Customer Reviews

Revolution

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't know quite what I expected when I opened the pages of Revolution. From the "blurb" on the back cover, I thought this would be yet another "historical romance" with the heroine overcoming adversity and finding true love. True, that is part of the story, but is that really what revolution is ALL about?

Actually, the book and its author present us with some food for thought. We ask " Does the title refer to the revolutions of the giant Ferris Wheel, the wheel that itself is featured in at least two vital and perspective altering events in the life of our heroine, Helena". Could the author be utilizing the Ferris wheel as a metaphor to show us that every life is indeed a giant and frightening ride filled with ups and downs (much like the revolutions of the wheel). Perhaps, it refers to the ever changing world conditions and the revolutionary scientific innovations that are usually presented at a World's Fair (this one taking place in 1898 Vienna). You will just have to decide for yourself.

Alex Tamayo-Wolf is a true artist with words. His descriptive prose paints a wondrous word picture of the beautiful vistas of Austria, its opulence and grandeur as well as the poverty, disease and filth that were all part and parcel of era in which the story is set.

His characters are all too human, running the gamut of characteristics and emotions from innocence to avarice to guilt. Ultimately Revolution is tale of survival and the redemptive power of love.

Life so sweet can turn so bitter so quickly. "Revolution" is the story of Helene. With a great childhood, life looks good to Helene as her father runs a vineyard. But it all turns bad when she is sent to the dark underworld of life, living in orphanages and later having to sell herself to get by. She looks towards home after so many years, and sees that a childhood friend has become powerful - which is not as hopeful as it sounds for Helene. "Revolution" is a story of how lives can turn out so differently despite our earliest expectations. This is a deftly written and entertaining novel recommended for personal reading lists and community library collections.

A delightful book from which I was not really sure what to expect when I first picked it up. I got this as an ARC and not knowing much about the author, I dived in without any preconceived notions. I was delighted by what unfolded. I think the best way to describe this would be a love story that unfolds with Vienna as its backdrop, between 1898 and the beginning of WW1. Helene and Maxl are the main characters who form a beautiful friendship as children. On their first meeting Helene(then 10yrs old) sees Maxl(a few years older) steal a bike and for some unknown reason helps him escape despite the fact that she does not condone stealing. And so begins their friendship which blossoms as the years progress, through letters and postcards and holidays spent in the countryside. But in the background looms Maxl's father who is apparently lacking in any redeeming qualities. He is brutal to his child, careless of his wife's emotions and ever scheming for ways to increase his wealth both legally and illegally. Maxl eventually gets sent off to boarding school and loses touch with Helene as he strives to become more like his father. Meanwhile, Helene's life is descending into hardship and hell as her father loses his vineyard because he gambles away all its profits and makes a deal with an unscrupulous lender. Helene faces a life of degradation and misery as she is sent to an orphanage and eventually becomes a prostitute. There is probably nothing in this novel that one has not seen or heard before but it is the way in which the tale is woven that makes it mesmerizing. The descriptions of Vienna and the Austrian countryside was just amazing. When you are reading of wealth and opulence, you feel like you are seeing it yourself and when the dirt, degradation and filth of the poor regions are described, you almost want to hold your nose cause you feel like you can smell it. I found that I could not put the book down and had to see what would happen next. Its a tale of redemption and love. A total recommend.

I thought that the book was beautifully written and the imagery was masterful, yet I was not moved by the love story itself. The main character Helene, is constantly having to do the pursuing of Max (her love interest). This strips the femininity away from her and emasculates him. There is not enough development of his love or feelings for her. Most of the way through the book you cannot feel anything more than a luke-warm attraction coming from Max. The fact that he or any man would allow the woman of his dreams to spend even one day sleeping among roaches and filth is not a love story nor is that kind of behavior redeemable at any time in the future. The level of wealth and power that Max and his family came from could have had Helene out of Ottakring immediately. They also could have located her sooner had the interest been there. You start to pity Helene and wish that she would show more of a "the universe is abundant" spirit and more self-love by telling every character where they can go except the fabulous Josefine Wolfe. Who in my opinion is the only character worthy of Helene's time.
Max misses the boat when it comes to the basic core responsibilities of a man: to protect and to provide. Helene would be better off utilizing her core responsibilities of nesting and nurturing in a different relationship with a man truly worthy of her.
In closing, the writing style was easy to follow and the author does a wonderful job of keeping the reader wondering what the next chapter will bring. Revolution clearly showcases the author's talent and abilities as a writer, I was just not moved by the actual story.

With the backdrop being the years between the 1898 World's Fair and World War I, author Alex Tamayo-Wolf meticulously explores the wealth and shadowy alleys of Vienna, Austria, in this novel of fleeting love and shattered dreams.

Vienna seems at first glance to celebrate the youthful love of Helene Marie Neumann and Maximilian Rieger. It appears to be a cornerstone of vast potential and wealth, but - on close exploration - cannot keep up with the rapid pace of social and economic changes; where panhandling was a crime, but child prostitution was not.

And it's through this prism of a ferris wheel spinning so quickly where Helene's dreams are destroyed in hideous ways and Maximilian can thrive by understanding how to manipulate the pace of the rat race.

With this fascinating historical backdrop and believable characters, Revolution is an interesting read.

REVOLUTION by Alex Tomayo-Wolf

review by Carlo Gabbi, Author of "An Amazing Story"

This is a fascinating historical story that presents as a background the industrial revolution of the end of the 19th century in prestigious Vienna.
The tall Ferries Wheel, symbolize the modern era of that time, that keep spinning its wheel, as well as the life of the many involved in the story.
The author, Alex Tomayo-Wolf, present with convincing force, the contrasting life of the wealthy, who lives in elegant quarters of Imperial Vienna, surreunded with many privileges and who are exercising their dominance over the one in need. The poor instead are living their neglected existences in overcrowded rooms, shearing the untinkable miseries of their bodies and souls, in a word of sin and depravation in smelling shadowed alleys.
The story mainly portraits the life of a strong character teenager, Helene Marie, who has a strong personality and her young dream of loves and hopes. In time, because of the greed of a local Baron and the gambling habits of her father, she is alone, abandoned to the mercy of tyrannical people and her adolescent dreams are destroyed. She is young, living in a world that she doesn't know, and to survive she is compelled into prostitution at the dependence of an old wealthy man. At the same time she is sharing her room and bed with the most depraved and filthy people who lives in one of the worse city alley.

The characters in the story are presented with great skill by Alex Tomayo-Wolf, who put in result the turmoil of their souls and their demarked personality. Their emotions are contrasting and dominated by innocence, avarice and guilt.
The events in the novel are running rapidly and passionately taking the reader into a masterful tale of survival with the eventual final redeeming through the power of love.
Alex Tomayo-Wolf is a great narrator and I hope to read more of his fascinating stories.

Carlo Gabbi, author of "An Amazing Story"

I thoroughly enjoyed Alex T-Wolf's writing. Pre-WWI Europe is a fascinating time and place. It was raging with advances in industrialization and commerce all colliding with social structures of an imperial society. Alex captures this collision at ground level in a beautiful story with characters that he continues to evolve throughout the book. The prose is tasteful and rich, and never overdone.

Revolution will introduce you to many characters that will steal your heart. You will participate in their lives as they experience tragedy and love. This book has scenes which you will never forget. The impact is powerful. You will want to stay up reading all night.