Wednesday, August 23, 2017

The Great Olivia Manning

Image result for the balkan trilogy amazon

Several years back, after reading that Christopher Hitchens thought that "The Balkan Trilogy" by Olivia Manning was one of the finest novels of World War II, I gave it a try.

I was stunned at how good it was and immediately read Manning's second work, "The Levant Trilogy."

As you can see above, in newer editions the first volume has been titled "Fortunes of War." 

An excellent BBC program with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson was made but the book is far better.

Both trilogies deserve to be ranked as classics.

2 comments:

Δ.Μ said...

Hello !

I can't trace Christopher Hitchens' remarks about Olivia Manning's Balkan trilogy. Could you please refer me to the article ? Thank you in advance.

Michael Wade said...

Hi.

I recall seeing the remarks in a book blurb but cannot locate it.

Peter Hitchens wrote a review but he's a far cry from Christopher. Clive James also praised the book in the book of reviews he published shortly before his death.

You've sparked a search. I do recall being surprised by the Christopher Hitchens remarks simply because Olivia Manning didn't get the recognition she deserved and that was very high praise.

Please let me know if you track it down. I'll also be searching and will post my findings.

Best,

Michael