The War of the Roses

What exactly is marriage? Is marriage truly a sacred bond between two people who promise each other to be with each other in sickness and in health until death finally does them apart, or is marriage just this necessary action between two people to profess love towards one another on a piece of paper without actually knowing one another inside and out? Well, clearly this novel's not about the good side of a marriage, but more about the bad side, for it has this raging irrational wife who describes the B-word to a T, who's not really satisfied with her life and blames her husband for it, and a husband who does actually give a damn about his marriage, well, at least until his wife decides to destroy his stuff from one stuff to another, show more because he's just too stubborn to move out of the house that's half his and half hers, because they've built it together. Sounds complicated, right? Well, add money thirsty lawyers, two great kids, and pride to the mix and you have got a recipe for disaster and pretty much a possibility for something immensely bad to happen to one of them or both of them. Whatever the case, Barbara and Oliver Rose may not be the most perfect married couple, but their story has earned four stars from me, because even though she was a B-word and he eventually became an A-word, I could understand both of their struggles they were facing from both of their perspective, and the writer has truly done an outstanding job with describing both of their struggles, and explaining how the household that was once the happiest household in the neighborhood, can, if we are not careful enough, turn into a battlefield, and battlefield into war that's either won or lost. show less

Ha esetleg kocsmai verekedésbe keverednénk, semmiképpen se William Shakespeare-t kérjük meg, hogy tanúskodjon mellettünk, pláne ellenünk. Mert még a végén az jönne ki, hogy „York szép városa lángokban áll! Letépett fülek és karok a kőbányais rekeszek szörnyű halmai alatt! Mindenki meghalt véresen, kínok között, csak Fortinbras nem: ő monologizál.” Szerencsére a Történelem, ez a nett, őszes barkójú úr szólásra emelkedik, és korrigálja, amit a kelekótya irodalom nagy lelkesülten kiszínezett.

Gillingham monográfiája a Rózsák háborújának történetét meséli el, ami így röviden összefoglalva arról szólt, hogy egy rakás Edward, Henrik meg Richard egymás torkának ugrott, mert show more nagyon szerettek volna római számot biggyeszteni a nevük elé. Ez az eseménysor a XV. század második felében zajlott le, és leginkább Shakespeare királydrámáinak interpretálásában lehet nekünk ismerős. Csak hát a jó öreg Lándzsarázó Vilmos nem oknyomozó riporter volt, hanem protohollywoodi forgatókönyveket írt, amelyek sikere nagyban függött attól, hány vödör vért locsoltak szét bennük a színpadon*. Gillingham fő ambíciója az, hogy lekaparja a mítoszokat az eseményekről. Rámutat, hogy bár azt hihetnénk, akkoriban gyakorlatilag egész Anglia egy merő káosz volt, a lakosság pedig belemakkant a vég nélküli gyilkolásba, valójában a Rózsák háborúja meglepően kevéssé, sőt, semennyire sem hátráltatta a szigetországot a fejlődésben. A városok továbbra is virágoztak, a kereskedelem szintúgy, és bár valóban fel-fellángoltak mindenféle csatározások, de összességében a korszak jelentős részében a béke uralkodott. Hogy lehet ez? Egyfelől azért, mert a Lancesterek és a Yorkok dinasztikus villongásai** az arisztokrácia „magánügyei” voltak, és mindegyik fél nagyon ügyelt arra, hogy a közemberek és az infrastruktúra ne sérüljön. Naná, hisz királyok akartak lenni – és mihez kezdtek volna egy olyan királysággal, amit előtte alaposan kifiléztek? Ugyanezen okból ódzkodtak attól is, hogy hatalmas adóterhekkel nehezítsék meg a lakosság életét, következésképpen seregeiket sosem tudták sokáig egyben tartani – ez pedig jótékonyan korlátozta a harci cselekmények időtartamát. Akkor miért terjedt el mégis, hogy ez egy vérben tocsogó korszak volt? Nos, paradox módon azért, mert nem volt az: ugyanis ekkoriban már annyira rendezettek voltak a viszonyok, hogy volt idejük a hivataloknak feljegyzéseket készíteni, míg az ezt megelőző századokban nem. Pedig hát ott is akadt csihipuhi rendesen. Csak lehet, senkinek nem volt ideje és energiája beszélni róluk.

Remek kötet, helyenként fanyar humorral megírt történelmi értekezés, amelyet áthat a (néha meddő) igyekezet, hogy forrásainak hiteléről meggyőződjön. (Mellesleg pont ez – a rigorózus forráskritika –, ami azok számára is érdekessé teszi, akik nem konkrétan a XV. század, hanem úgy általában a történelemtudomány működése iránt érdeklődnek.) Tanulsága is vagyon: sose higgy az irodalmárnak. Akkor se, ha Shakespeare. Sőt, akkor legkevésbé.

* Igaz, Shakespeare is csak hozott anyagból dolgozott: abból állította össze drámáit, amit elődei átpolitizált írásaikban ráhagyományoztak.
** Jegyezzük meg: a Rózsák háborúja valójában három jól elkülöníthető összeütközésből állt, amelyek közül csak az első színtiszta Lancester-York villongás. A többi már ennél jóval kacifántosabb belpolitikai katyvasz volt, amely elsősorban az uralomra jutott Yorkok berkein belül zajlott. show less

The War of the Roses - The Children, by Warren Adler provides an intimate glimpse inside the fragile lives of the surviving children of the original blockbuster book/movie, War of the Roses, an iconic story that resonated across the globe for decades with an international audience.

When the marriage of Barbara and Jonathan Rose disintegrated, it launched a sequence of events leading to their ultimate demise, which left their two children alone. Although this story was told with savvy noir humor which appealed to many, its darker themes also rang true with scores of couples dealing with or about to delve into the complicated world of divorce.

In this intriguing sequel, poor little Josh and Evie were raised by loving grandparents, but the show more effects of exposure to parental violent screaming matches and obsessions over property destruction for spite marked these kids as damaged.

Often the consequences of divorce and parental discord are intangible, lingering and festering for years to come in the children’s hearts and minds, and frequently such past events can ruin the next generation’s marriages. Mr. Adler’s treatment of this very serious situation is handled tastefully, and in spite of the nature of the subject, he manages to inject some delicious humor into this sequel.

As always in a Warren Adler book, the writing goes down like a cool mint frappe, smooth and delectable. Mr. Adler’s dialog is natural and on target, and progressive scenes draw the reader forward in a rush to reach resolution. His characters come alive on the page and reveal human foibles. Infidelity and dishonesty run rampant in this story, and the length to which a headstrong mother goes to protect her son is rather alarming.

After the first few chapters, readers will feel as if they know these characters, not only recognizing common human frailties in them, but relating to and caring about them.

Josh Rose, son of Barbara and Jonathan Rose, is now a married adult with his own two children, Michael and Emily. His human failings are severe, and although on the surface of his marriage it seems all is golden, we discover there is a quagmire hiding beneath. The dichotomy between the verbalized philosophies of their family versus reality is striking.

Evie Rose, surviving daughter of Barbara and Jonathan, has tumbled in and out of relationships and finds her best friend to be mini-epicurean adventures. A talented cook with no acknowledgement of healthy eating, she whips up fattening, luscious meals to both soothe tears and comfort breaking hearts. Evie relates food to joy, to love, to happiness (don’t we all?). And her upbeat attitude, regardless of her flagrant disregard for healthy eating, is contagious. Evie was unquestionably this reviewer’s favorite character.

Tension simmers between Victoria, Josh’s health-nut OCD wife, and the sweet, foodaholic Evie. Josh is torn between them, yet although he is mindful of his wife’s desires regarding the kids and what they eat, he harbors great love for his sister. Fiercely loyal to her, this allegiance drives a wedge between the family. Subterfuge becomes the norm.

In the end, the grandchildren of Barbara and Jonathan Rose are the instigating factors of changes needed and changes to come. Brilliantly planned, they turn life upside down to force healing in their parents’ relationship.

War of the Roses – The Children is highly recommended as a fascinating look at psychology and family with a tongue-in-cheek flavor that will make readers chuckle and smile. Question – will there be a sequel to the sequel? Perhaps Mr. Adler will consider it.

Recommended for adults only by Aaron Paul Lazar, www.lazarbooks.com. show less

É uma comédia humor negro sobre um jovem casal que aparenta ter um casamento perfeito. Ele é um advogado bem sucedido e sua esposa está inciando o seu próprio negócio de alimentação. Quando seu casamento começa a desmoronar, bens materiais se tornam o centro de uma escandalosa e amarga batalha pelo divórcio.

When the son of the infamous Roses marries the daughter of a bitter divorced woman there is bound to be trouble. The old quote "Children learn what they live" shows its truth here. There comes a time when there is trouble in their marriage.
The characters are wonderful. Josh Rose is incredibly likeable despite his lapse in judgement. Victoria Rose is a woman who sees life in black and white, there are no grey areas for her. She seems so rigid you expect her to snap. I wanted to dislike her but I couldn't. I found myself feeling pity for her. Aunt Evie is lovable. Everyone should have Aunt Evie in their lives. Victoria's mother is a bitter old shrew. She is very easy to hate. I wanted to shake got her.
The story itself is captivating. I show more was pulled in immediately and the book wouldn't let me go. I kept saying to myself "Just one more chapter and I'll go to bed.". It was suddenly 4:00 a.m. and there were no more chapters.

I loved it! show less

This is definitely not your War of the Roses movie. Although there are some of the same things happening in both, the movie was made into a black comedy and there is nothing comedic about this book. A look into the world of divorce where each one thinks of all the material possessions as theirs exclusively and how far they will go to keep it. I do have to say that while the movie makes you sympathetic towards Barbara I was somewhat surprised to find that in the book I actually hated her. In the movie she is basically bullied by Jonathan and his self important role in their lives while in the book he is all about family and his children and providing for them.

I love the movie and I am so happy that I read the book because I love it show more also. I kind of would like to see a movie made from the seriousness of the book. Give it a try. show less

A darkly comic study of a viciously disintegrating marriage.