- Hardcover: 368 pages
- Publisher: Eos (Jan 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0380977621
- ISBN-13: 978-0380977628
- Product Dimensions: 24.1 x 16.5 x 3.1 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,938,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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First Sentence
Since my death, I've thought a good deal of my childhood in Russia, when I was "Prince" Peter Kropotkin, a title I renounced at twelve. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Since my death, I've thought a good deal of my childhood in Russia, when I was "Prince" Peter Kropotkin, a title I renounced at twelve. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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18 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
A Dream Deferred...
30 Aug 2002
Format:Hardcover
I happened to be reading this book as I traveled to the SC coast on vacation. I was intrigued as I passed through Richmond, VA, the location of this novel. As I Black woman I do not often have the opportunity to talk with Southern Whites about their attitudes toward the Civil War and the traitors they still revere as heroes. On the few occasions that I have had that conversation it seemed so strange to me that they have such passion about a war that happened generations before they were born. And it is not just Richmond, remember my destination was SC via NC. Reading this book told me that I was not alone in thinking the South of 2002 is still confused about who won the Civil War and why. I really wanted those who romanticize the Ante-Bellum South to come face-to-face with the reality of its Peculiar Institution and economic structure. All through the book I was getting ready for the confrontation that I was ultimately denied. Danvers provided the best of science fiction; the re-examination of our history from a future perspective, with the possibility of an alternate--a better--ending. I was challenged to think of what that alternate ending could be since Danvers denied me the pleasure of providing one. This book is rich, textured with characters that are deep and complex. The reader may need a notecard to keep from getting lost, but it is well worth the effort to make it through the wordiness. No sex or violence. Best if you are a history buff or student of Americana.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
A work of love
9 April 2003
Format:Hardcover
The Watch is a genuine "romantic novel" and does a nifty switcheroo on the 19th century American speculative political science fiction genre seen in Edward Bellamy's "Looking Backward," that also employs time travel.
The Watch got me banging on the kitchen table on page 99, and the ending, curling back on the author and the courage of the protagonist's indefatigable spirit, was a fine finish. I believe Danvers ate and fully digested all of the Anarchist Prince's writings as he deftly dishes up a double dose of Kroptikin spirit while he unveils a detailed history of --- and genuine love for--- his own hometown, Richomond, VA.
I'll bet this is the novel Danvers always wanted to write. And one you'll wish you had written about your own home town and intellectual hero.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Anarchist Out of Time
9 Oct 2003
Format:Paperback
This is a very creatively constructed story with elements of both time travel and historical fiction. For his own reasons Dennis Danvers has made himself an expert on the obscure Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin, who died in 1921. In this book Kropotkin is sent to present-day Richmond, VA by a mysterious meddler from the future, who either wants to change history favorably with Kropotkin as the catalyst, or simply amuse himself by creating new time streams. The story is told as an autobiography by the displaced Kropotkin, and this leads to enjoyable musings on how a Russian from the last century observes modern America, and especially how he finds kindred souls among a group of punk rockers. Interestingly, and perhaps courageously, Danvers lays down a lot of criticism of his hometown of Richmond and its strange obsession with its hateful past, through the eyes of Kropotkin.
Though many of the characters in this novel are quite well drawn and enjoyable, Kropotkin among them, he speaks mostly in the writings of the real-life anarchist, which Danvers clearly wants to bring to light for modern readers. That may have even worked with me, as my curiosity about Kropotkin's works has been piqued. But this method of storytelling leads to a rather implausible book in which Danvers is advancing his own theories and using Kropotkin's "classics" as a tool. The plotline also gets a bit out of hand toward the end, and the true motives of the mysterious future meddler remain vague. This is truly a fun and fascinating novel, and a great exercise in creative storytelling. But the use of Kropotkin's writings by Danvers to comment on modern society gets very heavy-handed and didactic. [~doomsdayer520~]
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