and so went by fast.

I recommend that if you still want to read this book, rent it from a library. It was not even worth the $3 I spent on it.
Stace uses a number of interesting literary devices save a compelling plot. After Rose's departure from Love Hall, the story is muddled and plodding. I, like other reviewers here, found myself simply skimming in an effot to get to the predictable ending. Though the book started with great promise, it fell short. All in all, I wish I had saved my money.
MISFORTUNE is that unusual combination of really lovely writing, compelling characters and dramatic arcs that keep you reading late into the night. The novel gives you the excellent sense that you are reading a classic (it feels like Austen or Dickens or Hardy), and yet one that has been updated, is new-and-improved enough to encompass some of contemporaneity's best aspects. I am anxiously awaiting Stace's next effort. This one is incredibly good.
Excellent read!
I have been collecting Wes's work since a friend showed me a video on MTV "The Devil In Me" and a live performance of "Cathy's New Clown". His concerts are fantastic (and very affordable), his music is very entertaining. I know of no other book that came about from a song (Miss Fortune)...movies yes, but not a book. The details in the book are so belivable, that I was actually thinking that some of this book must have been written as a loose historical biography.
Buy the book, buy the CD "Songs of Misfortune" by the Love Hall Tryst. Yes this book has a soundtrack. Listen to the songs as they come up in the book. Buy the DVD "A Bloody Show" John Wesley Harding & Friends Live at Bumbershoot 2005 and watch him perform the songs live on stage. Make it a fun and interactive book.
I was beginning to describe the plot to someone who began to look more baffled as I went on. I'll try it here A baby is saved from a certain death by a young English Lord whose mind has been somewhat fractured by the death of his younger sister. He brings the child home, and the family decides to raise the child to be the next Lady of Love Hall, except the Lady happens to be a Lord. Somewhere between 'Middlesex' and Charles Dickens lies 'Misfortune'. It's extremely well written and quite funny at times, although towards the end the gender argument presented became a bit tiresome, and the ending a tad convenient. However it definitely wins the prize for unique fiction entry, and if the book isn't enough, there is a companion cd of the many songs throughout the book.