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34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Gadfly, March 17, 2000
I first read this book in Chinese when I was 11. Although I didn't fully understand the political side of the novel, it left me crying over the story for weeks. I have reread it many times since, and it has never failed to move me. The authur explores human nature in all ways possible and touches your heart with an intensity. Arthur, a young Christian in the 19th Century when Italy was under Austrian rule, is the hero of this book. The 19 year old boy's protected world is broken when he learns that his tutor - Father of church - is actually his birth father. At the same time that he finds he has been betrayed by the only person he trusts he is mistaken by the only girl he loves. Not wanting to face his father and explain to Gemma, the shy and gentle Arthur leaves for South Africa, making everyone believe he has taken his own life. In a new environment he is thrown into the harsh realities of life, his body and soul hardend by human cruelty. 15 years later he returns to Italy where The Gadfly is born as a respected potential revolitionary. Having been through so much pain and body injuries, Gemma didn't recognise her beloved Arthur but sees him as a commorade in the dangerous revolutionary life. The Gadfly's role as a rebellious fighter places him and his father - now a cardinal - on opposite sides of the political stage. All emotions are explored when the father has to choose between his long lost son and his Lord on the cross. The baldness of the Authur takes you through a man's life where he is transformed from a naive believer of God to a sly fighter who hates God for having his father's love. The ending is so moving it will make you look at life in a whole different perspective. This is the best book I have ever read and I recommand it to everyone who loves reading, no matter when type of books they like.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Elevating, December 5, 2000
This novel isn't widely known in the US, but its popularity in Europe cannot be underestimated. This book is great for several reasons: 1)this is a romantic quest in the best sense of the word, with the protagonist larger than life, 2)this is a book about moral and religious choices that I hope none ever have to make, and the way different people may follow different paths, 3)this is a book about love in all its forms: love for the country, love between a man and a woman, love between a father and a son. It's about love for life, even when death seems a better alternative. It's too bad that this book is out of stock - but if you ever find it on the Auctions or Ebay, hurry to buy it. This is an epic no one will be able to resist.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Gadfly, July 23, 2002
The novel of "The Gadfly" in Chinese and the movie bearing the same name, are two brilliant works of "The Gadfly" I first encountered, and loved so much, while I was in my teens, although my young age was somewhat restricted me from comprehending the conspiracies and struggles inside the hero. After so many years I finally had a chance to read the original novel by Ms. Voynich. I was thrilled. Many details were recalled and many emotional moments were re-experienced, only this time it was with more intensity and inspirations, and maybe more tears.
An epic of revolutions, religions, and moralities, this novel digs deeply about human beings and their loves - the love for their country; the love for God; the love between father and son; and the love between lovers... If its arousing power of revolt appealed me the most many years ago, now stronger the resonance in my heart is the hero's soul, his dilemmas and his complexities. From Arthur, a devotee to God, to the Gadfly, an unswerving atheist, the renouncement was triggered by the betrayal of his confessor (Father Cardi) and the deceit of his "Padre", his actual birth father, the Cardinal Montanelli, intensified through all the unimaginable sufferings (emotionally and physically) he endured, and firmed along the path of his pursuing for true believes. To me the fact that the Gadfly lived his most valuable years, and finally died, as an atheist is more intriguing in how the belief being rooted than the belief itself. In reading this book, it gave me great satisfaction in meditating over character the Gadfly, the more so because he was a human being, and a very sentimental one. With Ms. Voynich's feminine touch, the relationships, love relationships, were portrayed with immense depth and delicacy. The connection between Montanelli and the Gadfly truly stimulates me with the thoughts on God and his son, Jesus Christ. The love between Gadfly and Gemma, full of pain and pathos it was, is the purest and the most beautiful love I could ever imagine.
"Then am I a happy fly, if I live or if I die", the short verse written at the end of the letter which the Gadfly wrote to Gemma, just before his execution, is very simple, but profoundly encapsulates the Gadfly's life, one that was so short, and yet so fulfilling, and one that's likely to leave you reflecting on yours, too.
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