An Old Person Smoking

Antonia Fraser: Marie Antoinette

This is one of those books that I waited for months in my library, but due to extension, are more suitable for summer reading, when you can find more free time to enjoy this service that is so engrossing reading. Occasionally I like to leave the novelistic genre to delve into the life of a historical character, whose adventures in many cases are even more impressive that we can tell a work of fiction. And this is the case of this young queen, who has been vilified, adored and criticized in equal measure, but which history in general, has been a bit unfair. However, Antonia Fraser makes a complex research to conclude that the defects of Marie Antoinette were those of any human being, and instead the strength he showed in many cases actually portray it as a brave woman that he lived one of the most convulsive periods in history. So as reflected in the final paragraph that summarizes the main conclusions reached by this story:

"Compared with the rugged image of a wife evil, manipulative and foreign, the true essence of Marie Antoinette became a mere shadow. After looking without rancor the extraordinary journey that was his life, it follows that their weaknesses, rather than gross, were insignificant compared to their misfortune. Bad luck pursued since France is unable to set foot ambassador of a great power, this woman whom nobody wanted, this girl made a wife, to the end, when became the scapegoat for the failure of the monarchy. Let the Queen have the last word. 'Oh my God, "he wrote in October 1790 - if we blame, and certainly we have atoned."

Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) was the daughter of Emperor Francis I of Austria and his stunning wife, Maria Teresa, an empress with a political weight in Europe in the eighteenth century. Maria Teresa was always very clear that their daughters were key parts of the political fabric of the time (in his own words: " are born to obey and learn to do so in due time "), and Marie Antoinette would not be exception. With only fourteen, and an education quite sloppy in some respects, not being one of the older daughters are not devoted much attention as the other princesses, was sent to Paris to get married the future king of France, Louis XVI. The first years of their marriage were quite difficult, the absence or scarcity of relationships between spouses due to reasons still unknown, which made it impossible for the moment to meet one of the major considerations in a sovereign obligations at that time: give an heir to the kingdom. The lack of communication between her and her husband, who fortunately was communication improved over time significantly, made the young focus their attention on having fun and meet people who could ease his enormous loneliness (hence the image of a queen frivolous and spoiled that history has bequeathed us, image, provided by Fraser, must be qualified). Eventually

Marie Antoinette would have a total of four children, of whom two died still small, a fact that changed forever the character of the young queen. Later developments led to the revolution and the outbreak of it, become your life and your family in a series of dark events and uncertainty among which the attempted escape of the royal family, which became the first step to your ultimate downfall. The author masterfully narrates all these events, and it's hard not to feel moved by the suffering that Marie Antoinette experienced in recent years, fearing for the life of her husband, their children, their friends and, of course, by his own. The accusations led to her execution in 1793 were as absurd as the radical path he had taken a revolution that ended filling the streets of France brutally murdered innocent dead.

Antonia Fraser is removing some of the myths traditionally associated with the sovereign. An example is the excessive love of luxury and touched impossible customs which were apparently well established in the court of Versailles before his early arrival from Austria. The author emphasizes the positive aspects of his personality, as their children unconditional love, affection and respect that came to feel for her husband, his zeal por tratar de agradar a su familia austríaca en su papel de defensora de los intereses de Austria en Francia, o la entereza con que afrontó su juicio y su ejecución a muerte a pesar de la injusticia de las acusaciones vertidas contra ella. Por supuesto que la reina tendría sus defectos y sus flaquezas -todos las tenemos al fin y al cabo-, pero esta obra nos arroja un velo de humanidad nuevo que hace a María Antonieta más cercana, y le devuelve algunas de las virtudes que el tiempo y la memoria le han arrebatado.

Por cierto, Sofia Coppola se inspiró en parte en esta obra para realizar su película sobre la vida de María Antonieta, protagonizada por Kirsten Dunst.

How Much To Fix The Porch

Juan Jose Millas: Clutter in your name

My third foray into Juan Jose Millas this work has been recommended by some of those who visit my blog, and as is happening with this author, has returned to convince me. Although the substantive issues are similar to those that frame his later novels (this was first published in 1988), it would still be an enjoyable read and above all capable of causing unease in the reader. The mix between fiction and reality and the fascination with the theme of identity reappear in this book, whose protagonists are July Orgaz, an executive at a publishing house that falls madly in love with Laura, a married woman with whom remain a passionate affair , and the psychoanalyst the first, Carlos Rodo. These characters are a love triangle with unforeseeable consequences that will eventually greatly altering the lives of the three involved.

Laura is a beautiful young woman, who quit his job to devote himself to caring for her husband and her only daughter, Agnes. Everyday low to the park with its small, and will be there where he meets Julia, who is immediately smitten. Your marriage is no longer satisfied, he feels alone and lost, and the arrival of Julius is a breath of fresh air that gives strength to renew, and also mark the beginning of a sharp turn in his life.

El verdadero protagonista de la novela es, no obstante, Julio. Es un personaje algo antipático conforme se le va conociendo -al menos eso me pareció a mí-. Es un editor que además trata de convertirse en escritor, pero aún no ha publicado nada, y envidia a aquellos más jóvenes que él que ya han sido capaces de demostrar su talento. Es significativo su encuentro con un joven escritor, Orlando Azcárate, que al no mostrarle el respeto que él espera debido a su cargo, hace que Julio llegue a oponerse a la publicación de su obra, aún reconociendo que ésta presenta una gran calidad. La novela que Julio proyecta en su mente tiene el mismo título que la nos ocupa, El desorden your name, thereby further confuse reality and fiction.

desvelaros

I do not want much more of a story in itself, never ceases to amaze on every page. I will say that the plot goes a long way, and really worth misled by the pen and subterfuge Miles. Increasingly find more parallels between the author and Paul Auster, because both are concerned about similar issues. The identity, as mentioned, is one of them, and another could be the small coincidences that just changing the course of our lives. Since then, with respect to the latter, I can not agree more. At the end of the day are those acontecimientos nimios, sin importancia, los que muchas veces pueden hacernos tomar caminos completamente diferentes a los que habíamos planeado en un principio.

Por cierto, es curioso que los protagonistas de esta novela se llamen igual que los de otra de Millás que ya reseñé en este espacio, Laura y Julio . Si alguien conoce el porqué de esta coincidencia (si es que lo hay, y no se trata de otro de los juegos a los que tan dado es este autor), espero que sea tan amable de desvelarlo. Curiosa que es una.

Más reseñas de obras de Juan José Millás:
- El mundo
- Laura y Julio

Career Fair Invitations, School Board

ZARRALUKI PEDRO: All that we love

"Las guerras tienen una cosa buena, sólo una: nos enseñan con crueldad lo que estamos a punto de perder. La vida misma se muestra como lo que es, un tesoro frágil. En la guerra la vida es sagrada. Y sin embargo ahora, en estos tiempos miserables, la protegemos con cicatería, como el dinero cuando lo metemos en el banco. Ya no sabemos lo complicado, lo difícil, lo maravilloso que es sobrevivir. Eso sólo se sabe cuando se ha vivido una guerra o cuando uno se ha hecho tan viejo que vuelve a necesitar arriesgarse. No quiero una guerra, Dios me libre, pero sí emociones."

Con estas palabras summarizes Thomas, one of the protagonists of the story, her son Ricardo, what you feel in a time of life when, tired of the routine and habits, decides to break with everything and disappearing in a small coastal town Catalan. This is the argument leading to Zarraluki, a writer unknown to me but I was convinced by this novel, to spin a story fully human, very beautiful, with characters that are more than real. A book that is read with pleasure.

Tom is a retired architect who one day decides to leave home and go, causing great concern in his ex-wife and his son Richard. This goes to look and fortunately it is in a village not far de Barcelona, donde parece ser que Tomás está a punto de iniciar una nueva vida. Las circunstancias personales de Ricardo, cuya novia le ha abandonado hace poco y con un trabajo del que se siente más que hastiado, influyen en la decisión de quedarse en el pueblo con su padre, al principio para "vigilarlo" y asegurarse de que está bien, aunque más tarde descubrirá otras razones para no volver a lo que quedaba de su antigua vida. Padre e hijo redescubren poco a poco su relación, en un ambiente completamente diferente al ajetreo de la gran ciudad, y rodeados por una serie de personajes que les enseñarán mucho sobre la vida y sobre ellos mismos. A medida que Tomás y Ricardo se reencuentran, el lector va conociendo la vida pasada de ambos, y las circunstancias que les han llevado a ambos a ser como son. Es, en definitiva, una historia sobre la vida misma, sobre la necesidad de reencontrarnos cuando todo parece haberse perdido, sobre la recuperación de la ilusión de vivir, y sobre las lecciones que los demás pueden enseñarnos si aprendemos a escuchar y dejamos de centrarnos en nosotros mismos.

Los personajes que Tomás y Ricardo conocerán en su aventura son igualmente interesantes. Lola es la dueña de la pensión donde ambos se alojan. Una mujer arisca y algo extraña que con el tiempo irá enseñando su verdadera cara y haciéndose mucho más sociable. Marcelo, un hombre fascinado por la literatura, y su esposa Paquita, siempre dispuesta a bromear a pesar de su ceguera. María, a punto de casarse, la taxista "oficial" del pueblo, posee la capacidad de ver cosas donde los demás no son capaces de encontrar nada, el don de " mirar a su alrededor y estar a gusto en ninguna parte ", según el propio Ricardo. Y no podemos olvidar a la bella multimillonaria Bárbara Baldova, empeñada en restaurar una aldea minúscula para crear allí un lugar ideal donde artistas de todo el mundo puedan liberar su vena creativa sin tener que preocuparse por cuestiones económicas. También es un personaje curioso el de la madre de Ricardo, Cristina, empeñada en seguir manejando los hilos de un matrimonio que, aunque roto en el pasado, sigue en actually very much alive, and perhaps the only one that really know Thomas is able to love without reservation, without asking anything in return.

Although the argument may be a little original sin, the truth is that the novel convincing enough, because I think all we ever felt the need to escape, to break with what we have, getting lost in some unknown place to find the answer these questions, for more laps than we give, we are unable to respond. And what better place to get lost and found again that a picturesque village situated between the beach and the mountains, where the stresses and strains remain in the background? Maybe that's what I liked of the novel, which contains a positive message: change is possible at any time in our lives. We just have to start it, dare to take the plunge. And it is not physically escape from our environment, but to leave behind what we do not like and find what we believe will make us happy, find all that we love.

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Irene Nemirovsky: French Suite

Némirovski Irène met thanks to this little masterpiece entitled Dance, outlined earlier in this blog. In this book I was dazzled his way to draw the characters, their way of showing the rotten and sick of some relationships, all in a novel breve de poco más de 100 páginas. Pues bien, siendo esta Suite Francesa un proyecto mucho más ambicioso, creo que, a pesar de que se lee con cierto interés, queda por detrás de la obra antes mencionada. El proyecto de la novela comprendía cinco partes, pero la fatalidad hizo que Irène solamente pudiera terminar las dos primeras. En 1942 fue detenida y deportada al campo de concentración de Auschwitz, donde la escritora murió en agosto de ese mismo año. Poco después su marido corría la misma suerte. Fueron pues sus hijas quienes, sesenta años después, sacaron a la luz el manuscrito de esta inacabada obra y la publicaron en Francia en el año 2004.

Como le ocurría to Dance, where the protagonist's relationship with his mother was inspired by the real relationship between Némirovsky and her mother-a relationship difficult and bleak as we know, in this work we find, if not glimpses of life Irene, a portrait of French society of the forties in which she lived. The book begins with a first part, entitled Storm in June, where we follow the adventures of a group of characters who decide to leave Paris before the Nazi occupation imminent, and that will show on that tour its miseries and its virtues, taking the worst and the best of themselves, as often happens in such circumstances. The Péricand are a family of high French society must give up their luxuries and survive in a rural environment saturated with exiles who, like them, fleeing cities were falling into the hands of the Germans. The writer Gabriel Corte and Florence, his partner will be real trouble for some food to the mouth, but court will refuse to give up some privileges that are no longer made sense in the France of that time, appearing to our eyes as a anachronistic characters, anchored to a company temporarily destroyed. Oriental art collector Charles Langelet also portrayed the same way, and demonstrate a complete lack of scruples and principles for ensuring their own survival. Michaud lastly, the only ones who seem to retain their humanity and values \u200b\u200bin these very scrambled, represent the lower-middle class Parisian. For them the most important thing is your own love life as a couple and their son, who struggles against the Nazis in the French army. To them to one of the most beautiful paragraphs of the novel, a dialogue between the two that I leave here the significance of its contents:

"- Maurice ... How strange are things I have gone to be bitter and disillusioned and yet are not unhappy, I mean inside. Am I wrong?
- No.
- But So what comforts you?
- The certainty of my inner freedom, "said Maurice after a moment's reflection," that is precious and unchanging, and to keep it or lose it just depends on me. The passions that led to the end, as now, eventually fade. That what had a beginning have an end. In a word, that disasters happen and they should not go before them, that's all. So the first thing is to live: Primum Vivere. Day. Live, expect, trust. "

The second part is entitled Dolce , and is set in a French village, which also appears in part, located in the German occupation. Némirovsky tells here the difficult relations between rulers and ruled, among which also comes to arise in times of friendship and, of course, love. In this case, the main character is Cecile, a young woman who lives with his mother in a mansion closed and bolted to the outside world. Ce Cecile's husband has fallen, it seems, a prisoner of the Germans. The old woman is totally against the invaders, and also has very little regard to her daughter, while Cecile, either happy or relieved in part by the absence of a husband who does not want and that is cheating on him with another, not so reluctant to approach the new arrivals opportunity that is given by the forced presence of a German officer who will live a while in the house with the two women.

is curious that in this book the author does not give us a negative view of Germans. The one that goes wrong is rather stop the war, that is to blame for the separation of parents and children and entire families. She is responsible for much suffering. The Germans stationed in France appear as soldiers who have been forced to perform a task, but they are portrayed with human dyes and almost on par with the French themselves. In fact, it insists that most were friendly and wanted to please those whose lands they had occupied in the night morning. This portrait is so close and friendly by Némirovsky surprising in part to the reader, especially if we know the dramatic end to the writer. Of course, if it intended that the work was published and not knowing how long they remain on French soil invaders, it follows that no criticism in his work to the newcomers. But it appears that Némirovsky had suspicions of his own tragic end was imminent, according to measures against Jews were being taken in France itself, and that she suffered at seeing his works ceased to be published. I'm as interested in a Irène reflect what actually was, and able to separate in their valuation at the leaders who ordered all this slaughter and those who, in most cases, had no choice but to comply if they wanted to preserve his life. Some soldiers were so prisoners as the French themselves.

I have enjoyed more with the second part. Perhaps because the characters or the story it unfolds, more lively and appealing. The first one I did a little difficult. At the end of the book also includes appendices that appear in the author's own notes about the work you are writing, accompanied by personal correspondence of Irene and her family in the period before and immediately after his death. Is a poignant testimony of barbarism meant for millions of people the senselessness of World War II. Closing the book can still see Irene, writing as far from Paris, even knowing that, possibly, his work would be posthumously (it says so explicitly in one of his letters). Pity we did not make a mistake.

More reviews of works by Irène Némirovsky:
- Dance