Book: Marie Antoinette
Author: Antonia Fraser
Method: borrowed(mum)
My mother and I went to see the movie this book was based on when it came out. She had read the book, but I hadn't. Long story short, we left giggling around the time that Kirsten Dunst's laughably huge head started crying on screen about the face that all her friends were having babies and she couldnt get Louie to touch her with a 10 ft pole. After this I was not expecting much from this book except to read about a frivolous and stupid woman who ate Bon bons, bought shoes and was with great finality beheaded before her subjects.
I was shocked at how much I enjoyed this book, especially because I am not big on biographies. I prefer bio fiction, but Fraser is a very impressive writer. I think she must choose her subjects very carefully and with a lot of research. She chooses characters who evolve over time, and this is incredibly present in this novel.
Marie Antoinette did begin her life as a frivolous woman who wore gorgeous clothes and diamonds, but as she grew older she educated herself and attempted to work towards the bettering of her ravaged country. She became queen at the worst time possible. She and her family were doomed by the path france had to take to rid itself of the monarchy. However, I believe she and not louie was the focus of this novel because she was the one who was beloved by the people and then despised as a wicked Austrian dog (among other heinous nicknames). For some reason it was always Marie that bore the full brunt of the peoples feelings.
In the beginning she is an impossible character to sympathize with. She is lazy and petulant and has no patience for anything but the surface beauty. And I believe this was the great failing of the movie, because they never got to the point in her life where she becomes remotely likable. It is Strange to me that when I couldn't stand her in the book is when she was at her most popular and when I grew to sympathize with her was when the people of france were calling for her blood.
This is one of those books where you obviously know the ending. But I found, unlike in the movie, I was so saddened by the ending, it got me all teary eyed. It was so brutal to hear about the total eradication of her whole family and her friends.
Even though at the beginning of their rein, you see that they realize the people were restless and unhappy, but they seem to dismiss it as something that will resolve itself. What happened is something that had never happened before, so you can see why the monarchy didn't believe that anything would actually happen
xo- ellebee
Author: Antonia Fraser
Method: borrowed(mum)
My mother and I went to see the movie this book was based on when it came out. She had read the book, but I hadn't. Long story short, we left giggling around the time that Kirsten Dunst's laughably huge head started crying on screen about the face that all her friends were having babies and she couldnt get Louie to touch her with a 10 ft pole. After this I was not expecting much from this book except to read about a frivolous and stupid woman who ate Bon bons, bought shoes and was with great finality beheaded before her subjects.
I was shocked at how much I enjoyed this book, especially because I am not big on biographies. I prefer bio fiction, but Fraser is a very impressive writer. I think she must choose her subjects very carefully and with a lot of research. She chooses characters who evolve over time, and this is incredibly present in this novel.
Marie Antoinette did begin her life as a frivolous woman who wore gorgeous clothes and diamonds, but as she grew older she educated herself and attempted to work towards the bettering of her ravaged country. She became queen at the worst time possible. She and her family were doomed by the path france had to take to rid itself of the monarchy. However, I believe she and not louie was the focus of this novel because she was the one who was beloved by the people and then despised as a wicked Austrian dog (among other heinous nicknames). For some reason it was always Marie that bore the full brunt of the peoples feelings.
In the beginning she is an impossible character to sympathize with. She is lazy and petulant and has no patience for anything but the surface beauty. And I believe this was the great failing of the movie, because they never got to the point in her life where she becomes remotely likable. It is Strange to me that when I couldn't stand her in the book is when she was at her most popular and when I grew to sympathize with her was when the people of france were calling for her blood.
This is one of those books where you obviously know the ending. But I found, unlike in the movie, I was so saddened by the ending, it got me all teary eyed. It was so brutal to hear about the total eradication of her whole family and her friends.
Even though at the beginning of their rein, you see that they realize the people were restless and unhappy, but they seem to dismiss it as something that will resolve itself. What happened is something that had never happened before, so you can see why the monarchy didn't believe that anything would actually happen
xo- ellebee
No comments:
Post a Comment