The Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot

by Carl-Johan Vallgren | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 009946439X Global Overview for this book
Registered by elis-fromSweden of Stenstorp, Västergötland Sweden on 5/8/2021
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This book is in a Controlled Release! This book is in a Controlled Release!
9 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by elis-fromSweden from Stenstorp, Västergötland Sweden on Saturday, May 8, 2021
From the back of the book

On a stormy night in 1813, a doctor is called to the aid of two prostitutes in childbirth. To one is born a healthy girl, Henriette, to the other, what can only be described as a monster: a boy, Hercules, deaf-mute and hideously deformed, and with the power to read minds.

As he tells the story of Hercules' bizarre and colourful life, which leads him from the bordello of his birth to a travelling freak show and then a Jesuit monastery and an asylum, Vallgren paints a magical picture of nineteenth-century Europe. This picaresque fable is filled with curiosities but is, at its heart, an extraordinary and unforgettable love story.

...

I really liked this book when I read it. It is weird and strange and a peculiar tale well worth your time.

Journal Entry 2 by elis-fromSweden at Stenstorp, Västergötland Sweden on Saturday, May 8, 2021
I'm offering this as a bookray as I want it to travel and meet new readers.

The order might change so look at the list below to see who you should send it to. Please ask for the address in time so you can send the book on its way when you are done.

1. Plum-crazy, UK, shipping UK/Europe
2. rahar109, UK, Shipping UK/Europe
3. Arvores, Portugal, shipping within Europe
4. penelopewanders, Switzerland, shipping within UK/EU
5. Andrasthe, Austria, shipping within EU
6. Fifna, Netherlands, Europe
7. iiwi, Netherlands
8. FraukeRo, Norway, shipping international- BOOK IS HERE!
9. mcsar, Candada, shipping to Canada/US
10. BookBirds, shipping within the US
11. dacejav, Georgia (can recieve mail in both US and UK), shipping internationally
12. Mary-T, Germany, shipping internationally

Journal Entry 3 by wingPlum-crazywing at Brighouse, West Yorkshire United Kingdom on Sunday, July 11, 2021
The book is safely with me. I've just started another book so this will be up next, hopefully later in the week 😊


Journal Entry 4 by wingPlum-crazywing at Brighouse, West Yorkshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, July 21, 2021
This is one of those books that say you "liked" doesn’t seem appropriate as it's so full of cruelty, torment & heartbreak…but it's also compelling & quite emotional at time & it's hard not to be swept away by it.

While I found the prose a little disjointed at times – though maybe some of that is down to being translated – it evoked the feel of the cruel world that Hercules was living in, one similar to a nightmarish folktale.

I loved the first half of the book, in particular Hercule & Henriette growing up together in a brothel. This beauty & the beast pairing (of course Henriette is a as beautiful as Hercule is hideous) are inseparable & there are some many touching moments between them.

"…Henriette loved Hercule as unreservedly as he loved her. He had always been there. His aspect was so familiar to her as she never saw it as deformed. On the contrary, she found it pleasing beyond words just because it was unmistakeably his."

But beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder & the first time Hercule "meets" with someone outside the brothel it was an event that both sadden & angered me. There’s quite a lot more I'd like to say about this book but am wary of *spoilers* so will look forward to discussing it once it’s completed its ring instead....

Finally...sorry but I didn’t like the way the ending (the Postscript etc) came together & wrapped things up, it left me rather dissatisfied (I think I would almost have preferred the end of Chapter IX to conclude the book!)

Overall, it's a remarkable story of suffering & revenge but ultimately a love story & one that confirms that love is blind.






Journal Entry 5 by wingPlum-crazywing at per Post, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Released 2 yrs ago (7/30/2021 UTC) at per Post, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Ready to move on....

Journal Entry 6 by wingrahar109wing at Ash Vale, Surrey United Kingdom on Monday, August 2, 2021
Arrived in the post this morning, thank you.

Journal Entry 7 by wingrahar109wing at Ash Vale, Surrey United Kingdom on Tuesday, August 10, 2021
What an unusual book!
Enjoy isn't quite the right word, but I found the story intriguing and gripping, despite the bleakness and the cruelties. I don't think the prologue was necessary; everything was tidied up too neatly, which wasn't in keeping with rest of the book.

Have PMed Andrasthe for his/her address.
ETA: Andrasthe has not replied, so the book is moving on to Arvores.

Journal Entry 8 by wingrahar109wing at Ash Vale, Surrey United Kingdom on Thursday, September 23, 2021

Released 2 yrs ago (9/23/2021 UTC) at Ash Vale, Surrey United Kingdom

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Posted to Arvores.
Enjoy!

Journal Entry 9 by wingArvoreswing at Belmonte, Castelo Branco Portugal on Thursday, October 14, 2021
The book arrived today, after the usual issues with customs that have been happening since the 1st of July.
Unfortunately, customs have charged almost 5€ before I could get the book released. I shouldn't have payed anything but, as we all have noticed in the EU, this is completely random. And the process has delayed the arrival of the book for one week :-(
But it is with me, safe and sound.
Thank you for sharing.

Journal Entry 10 by wingpenelopewanderswing at Saint-Loup-des Vignes, Centre France on Tuesday, March 1, 2022
This has arrived safely from Portugal - I'll try to get to it soon. Thanks so much for sending and for the cards.

Journal Entry 11 by wingpenelopewanderswing at Saint-Loup-des Vignes, Centre France on Wednesday, March 9, 2022
I have actually no idea what label to put on this book. Would paranormal or magic be applicable? Not in the usual sense of the word, I don't think. The book is here as a bookcrossing ring, and I have the impression I signed up a bit randomly.
This had me constantly thinking back to José Donoso's The Obscene Bird of Night which I read some fifty years ago. In that book a universe is created so that the son of an aristocratic family, monstrously deformed, has no sense of being different, as all the "freaks" and "monsters" of the land are brought together to create a society where the son is just one of many. Hercules sense of homecoming when he is invited by Barnaby Wilson to join his troupe reminded me of this. I do recommend reading Donoso's book, not that it is so similar to this, but this made me think of it.
This is a very strange book, and I had to constantly remind myself that this was not set in the middle ages, but in the 1800s. The Inquisition seemed somehow out of place here, and yet the struggle between good and evil, or love and hatred is very much present.
I can't really say I enjoyed reading this, but it was quite fascinating in a mesmerizing sort of way, and I did want to know where things would go next. I did find the ending a bit flat and lacking in detail- almost as though the story petered out with the epiphany which resolves Hercules' need for revenge. I would have appreciated reading more about his adventures in the United States - as a forty-eighter, or in the south... but it is just reported in a few lines.
Intriguing book nonetheless.
I just saw there was some difficulty getting Andrasthe's address - hopefully I will have a response soon.

Journal Entry 12 by wingpenelopewanderswing at Beaune-la-Rolande, Centre France on Friday, March 18, 2022

Released 2 yrs ago (3/18/2022 UTC) at Beaune-la-Rolande, Centre France

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This leaves central France for Austria with some very windy spring weather.. Hope you enjoy this, and thanks so much for making it available.

Journal Entry 13 by Andrasthe at Klagenfurt, Kärnten Austria on Wednesday, March 30, 2022
got it

Journal Entry 14 by Andrasthe at Klagenfurt, Kärnten Austria on Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Very sorry it took me so long. I had some battles and challenges to overcome in real life and completely forgot about this novel. Thank you for including me anyways. Apologies.
Sent to Fifna

Journal Entry 15 by wingFifnawing at Voorburg, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Tuesday, July 26, 2022
Arrived safely, thanks Andrasthe!

Journal Entry 16 by wingFifnawing at Voorburg, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Wednesday, August 31, 2022
What an extraordinary story this is. It's odd to say I enjoyed it, because some of it is so gruesome and tragic, but I did enjoy the story very much. In part it reads like a folk tale, and it has the classic love versus hatred and good versus evil in it. I agree that the epilogue was unnecessary - all we needed was a general idea of what happens in the end, and the rest could be left to our imagination.
Thanks for sharing!

Journal Entry 17 by wingFifnawing at Zeist, Utrecht Netherlands on Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Released 1 yr ago (9/8/2022 UTC) at Zeist, Utrecht Netherlands

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Travelling to iiwi.

Journal Entry 18 by wingiiwiwing at Zeist, Utrecht Netherlands on Monday, September 12, 2022
Received!

Journal Entry 19 by wingiiwiwing at Zeist, Utrecht Netherlands on Thursday, December 1, 2022
In the beginning I had a hard time with this book, which is why it has staid with me for longer than a months time. I could not read more then ten pages or so. Maybe due to the fine print? But I am happy I endured as I really got engaged in the latter part of the story.

Journal Entry 20 by wingFraukeRowing at Großefehn, Niedersachsen Germany on Monday, December 19, 2022
A rare Monday postal delivery brought Hercules to our door today :-) Looking forward to reading it!

Journal Entry 21 by wingFraukeRowing at Großefehn, Niedersachsen Germany on Saturday, January 14, 2023

Released 1 yr ago (1/14/2023 UTC) at Großefehn, Niedersachsen Germany

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

That was a fascinating story. I found it a bit slow in the beginning but then it went a lot faster from the middle part onwards. With everything Hercule has to endure, I'm not sure if I take away a message about cruelty and hatred, or about resilience and love... maybe it is the mix of both that makes it interesting.

Now Hercule goes on another trip, travelling to Canada!

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