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Loading... Schijnbewegingen (2005)by Floortje Zwigtman
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I was completely flabbergasted by this book. I expected it to be written by a British author, but it is in fact Dutch. The story is about Adrian Mayfield, a fourteen year old boy who lives in 19th century London. At the beginning of the story, he already knows he is gay. He refuses to help a certain customer in the clothes shop he works at, which gets him fired. From there on, we can follow Adrian's ups and downs. The novel shows a very detailed image of gay London in the 19th century. You get to really like Adrian; he is very human. A real recommendation for anyone who likes historical novels. no reviews | add a review
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London zu Zeiten Oscar Wildes und Aubrey Beardsleys. Der 16-jährige Adrian hat eine Lehrstelle bei einem schrulligen Herrenausstatter in Soho. Sein Lebenshunger jedoch ist unermesslich und als der fettsüchtige Lebemann und Kunstmaler Trops ihm ein zweifelhaftes Angebot unterbreitet, folgt er ohne zu zögern. An Trops Seite lernt er die Londoner Hautevolee kennen. Er wird Malermodell, er entdeckt die Kunst, seine Neigung zu Männern, aber auch die Selbstsucht und Aufgeblasenheit der Dandys. Adrian droht der Absturz in die allgegenwärtige Gosse, doch sein eiserner Wille und eine große Liebe retten ihn. Das klingt pathetisch und nach einer historischen Roman(vor)führung durch die Décadence des ausgehenden 19. Jahrhunderts. Zwigtman jedoch gelang weit mehr. Trotz der authentischen Personage und der stimmigen Details kommt nie das schale Gefühl von Belehrung oder kitschiger Sozialkritik auf. Die Autorin bietet eine packende Coming-out-Geschichte, die wie bereits bei "Wolfrudel" (BA 9/06) die (oft) engen Grenzen des Jugendromans sprengt. Für intellektuelle, kunstsinnige Gymnasiasten.- Herausragend. . - Der 16-jährige Adrian, Lehrling bei einem Herrenausstatter in Soho, findet als Malermodell Aufnahme in die Künstlerkreise um Oscar Wilde und entdeckt seine Homosexualität. Ab 14.
Dt. Jugendliteratur-Preis 2009, Nominierung No library descriptions found. |
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It's set in the 1890s, and it's the story of Adrian Mayfield, a young shop boy. One day, he meets a customer who will later introduce him to a whole new world - homosexual Victorian London, including the circle of men around Oscar Wilde.
It's a fantastic historical novel - as someone who knows quite a bit about that time and Oscar Wilde's life in particular I have to say the author does an amazing job playing with the people from that time, interweaving their lives with that of the main character. It's also a wonderful coming-of-age and "coming out" (as much as that was possible during that time) story, and as an added bonus there's a romance that's to-die-for - at least for someone like me who likes it slow and awkward and sweet. I cannot wait to read the sequel. Really. I'm going to learn to read Dutch so I don't have to wait that long. ( )