Customer Reviews

Graustark

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2 star:		(2)
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I purchased this book for a course in American Literature. There aren't many printed version of this text, so my professor has to make due with what is available. However, NORILANA BOOKS ought to be too ashamed to call themselves a publisher. Sometimes, independent companies shouldn't do what the big boys do. This book has too many typos and the chapters are incorrectly numbered. For example, when I finished reading chapter 22, the next chapter was 13.

Now onto the book: I'd rate it 4 STARS. The story is very interesting and draws the reader in from the beginning, because McCutcheon's is a good writer. I would recommend this story to anyone looking to read something outside their normal realm. I just would highly recommend they download the free Google Books version. Or see if there is another version offered on Amazon. But, DO NOT under any circumstances buy this book from this craptastic publisher.

Mr. Lorry is a wealthy American who lives off of his parents and has no desire to work. Although he lives in America where this is not acceptable behavior, he makes his excuses by comparing himself to a European gentlemen. Lorry meets a mysterious woman on a train ride in America and then finds a way to follow her to a country named Graustark. He and his friend Anguish go to this place to find that the mysterious woman, Miss Guggenslocker, is actually the princess of Graustark. By then Lorry has fallen in love with the princess. Unfortunately, her little country is indebted to a nearby country. She is to marry the prince of this other country and raise a large sum in order to repay the prince. If the money is not raised by a certain date, the country will have to give up more than half of its kingdom. Graustark does not have the money to repay the debt. In the meantime, Lorry is framed for killing the prince of the country that they owe. Lorry is arrested and then the princess sneaks him out of captivitiy. She hides him at the monastery. There is a large reward for his capture and he knows that if he is seen, he will be executed. The princess has a plan for Lorry's escape out of the country. However, he is so in love with the princess that he refuses to leave her. In the middle of the night, Lorry sneaks back to the castle to be with her. He decides to turn himself in. On the day that the debt is to be paid and the country must give up its land, Lorry appears. During this time, Anguish has been secretly trying to find out who really killed the prince. He manages to expose the true killer. Because Lorry turned himself in, the princess' attendent receives the reward money, which she uses to repay Graustark's debt. Lorry and the princess announce their undying love for one another publically. It is decided that the princess can marry Lorry, but he is not allowed to claim a title. I thought this book was a lot like a fairy tale. Lorry's love became more intense and reached the point where his actions were totally irrational. Also in the book, things that should have been obvious to the characters were not. This led me to believe that the characters were very simple-minded. I did not enjoy this book because it was not very realistic, but since it was written at the end of the 1800's it is possible that people could be so blinded in their love for each other. MayfromOK@webtv.net