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Summary: 20 years ago I hated this book. Now......
Review: 20 years later (much evolved from my brain dead, high school student period ) I had a blast reading Ivanhoe. The descriptions are rich, the dialog snappy and often very witty (not to mention sarcastic and snide)......the story held my interest from the get go. Wamba the Jester is my hero! Highly recommended for more mature audiences, but I can see how a younger person (for example: average brain dead, high schoolers) would be completely bemused by the book.
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Summary: A must read for middle-ages buffs!
Review: If you like King Aurthur and King Richard stories, you would find this book amazingly ammusing. The plot is like most of the others, save the people from the evil villain, or in this case King Richard is to be saved. I recommend this book for all Crusading fans!
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Summary: Excellent picture of English Middle-Age
Review: ... Sir Walter Scott has an undoubted descriptive power. The book perfectly succeeds into re-creating historic images and sensations. Everything you need to enter the romance with all its characters and sceneries is just a little bit of fantasy: Sir W. Scott will do all the rest. An invaluable work.
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Summary: Scott's uses history and fiction to make Ivanhoe interesting
Review: Ivanhoe, written by Sir Walter Scott, is a remarkable story of good versus evil, and a story of love. The story takes place about a century after the Norman Conquest and is set in medieval England. The story is based upon the hero Ivanhoe, who falls deeply in love with Rowena. Throughout the story Ivanhoe has to overcome all sorts of obstacles to get his love back, the biggest optical was Ivanhoe rescuing her from Brian de Bois-Guilbert. The great aspect of Ivanhoe is that it is totally fictional yet almost all the events are based upon real historical events, like the fact that King Richard was off the thrown for the crusades only to be imprisoned when he comes back. Sir Walter Scott also paints a vivid picture of the status of the people of the time. There were the highest noblemen, each having vassals, who in turn had surfs who were tied to a died of land given to the vassals. Then of course were the nights, which were men of higher status who were brought up to fight. He depicts the whole feudal system well. Sir Walter Scott made this novel more like a story being told. It was almost always being told to the reader unless there is something vital to be explained. I personally liked this story because of it's the way the setting and time are depicted so well. I like stories of medieval times that are often struggles between good and evil.
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Summary: A good book for times;if it isn't shoved down your throat
Review: This book was required reading for me. I very much disliked it, because it wasn't during the summer and I didn't have the luxury of reading out on the hammock. But, if read slowly, and carefully, there is much to extrapolate. My major objection to the whole book is its elaborate use of description. I full well understand the custom of this in the early 19th century. However, why must people entering the early 21st century be subjected to it? It's a fine book with the times, but these are not the times, and give us, actually, a very romantic view of an England in a virtual sloppile... disorganized and disinterested. Scott talks about wonderful feasts. In our day and age, we wouldn't even EAT the food they ate in their best days. Also, Scott takes the popular end of the battle; that the Saxons were right. But the Saxons were awful rulers... William the Conqueror did so not out of greed but out of necessity. In essence, read it when you have time, and be patient...
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Summary: Ivanho was a great fighter and killed many men.
Review: The Normans attacked England and fought the Saxons who fought hard but were defeated.Their was a tournament and a unknown knight came and deafeated everyone.Later he was discoverd as Ivanho.Then he was captured and a friend rescued him. He fought a man who had captured a girl he loved. They got married and had a happy life.
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Summary: BORING
Review: Most of the stuff in this book is said about to much and it made me happy when i finished it.........
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Summary: BORING????
Review: I hear the word boring used often when reviewing a book. In an age where we are bombarded with so much sensory stimulation of all kinds, reading classic literature can seem rather dull. The key is to put the book in the context in which it was written and avoid critiquing it to death. Read Ivanhoe with an open mind.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent writing
Review: For those of you who said there was too much detail, you have the attention span of a two-year-old. The detail is wonderful and completely necessary. It decorates the book like nothing else. And there IS in-depth meaning here, you just don't see it because you're two busy whining about the details. Puh. You people are pathetic. The romanticism of medieval times, the harsh life of being a Jew, the aspects of chivalry and evil forces at work. This would get ten stars if it were up to me.
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Summary: Made me want to live then and (almost) forget exam studying.
Review: GREAT!! Being written in an older English adds to the atmosphere of the book. The book displays a time when life was much simpler and people more honorable than nowadays; something which the aouthor manages to convey excellently. One can't but help hoping that all will turn out well for Ivanhoe. The author also manages to invoke a great feeling of empathy for Ivanhoe's enemy, Brian de Bois-Guilbert, leaving me wishing that he would manage to convince Rebecca to come with him. All through the novel historical characters that we know appear (Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, King Richard, Prince John) and adds a good deal of mystery and knowledge to what we already know about them from other famous tales. This book makes me want to learn more about he history of England during those times; to find out how much of the popular stories that we know is true and how much is fiction, while hoping that it is of course all true.
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