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The Days of the King Hardcover – August 16, 2011

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Filip Florian (Author)
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Filip Florian (Author), Alistair Ian Blyth (Translator)
3.1 out of 5 stars 10 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1 edition (August 16, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0547388357
  • ISBN-13: 978-0547388359
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,150,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsRomanian history in fiction.
By Tanstaafl VINE VOICE on August 9, 2011
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
I am one of those who enjoyed Florian's previous book "Little Fingers". It, too, was translated by Alistair Ian Blyth. Unfortunately, "The Days of the King" was not equally interesting. This book is heavily dependent on a knowledge of (or, at least, a desire to learn) Romanian history.

Though a story of Joseph Strauss, a transplanted German, the politics of late 19th century Romania is the real tale being told. While well written (translated), the story is very low key and very dependent on the setting. The depth of its treatment of Strauss, his dental practice and family was just not enough to keep me entertained.

It is not that there is no story here and nothing of interest; but that there is little frame of reference for the reader of the translation to identify with. Recommended for those with an interest in the Eastern Europe of a century and a half ago.

(Note: There is a "Political Background" section at the end of the book. It would be beneficial to read it first. Though there are some references to the story itself, they are not major spoilers. I did not discover this until I reached that part of the book. However, even reading it first wouldn't have affected my rating.)
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4.0 out of 5 starsInteresting for those interested in Romania
By Alan A. Elsner VINE VOICE on October 21, 2011
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
I spent a year teaching journalism in Romania and I have retained an interest and affection for the country. So this novel of the formative years of the modern Romanian nation was quite interesting for me. I do however wonder how interesting it might be for others without my special connection to the country.

The novel begins in 1866, when the two provinces of Wallachia and Moldavia were joined and sought a European prince to rule them, finally lighting on a German who was to become Romania's first modern monarch, King Carol. It was he who built the fantasy Bavarian-style Peles castle at Sinaia which remains one of the premier tourist sights in the country.

We observe the unfolding of history through the eyes of a young German dentist, Joseph Strauss, who follows the prince to Bucharest, then a fairly primitive city with only one paved road, prey to "miasmas," full of dead rotting animal corpses lying in the dusty lanes and many churches and monasteries. Strauss sets up his practice in Lipscani Street, which still exists and is being renovated and reborn as the restaurant and entertainment heart of the city but was then the German quarter.

We also see events through the eyes of Strauss' beloved tomcat Siegfried -- and these passages are quite poetically rendered. Both Strauss and his cat fall in love, both love affairs sensitively and delicately described. Meanwhile, Bucharest is gradually transformed. The railway arrives, streets are paved, statues are erected and the city begins to take on the form of a modern metropolis. The book ends with Romania victorious in war and finally casting off the last vestiges of Ottoman suzerainty.

I learned a lot about Romanian history from the book and about the development of Bucharest.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsExcellent historical fiction but mediocre literature.
By Liviu C. Suciu on September 5, 2011
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
This is a book that has three main aspects - the historical situation of the Romanian Principalities from their union in 1859, to Carol's accession in 1866 to his becoming King of Romania in 1881, the atmosphere of Bucharest (and to a lesser extent the rest of the country) at the times and the actual storyline of Joseph Strauss' life as he follows the prince from Germany to Romania to treat his teeth.

The book is superb on the first two but doesn't quite succeed on the third count though not reading the Romanian original, but only the English translation, I am not sure if it's the translation, the author's original choices or simply that his convoluted Romanian prose does not translate well in 21st century English and the result comes as saying simple things in ten phrases rather than one which jars badly on occasion.

For the big picture which I happen to know reasonably well, the author has presented it quite clearly - the need of Romania for a foreign prince to insure respectability, credibility, stability, protection, recognized by all in theory but of course ignored in the jostling for advancement and position which led to various farcical "revolutions" as well as to Carol's occasional threats of resignation until finally he made his point and had the corrupt and self-seeking Romanian politicians pay attention for once, followed by the quick modernization of the country, the vast increase in its well being with independence and elevation to a full kingdom rather than an union of principalities following naturally though not without sacrifices; huge achievements due first and foremost to the prince/king and the author shows it clearly, separating Carol the magnificent ruler from Carol the not that likable person who uses and discards people like Joseph Strauss at whim.Read more ›
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3.0 out of 5 starsStrange Days
By Richard LeComte VINE VOICE on September 13, 2011
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
The story of this novel is wonderful -- a Prussian dentist finds that one of his patients, a soldier from a noble family, is headed to Romania to become its ruler, and the soldier invites him along. The dentist, Joseph Strauss, then begins a remarkable journey through Europe to the out-of-the-way city of Bucharest, where he sets up shot in the German section. Strauss' story becomes entwined in the history of Romania as it rises from the merger of two principalities into a modern nation-state under the leadership of Karl, the soldier-turned-king. The problem here is that Florian's chatty, yada-yada narrative is light on immediacy (show more, please) and includes long, useless passages told by a tomcat. Still, the novel sheds light on a history few Americans have encountered, and Strauss himself is such a compelling character that you'll find yourself finishing the novel despite the verbiage. If the novel had been written in a more conventional(at least for English literature) narrative style, it would have been great.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 starsI love Nabokov and other writers who render this style wonderfully

I am sorry to report that while the story seemed indeed genius and funny (from the blurb) it is told in an artificial, flowery verbiage that swallows all your attention span. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Fountainheart
5.0 out of 5 starsUnique - 4.5

"The Days of the King" will not be a book for everyone, but my goodness if it wasn't a wonderful book for me. Read more

Published on January 9, 2014 by Biblibio
3.0 out of 5 starsSweet story, difficult to read

I don't know if there's a translation problem here, but "The Days of the King" for all that it is a simple and rather sweet pair of love stories (The dentist and his tomcat both... Read more

Published on December 30, 2011 by Tracy Rowan
3.0 out of 5 starsCharming Story of an Unlikely Man in an Unlikely Place

The polyglot world of Central and Eastern Europe of the late Nineteenth Century had many things: a decaying empire (the Ottomans), a broad mix of nationalities, and a burning... Read more

Published on October 13, 2011 by Janet Perry
2.0 out of 5 starsPerhaps it's a translation problem

I'm sorry to report that this book is written in a very Nabokov kind of style, with extremely long, circuitous sentences. I couldn't get more than about 20 pages into the book. Read more

Published on September 10, 2011 by Kaleidocherry
3.0 out of 5 starsFor the right reader...

"The Days of the King", by Filip Florian, and translated from the original Romanian by Ian Blyth, is one of those quirky books that was even too quirky for me, but that I hope... Read more

Published on September 3, 2011 by Jill Meyer

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