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3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
This is a fictional account of the life of Mata Hari, the famous exotic dancer in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1917, she was executed by the French government for espionage. Mata Hari was a larger than life figure who fashioned any number of lies about herself and her history to achieve the life she wanted. Those lies came back to bite her in the ass during her farce of a trial.
I really like the structure of this novel. It's told through news articles and confessional letters from a variety of sources, though the bulk of the book is written by Mata Hari, with another significant section written by her lawyer following her conviction.
I'm not totally enamored with this book, though, because I just feel like something's missing. I'm not even sure what is missing exactly, I just feel like I would have wanted to see more of actual experiences during the war. Despite the espionage being the reason for her death and the source of the title, there didn't actually seem to be a lot from her about how she dealt with the counterespionage shenanigans she got caught up in. And I suppose part of that is because even as she's writing her final letter, she doesn't want to lose her front, but it just felt lacking to me.
I really like the structure of this novel. It's told through news articles and confessional letters from a variety of sources, though the bulk of the book is written by Mata Hari, with another significant section written by her lawyer following her conviction.
I'm not totally enamored with this book, though, because I just feel like something's missing. I'm not even sure what is missing exactly, I just feel like I would have wanted to see more of actual experiences during the war. Despite the espionage being the reason for her death and the source of the title, there didn't actually seem to be a lot from her about how she dealt with the counterespionage shenanigans she got caught up in. And I suppose part of that is because even as she's writing her final letter, she doesn't want to lose her front, but it just felt lacking to me.
You’ll learn more about Mata Hari from a Wikipedia article than you will from this novel.
I listened to this as an audiobook.
Short. Interesting but jumpy. Beginning is a different person, and the end is her lawyer.
Short. Interesting but jumpy. Beginning is a different person, and the end is her lawyer.
অনুবাদ ভালো ছিল। গল্পের উপস্থাপনা বিন্দুমাত্র মনে ধরেনি, বরং বিরক্তিকর ঠেকেছে। ফার্স্ট পার্সনে না লিখলেই বোধহয় ভালো হতো, মেকি ভাব বহাল থাকায় তেমন অনুভূতি আসেনি আসলে। উন্মুখ হয়ে পড়া শুরু করেছিলাম তবে বিধির বাম, সেই নেট ঘেটেই মাতা হ্যারি নিয়ে জানতে হবে।
I started this book as it was a gift from a friend and I didn't know anything about Mata Hari's life. But from what I've read in reviews about this book, Paulo Coelho did not do justice to the main character. So I guess I'll research a little bit and then probably I'll rate this one.
.
Mr, Paulo Coelho,
Writing biographies is not your piece of cake. Stick to the philosophical stories, you're better at that.
Prologue was the only part of the whole book that was gripping and rest of the book paced fast in the form of letters written by Mata Hari. The narrator was distracted frequently, going from one event to next and she could not hook the reader anywhere in her dull, distracted story. I reckon that Paulo Coelho couldn't detail the complexities of such a woman of free body and mind. Her thinking pattern could've been elaborated to let the reader be inside her mind and viewing the world with her spectacles. I surmised the book to be an understanding through tragic life of Mata Hari, but it did not live up to the expectations. It only provided a faded blueprint. To say the truth, online articles about Mata Hari have been more interesting to read than the book dedicated to Mata Hari.
Very disappointed.
Mr, Paulo Coelho,
Writing biographies is not your piece of cake. Stick to the philosophical stories, you're better at that.
Prologue was the only part of the whole book that was gripping and rest of the book paced fast in the form of letters written by Mata Hari. The narrator was distracted frequently, going from one event to next and she could not hook the reader anywhere in her dull, distracted story. I reckon that Paulo Coelho couldn't detail the complexities of such a woman of free body and mind. Her thinking pattern could've been elaborated to let the reader be inside her mind and viewing the world with her spectacles. I surmised the book to be an understanding through tragic life of Mata Hari, but it did not live up to the expectations. It only provided a faded blueprint. To say the truth, online articles about Mata Hari have been more interesting to read than the book dedicated to Mata Hari.
Very disappointed.
A little underwhelming. I was hoping to learn more about Mata Hari, but I still felt like this was a very high level overgloss.
I’m not finishing this. It’s awful. The Wikipedia article about Mata Hari is better than this, and, it has the bonus of treating her like a person.
Gave up about a third of the way. The writing is terrible!
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes