Customer Reviews

Fortunes of War: The Balkan Trilogy (New York Review Books Classics)

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The British author of "Fortunes of War", Olivia Manning, produced this massive saga (three separate books) after living through the opening of WWII in Romania, where her husband was teaching English literature for the British Council; and later as the two became refugees in Greece.. The autobiographic novel impressively evokes the expectant and eventually, paranoid, living environment as the Nazis were gradually closing in politically and militarily on the states of the Balkans. Manning's story succeeds best when it describes the environment of the times and places that are its context. It is less successful when it looks (seemingly endlessly, at times) at the state of the marriage of the book's two principal characters, Harriet and Guy Pringle. Whether the author is being self-critical or making a comment about the nature of the British character in general, she gives the reader little reason to feel sympathy for many of the long parade of characters that inhabit the three sections of this novel. She apparently witnessed little human nobility in her own WW II adventures, but must have seen plenty of self-absorption, venality and petty jealously. In any event, there is no scarcity of these sins in "Fortunes..."

There are some wonderful observations about war and humans under stress to be found here. Pondering her status as a refugee in Greece--a place that she is quite taken with, but cannot really enjoy--Harriet Pringle concludes that "War meant a perpetual postponement of life..." It also means continual hunger and fear. Manning documents these realities brilliantly throughout the story.

Overall, this weighty tale is worth taking on because of its evocation of the period's realities. The less than stellar personal qualities and behavior of the book's characters must be endured to enjoy the better parts. There is one possible exception in the person of Prince Yakimov, a Russian-Irish Brit, who is an inveterate mooch, but also instinctive survivor. The self-pitying Yakimov brings both humor and pathos thats keeps the saga from becoming too leaden and otherwise completely unsympathetic, at strategic moments.

This isn't a book for everyone. But if you are tolerant of having to mine for small flecks of gold and occasional nuggets, it's worth the effort.

I read this book back when Kenneth Branagh was still married to Emma Thompson. The two of them made a mini-series version of this for Masterpiece Theater that was wonderful, and I hunted down the book back then. It was wonderful also, an engrossing story of the WWII in the Balkans. ALso the story of a couple of British newlyweds far from home. I recommend it AND the video Fortunes of War. Glad this is back in print, although I still have my copy from before.

I saw Fortunes of War with Emma Thompson and her ex-husband Kenneth Branaugh. It so intrigued me that I decided to read the book(s) by Olivia Manning. Olivia Manning captured the essence of refugees living overseas during the time of WWII beginning in Bucharest. One of my favorite characters other than Harriet Pringle was Prince Yakimov - our dear Yaki :) Emma Thompson portrayed Harriet exactly as the book - she is one of my favorite actresses. Kenneth Branaugh also portrayed Guy Pringle as written, in fact, too well I thought, as if he was made for the part.

I highly recommend reading the book as you get to know the characters better that way. Olivia Manning is an excellent writer and I will be reading more of her books.

The three volumes that make up Olivia Manning's BALKAN TRILOGY were published between 1960 and 1965, followed at a distance by the LEVANT TRILOGY of 1977-80, the whole later republished as a six-volume sequence entitled FORTUNES OF WAR. They are semi-autobiographical, based on the author's early married life, trapped with her husband in Romania at the outbreak of the Second World War, later moving with him to Greece, Egypt, and Palestine to escape the German advance. The sequence has been compared to Lawrence Durrell's ALEXANDRIA QUARTET, dealing with the same time and many of the same places. But unlike Durrell, Manning's writing has no avant-garde pretensions and this is its charm. It is linear in sequence, richly textured but still straightforward in style, and endowed with a great personal immediacy whenever her alter ego, Harriet Pringle, is center-stage. The books were made into a seven-part BBC TELEVISION SERIES in 1987 that introduced Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh to wide acclaim. This may be the best way to enjoy an undertaking that is long and rather uneven, although you need to read the books to get Manning's writing at its best.

Volume 1, THE GREAT FORTUNE, shows Harriet Pringle arriving in Bucharest in 1939 as a new bride. Her husband Guy is a lecturer in English at the university; he has been there a year already, and has picked up a lot of friends and adoring students. A Marxist in his sympathies, and unfailingly generous as a person, Guy is unable to resist a hard-luck story or to recognize a sexual advance for what it is. Harriet soon realizes that, unless she is careful, marriage to Guy will also involve acceptance of a whole menagerie of expatriates and hangers-on. But there other things to worry about. The German invasion of Poland launches a war whose outcome and direction is unknown. Manning's reportage gives an uncanny immediacy to the confused view from this outpost in Southeastern Europe, but the reader may need to review the chronology of the "phony war" phase that ended with the invasion of France in 1940, and check on events in the Balkans. Seeing itself as "the Paris of the East," Bucharest was proud of its ties to Western culture, and Romania was enjoying a period of relative prosperity. But it also felt threatened by Russia to the Northeast and Germany to the Northwest. Romanian independence had already been guaranteed by Britain, but England had its own wars to fight, and over the course of this first novel, the balance of influence within the capital shifts gradually to the German side.

All this is told only obliquely, in the rumors that circulate like wildfire through the British community, and in the window displays of the opposing British and German information offices. But ground-level hints are often more effective than the bird's-eye view of an omniscient historian, and certainly more immediate, more authentic. Anybody doubting Manning's power has only to read her brief opening chapter, set in an Orient Express stuttering its way across a Europe suddenly at war. The girders of a bridge over a black river, where figures struggle briefly in the gleam of gaslight. A refugee euphoric over his escape, only to discover at the border that his visa has been stolen. A threadbare but distinguished man arguing with customs officials on a deserted platform. All this introducing Harriet/Olivia to a world she had never imagined and a husband whom she realizes she barely knows.

The novel is not even. The threadbare man -- Prince Yakimov, British citizen, former White Russian, and a professional sponger -- is an especially irritating and ubiquitous character. But the emotional honesty of Harriet's self-discovery is worth the book alone. And once her husband Guy takes up the reins of directing a production of TROILUS AND CRESSIDA, everybody is suddenly seen at their best in a magnificent finale, with the Fall of Troy making an apposite parallel to the fall of France at the opposite side of Europe.

Unfortunately, the second volume, THE SPOILT CITY, is much less engaging. It suffers at the start from the need to reintroduce characters and events for new readers. Things that were fresh and exciting when Harriet was discovering them for the first time now seem routine and almost dull. The balance of power in the rest of Europe is still uncertain; here, the emphasis is mainly on internal politics: tremors of revolution, the forced abdication of the King, and power struggles between various quasi-fascist forces as Romania tilts more decisively towards Germany. This puts the dwindling British contingent in a difficult position, but what you feel is their confusion rather than their bravery or fear. The first book was full of brilliant social observations, as when the Pringles were entertained by the wealthy Jewish banker Drucker in the opulent confines of his home and family. Now, with Drucker in prison and his family dispersed, they struggle to hide his young son Sasha in a maid's room on their apartment roof. I wish I could say that this had the excitement of a spy thriller, but it really doesn't. The air of ragged uncertainty here may be more authentic, but it is less compelling reading. However, the book regains most of its old form in the last quarter, as the British prepare to leave Bucharest -- a section whose spooky emptiness is more effective than any amount of melodramatic panic.

Volume 3, FRIENDS AND HEROES, moves the action to Athens, where the change of locale and apparent freedom from imminent invasion give the story a new lease on life. Guy is soon involved in academic politics -- enmeshed, rather, as he is too trusting ever to take part in petty maneuvering. But this leaves Harriet once more at a loose end, bringing her closer than ever before to betraying Guy. This is interesting if Manning was indeed writing autobiographically. Interesting too as being the first time that the plot emerges out of internal psychology, rather than being dictated by chance acquaintance and the course of history. In the long run, of course, Greece is no safer than Romania was. There is a winter of celebration as the Greek army drives back the invading Italians, combined with near-starvation as all the food is sent to the front. But in spring, the Germans move southwards, and then it is a different story. The last-minute departure of the British community from Athens in a couple of rusty steamers manages to tie up a number of plot strands with the ragged heroism of a Mediterranean Dunkirk.

This book really gets to the heart of what it means to be in another country in a time of war. The fact that Harriet and Guy are an ill-suited match -- he, a left-wing everyman loved by all but consistently focused on things of ephemeral value; Harriet, a practical woman wanting romance and attention that Guy absolutely doesn't understand. I found the books to be well-written and engaging. My only quibble is with the Yakimov character -- abject and annoying, I can grasp his place in the novel but found myself detesting most pages I read that dealt with his exploits.

I inhaled this (and there is quite a lot of inhaling to do) years ago, and I still remember it very fondly.

A super book. Perfect for when you have a generous quantity of time to invest in lying on the sofa on a Sunday afternoon.

After reading the Balkan Trilogy for a second time, I read the Wikipedia biography of Manning, and was surprised at how many autobiographical elements the novel has. One important difference is that her real life husband carried on affairs; I think eliminating this was a good idea, as it heightened the intrinsic tension between the two personalities. Reading the trilogy I wondered what Harriet did with all her time; while idleness is mentioned it still didn't completely add up so I assumed she was a voracious reader. In fact, she was also writing.

I wonder why so much attention was given Yakimov in the first novel, which suffered from it. He proves to be a somewhat more complex character in the subsequent novels while not commanding so much attention. The tensions in the marriage are also more richly explored in the latter novels. One passage I especially liked, p.881: "At the idea of flight, she felt the tug of loyalties, emotions and dependencies. For each thread broken, another had been thrown out to claim her." For a laughably poor analogy, p.693: "they saw a yellowish sea indolently spreading its frills of foam like a bored bridge player displaying a useless hand".

manning uses elegant, efficient language to describe the evolution of a young british couple's relationship as they try to stay one step ahead of the nazi war machine in eastern europe. bucharest and athens are brilliantly described. you get a wonderful sense of the banality of world war ii and a very realistic portrayal of one young couple coming to understand the complexities of marriage. surrounded by a large cast of memorable characters. an intimate epic.

I enjoyed the book and found that by and large it held my interest. My only criticism--it was a bit repetitive and could have benefited by editing out around 100 pages.

I have had this book on the shelf for a while and got round to reading it recently.

Hugely enjoyable. Fluent style, great characterisation, vivid descriptions of cities and countryside and a wonderful account of the downward spiral they find themselves in.

I do enjoy books sent in this time and with these characters - over-educated enthusiastic British communists, failed academics and artists, people with aristocratic pretensions, and above all British uselessness when confronted by the rigour and might of the 3rd Reich.

If like me you like Anthony Powell, Evelyn Waugh, Julian MacLaren-Ross, George Orwell (all different writers, I know) this is right up your street.