Kalvarianhof The Perilous Journey Walter Soellner 9780578156002 Books
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Follow lifelong friends Catholic Markus and Jewish Levi in this sweeping historic family saga-the story of two young men in the years before World War I. As young Imperial German soldiers in 1900, battling with other Europeans besieged in Peking during the Boxer Rebellion, Markus and Levi find themselves in dire circumstances. Markus abandons the legation's relative safety for a dangerous cross-country adventure to find his love, the beautiful Li Ling. Tragedy interrupts their romance and he soon finds himself escaping with Sun Yat Sen downriver on a pirated Chinese mail boat. He reunites with his friend Levi after the battle of Peking, and the two encounter danger and adventure on their return by ship to Germany. A shark attack off New Guinea and a sexual bacchanal with Samoan natives and icebergs in the south Atlantic challenge the two friends. Their homeward ship stops in Uruguay, where Levi meets his future wife, Katherina Obermaier, a beautiful young Jewish girl bound for university in Berlin. Home again in Bavaria, Levi returns to his ancestral home Kalvarianhof, a grand estate deep in the forests outside of Munich, and Markus to his home in the city. It is the time of 'Belle Epoch', the 'Beautiful Era' in Europe. Still, Markus and Levi and their families face challenges and heartbreak- and a forbidden love affair that threatens to tear apart the young men's friendship. The story continues in Book II of this four-part series, where the two friends find themselves far from the trenches of France on the eve of World War I. In the splendors and perils of the vastness of Africa, Markus and Levi find romance, hardship and tragedy that endangers their very survival.
Kalvarianhof The Perilous Journey Walter Soellner 9780578156002 Books
A well-written historical fiction novel can be a beautiful thing. Most readers are not historians, and gain very little from reading a book that expects them to understand the intricacies of the locations, fashion, and political climate of a given era. But a truly great historical fiction novel will not demand such prior knowledge. Instead, the author will utilize such depth of description that the reader is almost left wondering if the author had somehow been present for the events described. Every character will feel like a real person, someone relatable, as if they were someone we could still meet today. This book accomplishes such a feat.Most of this can be attributed to the two main characters, a young Catholic man by the name of Markus Mathias and a young Jewish man by the name of Solomon Levi. Lancers in the Imperial German East Asian Expeditionary Force, the two friends are unique in more ways than just their faith. This makes their journey all the more compelling as we watch them engage in battle, fall in love, and face numerous intriguing stops along their journey home. Those of us with less historical education may sometimes fall prey to the belief that live abroad was easy in the years before the Great War. The story of Markus and Levi challenges that very notion.
This is not just a story of friendship, although that is certainly a major element of the story. The two become separated at times, which is when the uniqueness of their characters is given a chance to truly shine. And this is perhaps one of the most important story elements if we are expected to read three more books in this series. Given the wide range of geography and chronology covered by this first volume, it would appear as if subsequent books will be well worth the minor cost of these books. Those looking for an intriguing, character-driven journey through history cannot go wrong with “Kalvarianhof.”
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Tags : Kalvarianhof: The Perilous Journey [Walter Soellner] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Follow lifelong friends Catholic Markus and Jewish Levi in this sweeping historic family saga-the story of two young men in the years before World War I. As young Imperial German soldiers in 1900,Walter Soellner,Kalvarianhof: The Perilous Journey,Gossip Park Books,0578156008,FICTION Historical General,Fiction - Historical,Fiction Historical,Historical - General,Historical fiction
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Kalvarianhof The Perilous Journey Walter Soellner 9780578156002 Books Reviews
Soellner starts the history lesson in Kalvarianhof in the first sentence. The often bloody, sometimes erotic and always riveting action in this page-burner jumps out of the first sentence of the third paragraph when spears, swords, knives and hatchets start flying and pummeling. It continues non-stop throughout this historical novel from the streets, alleys, beds and canals of the Boxer Revolution in 1900 to the shores of German Southwest Africa in 1909.
The plot, always surprising, always taking a sudden unexpected turn, is a guidepost to adventure and an enlightened look-back at history through the eyes of a master storyteller. You feel as if you are riding shotgun for Solomon Levi and Markus Methias, Lancers in the Imperial German Army, as they battle, romance and navigate their way across eleven Imperial German Colonial Territories in the early 1900’s.
Soellner’s style is unpredictable and he often wraps up what might be pages- or chapters-long dilemmas in a few paragraphs or less. A bit unsettling at first until you realize he has a decade to cover in less than 400 pages. When the SMS Konigsberg sails from Bremerhaven in the autumn of 1909 you regret the first-of-four novels is over and find yourself anticipating the next one.
After reading the first few teaser chapters, I can’t wait for Kalvarianhof – The Storm that Shook the World. It’s rumored to hit the press in December (2015)
This first book of this four-part series not only passed the 100 page litmus test for engaging my interest but had me from the very first chapter. Walter Soellner has nicely captured the social and geographical history of the pre-WWI era. In it, he delivers an historically accurate and exciting vision of what it must have been like for two young Bavarian friends of the time embarking on a grand adventure. This is a page-turner never tempted to linger too long in any one spot, It sweeps the reader along from the Forbidden City of Peking to the far-flung ports of call across a globe still considered vast and filled with exotic possibilities. The characters, their loves and losses reminded me of how big the world seems and how limitless its possibilities are in the minds of the young. If you enjoy well grounded historical fiction and colorful characters, Kalvarianhof is a good romp. I can't wait for the next installment!
400 pages in two days... would have made it in one if I'd started earlier in the evening. Hard to put down.
Interesting and evolving main characters drag others in as time marches on and the world changes about them. This book covers roughly 1900-1910, the Boxer Rebellion, those new-fangled automobiles, development of airplanes and travel by ships and trains; women allowed into colleges and (growing) anti-Semitic attitudes. You get carried back to the times and the locales. China, Pacific Islands, South America, Africa and Europe are described in engaging detail. You feel you are there with them and they are people you'd like to hang out with.
There are non-stop surprises addiction, cannibals, sharks, hyenas, car and plane and ship crashes keep jumping off the next page. The background and history are introduced in a natural way that makes you feel educated without having to study.
Full Disclosure I know the author and will be discussing the sex scenes next time we get together.
A well-written historical fiction novel can be a beautiful thing. Most readers are not historians, and gain very little from reading a book that expects them to understand the intricacies of the locations, fashion, and political climate of a given era. But a truly great historical fiction novel will not demand such prior knowledge. Instead, the author will utilize such depth of description that the reader is almost left wondering if the author had somehow been present for the events described. Every character will feel like a real person, someone relatable, as if they were someone we could still meet today. This book accomplishes such a feat.
Most of this can be attributed to the two main characters, a young Catholic man by the name of Markus Mathias and a young Jewish man by the name of Solomon Levi. Lancers in the Imperial German East Asian Expeditionary Force, the two friends are unique in more ways than just their faith. This makes their journey all the more compelling as we watch them engage in battle, fall in love, and face numerous intriguing stops along their journey home. Those of us with less historical education may sometimes fall prey to the belief that live abroad was easy in the years before the Great War. The story of Markus and Levi challenges that very notion.
This is not just a story of friendship, although that is certainly a major element of the story. The two become separated at times, which is when the uniqueness of their characters is given a chance to truly shine. And this is perhaps one of the most important story elements if we are expected to read three more books in this series. Given the wide range of geography and chronology covered by this first volume, it would appear as if subsequent books will be well worth the minor cost of these books. Those looking for an intriguing, character-driven journey through history cannot go wrong with “Kalvarianhof.”
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