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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
This book takes one of the most interesting periods of history and removes 90 percent of the drama while annoyingly switching narrative styles and glossing over some of the most important facets of the French Revolution.
For a more interesting account, read a textbook. Or an encyclopedia.
Storming the Bastille? You get half a page.
Killing the King? A couple of lines.
Assassination of Marat? For fuck's sake you don't even get a glimpse at the scene, which was so iconically painted in real life. You do get to hang out right outside the door, however.
Reign of Terror? A half-baked backdrop to the last third of the book. Nowhere is there any sense of its scale.
I don't know if it is better to read this knowing the history or not. I feel like if I didn't already know what happened, I would have been lost and confused. Knowing what happened, I was continually disappointed by the lack of tension in the most dramatic events in the era.
I kept hoping the ending would pay off. But it doesn't. And it really ends before Robespierre's demise. But I'm glad it didn't go into that because it would have added another 70 pages to an already-too-long book.
But you do get some random diary entry of a tertiary character and learn that her favorite historical figure was Mary, Queen of Scots. Maybe you care about that?
Second star is for the marginally interesting new take on Robespierre as something other than diabolical.
For a more interesting account, read a textbook. Or an encyclopedia.
Storming the Bastille? You get half a page.
Killing the King? A couple of lines.
Assassination of Marat? For fuck's sake you don't even get a glimpse at the scene, which was so iconically painted in real life. You do get to hang out right outside the door, however.
Reign of Terror? A half-baked backdrop to the last third of the book. Nowhere is there any sense of its scale.
I don't know if it is better to read this knowing the history or not. I feel like if I didn't already know what happened, I would have been lost and confused. Knowing what happened, I was continually disappointed by the lack of tension in the most dramatic events in the era.
I kept hoping the ending would pay off. But it doesn't. And it really ends before Robespierre's demise. But I'm glad it didn't go into that because it would have added another 70 pages to an already-too-long book.
But you do get some random diary entry of a tertiary character and learn that her favorite historical figure was Mary, Queen of Scots. Maybe you care about that?
Second star is for the marginally interesting new take on Robespierre as something other than diabolical.
Mantel is a fantastic writer and for any fan of historical fiction this would be a fascinating read.
And when evening came the civil servants hurried home; the jewelers of the Place Dauphine came clank, clank with their keys to lock away their diamonds for the night. No homeward cattle, no dusk over the fields; shrug away the sentimentality. In the rue Saint-Jacques a confraternity of shoemakers settled in for a night's hard drinking. In a third-floor apartment in the rue de la Tixanderie, a young woman let in her new lover and removed her clothes. On the Ile Saint-Louis, in a empty office, Maitre Desmoulins's son faced, dry-mouthed, the heavy charm of his new employer. Milliners who worked fifteen hours a day in a bad light rubbed their red-rimmed eyes and prayed for their families in the country. Bolts were drawn, lamps were lit. Actors painted their faces for the performance.
Robespierre and Danton are the two towering figures of the French Revolution. They were almost comically different; Danton living large, with enormous appetites, voice and zest for the challenges of leading a revolution, and Robespierre, tidy, precise and constrained in his personal and public life. They're great fodder for a many a book. However, here Hilary Mantel does something different. She puts the spotlight on Camille Desmoulins, the stuttering lawyer whose speech in the gardens of the Palais Royale was the spark that set the revolution alight. Oh, Mantel spends plenty of time in Danton's head and narrates from the POV of everyone from Robespierre to both of Danton's wives, but the central focus remains on the volatile and scandal-prone Desmoulins. This does make excellent sense; Camille is the connection between Danton and Robespierre, close to both men, but Mantel is interested in Desmoulins for his own sake. This gives a new angle to a familiar story, although Mantel's writing is so fine that she hardly needs the boost.
Usually, it's clear who an author prefers, either Danton or Robespierre. Mantel treads a delicate path of showing both men sympathetic and abundant in faults. She also fleshes out the secondary actors in the Revolution, from Marat (a surprisingly positive portrayal) to Danton's teenage second wife.
Robespierre smiled his thin smile. he was conscious of the thinness of it. If he were remembered into the next generation, people would speak of his thin, cold smile, as they would speak of Danton's girth, vitality, scarred face. He wanted, always, to be different--and especially with Danton. Perhaps the smile looked sarcastic, or patronizing or disapproving. But it was the only one available to his face.
Robespierre and Danton are the two towering figures of the French Revolution. They were almost comically different; Danton living large, with enormous appetites, voice and zest for the challenges of leading a revolution, and Robespierre, tidy, precise and constrained in his personal and public life. They're great fodder for a many a book. However, here Hilary Mantel does something different. She puts the spotlight on Camille Desmoulins, the stuttering lawyer whose speech in the gardens of the Palais Royale was the spark that set the revolution alight. Oh, Mantel spends plenty of time in Danton's head and narrates from the POV of everyone from Robespierre to both of Danton's wives, but the central focus remains on the volatile and scandal-prone Desmoulins. This does make excellent sense; Camille is the connection between Danton and Robespierre, close to both men, but Mantel is interested in Desmoulins for his own sake. This gives a new angle to a familiar story, although Mantel's writing is so fine that she hardly needs the boost.
Usually, it's clear who an author prefers, either Danton or Robespierre. Mantel treads a delicate path of showing both men sympathetic and abundant in faults. She also fleshes out the secondary actors in the Revolution, from Marat (a surprisingly positive portrayal) to Danton's teenage second wife.
Robespierre smiled his thin smile. he was conscious of the thinness of it. If he were remembered into the next generation, people would speak of his thin, cold smile, as they would speak of Danton's girth, vitality, scarred face. He wanted, always, to be different--and especially with Danton. Perhaps the smile looked sarcastic, or patronizing or disapproving. But it was the only one available to his face.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Absolutely loved this book. Subtle, insightful, touching, bone-chilling. I had a podcast that was a read-along companion to Frank Herbert's Dune. One of the really interesting things that I discovered is that not everyone loves the "political intrigue dinner party" scene in Dune as much as I do. If you enjoy that scene, or dialog that happens as much off the page as on, or unheralded paragraph break scene changes designed to shock and humble your brain, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
I also really enjoy the idea that this story is essentially Mantel's head-cannon for the French Revolution, and will never be able to free myself of the characterizations of Danton-the-erotic-ogre and Camille Desmoulins the omni-sexual tentateur for as long as I live. Cannot wait to re-read this in a year or so.
I also really enjoy the idea that this story is essentially Mantel's head-cannon for the French Revolution, and will never be able to free myself of the characterizations of Danton-the-erotic-ogre and Camille Desmoulins the omni-sexual tentateur for as long as I live. Cannot wait to re-read this in a year or so.
In-depth, intense look into the main leaders of the French Revolution and how it came to consume them all. Powerful writing wedding fact with empathic fiction. Leaves you wringing your hands in frustration at how it all went so wrong for the main characters.
dark
funny
tense
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Miscarriage, Murder
Ich mochte Mantels "Wolf Hall"-Trilogie gern, und auch das hier fing interessant an, aber es sind halt 750 Seiten. Am Ende passiert dann wieder mehr, aber da war ich durch den Mittelteil schon so ermattet, dass es mir egal war. Außerdem kommen Frauen überraschend schlecht weg, ich hatte naiv angenommen, bei Autorinnen sei man, was das angeht, in besseren Händen, aber die Frauen in diesem Buch sind auf eine leider viel uninteressantere Art als die Männer manipulativ und berechnend, .