THE BLUE FLOWER PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Penelope Fitzgerald,Candia McWilliam | 320 pages | 01 Aug 2003 | HarperCollins Publishers | 9780006550198 | English | London, United Kingdom The Blue Flower PDF Book But it is not just about the intellectual stuff. So, t I think I had the opposite reaction to this book to many of my Goodreads friends. This is a sad story about a doomed love and short lives. My second reservation concerns the artistic movement of which Novalis is acknowledged to be the founder- German romanticism of the late c. That is so much simpler for a man. We are then thrust back in time after just a few short chapters. I can certainly appreciate books where the characters are all unlikable - but I didn't get the impression that these people really were, historically, that bad - just that Fitzgerald personally regards them with a kind of snide contempt. Do you want to drown? Error rating book. I love something that I do not understand. Namespaces Article Talk. The Blue Flower's elusive magic. Archived from the original on The family depiction of Fritz and his parents and brothers and sisters was funny, entertaining and very endearing and in the few well chosen words so brilliantly written, came alive in this lovely book which I would keep and read again in the future. Within the movement, a number of folk songs used the motif. As I was reading, I had a tantalising sense of meaning and certainty, just a few steps ahead of me, a page further on, not quite in my grasp. Fitzgerald's novel has been the subject of much critical scrutiny , and many have called it her finest work. The fact that Sophie is only 12 years old does not seem to bother him. With 'The Blue Flower' it is hard, not just because the story is so unusual, but because Fitzgerald's literary skills are as elusive as they are powerful. I think I was put off by the late 18th century setting and the focus on the poet, Novalis - neither of which are my interest areas, but I've read - 5 or 6 of Fitzgerald's now - and each and every one is Brilliant this one included. I said this was researched, and historical fiction, and thus unlike the others I have read, but it has definitive Fitzgerald hallmarks; the precocious child - in this case six year old Bernhard - who is always referred to as "the" Bernhard - never explained why. Each chapter is short, almost vignette like in 3 or 4 pages, and although there is a narrative running throughout, each short story has a point to it which may or may not be relevant to the I loved this book a great deal. The first 5 novels were based on her personal experiences: The Golden Child The Bookshop Offshore Human Voices At Freddie's and the last four novels had more historic settings: Innocence The Beginning of Spring The Gate of Angels The Blue Flower As Fitzgerald herself noted after writing the first two of these later works : I have tried, in describing these books of mine, to say something about my life. Halloween Movies for the Whole Family. In the play, Laura is nicknamed "Blue Roses" after another character misheard her say "pleurosis". The famed Jena, a university town where the better-known Romantics resided, is beautifully portrayed. Innocence takes place in Italy in the late s. The Blue Flower Writer And there you have it - the six year old who has an inherent affinity with his elder brother who manages to become one of the notables of European philosophy and literature. But the novel eventually finds its feet and from then on prances merrily forward at an enjoyable pace. But it grew on me and, as it grew, it opened up like a flower, I guess to become a book with ideas about philosophy, about music, about poetry as well as a book that might well be considered to be ahead of its time in terms of its structure and narrative style. This is intriguing. The author sets 'em up and knocks 'em down just as life did but really, how funny is that? You know the saying: There's no time like the present Grasping the full meaning of the philosophical concepts often proved too elusive for me. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Namespaces Article Talk. Yes No Report this. He asks both what the blue flower signifies. Given the period, it's all very chaste; nothing like Lolita see my review HERE , which is a far more disturbing book, but is beautifully written, and hence powerful and compelling. I was not interested in the storyline whatsoever and in my opinion the characters were quite dull. Instead, we find out that Penelope Fitzgerald thinks that people in 18th- century Germany ate disgusting cuisine, were unhygenic, penurious - and for some reason she seems to think they were always freezing cold, even though Germany has a mild climate and particularly nice summers. The Blue Flower's elusive magic. Not pages long I thought it could even have done with a trim , not filled with the sometimes tiresome minutiae though not lacking in historical detail that we've been brainwashed into expecting from historical fiction. TB: Tabes mesenterica - Tuberculosis of the mesenteric and retroperitoneal lymph nodes. Returning to the historical elements of the novel, the c. The words are spoken clearly and the German properly pronounced, so two stars is appropriate. Tennessee Williams used images of blue roses in his play, The Glass Menagerie , to symbolize the frailty and uniqueness of Laura, a central character that reflects the life of Williams' sister, who underwent a lobotomy. I failed to find it. From the quayside Fritz jumped down about four feet or so onto the nearest deck. Overall I would certainly recommend readers to start with other Fitzgerald novels: this is for completists only. What is he trying to say? I looked up all the place names on Google and started to fill in my sparse knowledge of this particular part of middle Germany - the areas of Saxony and Thuringia also known as Mitteldeutschland - which means central Germany. Which means Marie Antoinette might have read it--could she read English? I loved this book a great deal. Spring is marked by walks to the beech woods to see carpets of bluebells; my mother pots blue hyacinths each year to give to family and friends; my granny grew delphiniums and hydrangeas in profusion, and in more recent years, nearby fields are filled with linseed flowers so much nicer than the garish yellow of rapeseed. The characters are flat. This is my favourite of the three Fitzgerald novels that I've read. Transform this Plot Summary into a Study Guide. On her lapel is a tiny, artificial blue rose, clearly symbolic of something; but when Sam asks, Chet simply replies, "But I can't tell you about that. The Blue Flower Reviews Most writers, including the greatest, feel the need to do something like this sooner or later. Blue Flower is a more expansive novel pages in my edition and much the weaker for it. This was originally a Platonic idea and it goes much further than sexual attraction. Historical fiction is just about my favourite type of writing; the reading experience enhanced by the chance to go online and carry out my own research: An essential element of historical fiction is that it is set in the past and pays attention to the manners, social conditions and other details of the period depicted. I prefer my historical fiction to incorporate a bit more artistic licence, and rather more obscure references to lesser known facts about the primary subject. When she became thirteen they were engaged. All day I have not been ready to pick up another book and finally this evening have selected a housecleaning book as I still want to savor this novel and I can do that while I clean. The focus of the book is the early life of Fritz von Hardenberg — better known as the German Romantic poet Novalis — and especially his infatuation for year-old Sophie whom he meets during an official visit he pays as apprentice engineer to the household of her stepfather, von Rochenthien. Burnt carrot powder to make the coffee supply last longer? Blue flower is used in the film Zootopia. The opening sequence, describing washing day at a large, noble, household, transports the reader to the period in question. Romantic difficulty … the sculpture of Novalis at his grave in Weissenfels, Germany. Nor should they be used excessively. Feb 10, Amanda Brookfield rated it it was amazing. The author sets 'em up and knocks 'em down just as life did but really, how funny is that? Here she attempts something more ambitio This is a sad story about a doomed love and short lives. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. As soon as I finished it I fell asleep and dreamed that I was terribly ill as I was still so immersed in the book. But everything I've read by her is wonderful. I found the characters, setting and plot hard to imagine, care about or believe in - even though it's based on real life. He sets about to do so, successfully convincing his father and Sophie's stepfather of the sense of the arrangement. Soul mates were drawn to one another to fulfil a particular mission. Guardian Media Group. She won't succeed, and the ideas she had before, such as they were, are now in disarray and she hardly knows what to put in their place.