Stephanie Jane recenzis Berta la larga de Canals, Cuca
A witty and insightful satire
4 steloj
Berta La Larga is an utterly charming book which I enjoyed reading. It is billed as Young Adult, but I think it is more fable or fairytale than anything else. I liked the quirky illustrations dotted about and various characters thanking the reader at the end is a nice touch. The story itself is an eternal tale of young love thwarted by a traditional feud, in this case between two neighbouring villages. Canals throws in an improbable-but-true legend and some superb caricature characters, a sorely put-upon donkey and some extreme weather to create her wonderfully fantastical tale. Actually, thinking about it, the weather would have been seen as far more incredible when this book was written twenty years ago. Climate change is making it almost normal now!
I did feel for poor Berta in her debilitating shyness and repression. Her romance with postman Jonas is cute and convincing. Fellow villagers …
Berta La Larga is an utterly charming book which I enjoyed reading. It is billed as Young Adult, but I think it is more fable or fairytale than anything else. I liked the quirky illustrations dotted about and various characters thanking the reader at the end is a nice touch. The story itself is an eternal tale of young love thwarted by a traditional feud, in this case between two neighbouring villages. Canals throws in an improbable-but-true legend and some superb caricature characters, a sorely put-upon donkey and some extreme weather to create her wonderfully fantastical tale. Actually, thinking about it, the weather would have been seen as far more incredible when this book was written twenty years ago. Climate change is making it almost normal now!
I did feel for poor Berta in her debilitating shyness and repression. Her romance with postman Jonas is cute and convincing. Fellow villagers steal the show here though and Berta La Larga is frequently a witty and insightful satire into the worst of human nature.