Customer Reviews

The Gadfly

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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.

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.

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.

This work is pure treasure and a great place for someone who wishes to begin reading fine literature to start. I cannot believe that I never heard of this book until I was 50! It ended up on my large "reading list" and I had to order it online to find a copy -- then (I kick myself) it laid around here for a year before I opened it. When I finally did, I discovered that I could not put this one down -- a quintessential page-turner. It's a very personal saga of a very good man, and, a Priest who betrays him during an Italian rebel uprising period.

I savored "War and Peace" and "The Brothers Karamazov", and while "The Gadfly" is that sort of book (much shorter), it's not such a tough go as the former titles. Voynich was brilliant. I read an average of three books a week, and have done so for many years, and this one is one of my top 3 reads ever. Don't miss this one and if you wish to double your pleasure, get a copy of Dmitri Shostakovich's outstanding soundtrack to "The Gadfly" movie and allow it to play as wallpaper as you read: Shostakovich: The Gadfly; Five Days - Five Nights (Suites). (This is not the original soundtrack but it's actually better for the most part -- see my review.)

(Currently, the DVD of the film itself is very difficult to find and there are neither English subtitles nor English voiceover -- it's spoken in Russian.)

Incredible stuff!

I was pointed in the direction of 'The Gadfly' when I read R.B, Lockhart's book about Sidney Reilly. I didn't expect the novel to be anywhere near as moving and wonderful as it is. I'm about halfway through it at this moment, and it has really got a grip on my imagination; I am already sad that in a day or two I'll be finished with it, and in a couple of weeks it'll have to go back to the library! I hope some publisher will bring out Ms. Voynich's books again before too long. For those who are having trouble finding copies of 'The Gadfly' or other Voynich works, I suggest going to an older public library, or a University library. Seeing how popular Voynich was in her day, there ought to be copies out there.

NB-- First publication of 'The Gadfly' was 1897, I believe --certainly not 1867. The events of the NOVEL are set in the middle 1800s, corresponding with the rise of Italian nationalism, but Ms. Voynich (not to mention Reilly, the ace of spies) was not born early enough to participate in all that. She must have done a lot of research! --but I'm sure this era of Italian history attracted her quite passionately because of its many parallels with conditions in pre-revolutionary Russia. 'The Gadfly' is a VERY intense book, in which not only the author's political/religious convictions, but also her deep fascination with a certain man saturate every page and make the reading a timeless adventure and a keen emotional experience.

For readers who DO know the Reilly story, either from Lockhart's book or from the 1983 TV series starring Sam Neill, 'The Gadfly' is quite revelatory --especially if your curiosity extends beyond espionage into psychology. In fact, some of Neill's mannerisms, reactions, etc., in the role of Reilly, make me think he must've read Voynich's book as background. If so, he couldn't have looked to a better source.

I don't remember how many times I have read this book. It has never failed to move me. The character the Gadfly emanates an idealism which is very much based on the pulsation of life and love, and by no means just based on certain political ideas. The hero of the book has become a testing ground for the moral strength of the thousands of young revolutionaries of his generation. The Gadfly has never ceased to be human in the book. One feels the vitality of life and love in both the young Authur and the Gadfly. I have been looking for books about and by E.L. Voynich. But all my efforts have not yet been fruitful. E.L. Voynich was married to a Polish revolutionary and lived in Soviet Russia for a while. This book has been very popular with young people in the Soviet Union. It has been made into a movie twice. I hope that the internet cam provide more information about the author. Please E mail me if you have information about the author and her books.

I would rather say just one word "Great" about the book "The Gadfly" authored by Voynich, an Ireland female novelist.

I can recall that I heard the name in Chinese when I was only six years old. Gadfly can be confused with rogue(pronounced with accent in south China) In fact, I read this book just before my graduation as a M.E. I also lost my once love before that. My own mood made me feel much of what Arthur felt. He loved his father and got to be betrayed. He loved the girl and got to be mistaken. He loved his country and got to be viewed as an unnormal personal(I mean not only the physical, but the mental). That's the life? that's what the life can give us?

Absolutely not, remember it:

Never stop struggling for what we deserve!

One of the greatest stories ever told - this book can change your life if you take its ideals to heart. It's not hard to understand why it was so popular among those in the revolutionary movement. I have to say though that when I lent it to two young friends who are Catholic too, they did not seem to be as profoundly moved as I was. The closing scene between the Cardinal and the Gadfly is one of the most heart-wrenching ever written. This book is a classic of its time and of all time. In my top 10 list of the best books I have ever read. Grab it - BTW if anyone is looking for a copy I do have one to spare which is in fairly good condition.

Twenty years ago when I first laid hands on a copy of this book, I skipped from page to page to rush through the whole story. Only recently did I revisit the book and realize how much I had missed! There is much in each passage or even sentence, that carries the weight of life. Yes this book is about the ultimate love (of freedom, belief, and life itself), but it is also about the ultimate struggle (that originates from precisely the same objects and subjects one loves). It is about hopes lost, regained, and relost; about human and non-human situations, impossible yet not exaggerated; about the strength of one's will power in face of such situations (and sometimes, the limits thereof); about joy and despair that are intensified by passion ... altogether in a short story beautiful yet disciplined. It is a story of love without unnecessary indulgence, of sympathy without excessive pity, and of strength without insensitivity.

I am surprised from what I have read recently on various auction sites that it is not common knowledge (or is it?) that the writer E L Voynich was the girlfriend of one Sidney Rosenblum..otherwise known in Britain as 'Sidney Reilly' or 'Reilly Ace of Spies'. Born in Russia not far from Odessa on March 24th, 1874. He went by the christian name of Georgi(surname unknown) until it was revealed that he was the illegitimate son of one Dr Rosenblum and his name was really Sigmund Rosenblum. To quote from the book 'Reilly Ace of Spies' written by one R B Lockhart in 1967..'With Rosenblum's last £300 the couple went off to Italy. Here under the Mediterenean sun and under the influence of the Roman Catholic religion, which touched every facet of Italian life and awoke emotionally chargedmemories of his Catholic upbringing, Sidney bared his soul to his mistress.' 'He was not angry when she later published a novel,* much praised by the critics, which was largely inspired by his early life.'

* The Gadfly by Ethan Lilian Voynich, published by Heinemann in 1867. Although she wrote other books , the author was never to repeat the success of this book, her first. Curiously enough, since the Second World War, there has been an enormous sale of The Gadfly behind the Iron Curtain. In Russia, the name of E. L. Voynich is bracketed with Shakespeare and Dickens as being amongst Britain's greatest writers. She married a Polish revolutionary who fought for Poland's freedom from Russian rule and died in New York in 1960 at the age of ninety-six.

Just thought you might like to know that.