Marie Antoinette; An Order of Amelie, Hold the Fries
86. Hilaire Belloc, Marie Antoinette
This biography of Marie Antoinette, originally published in 1909, covers the entire life of the notorious French queen, but it focuses primarily on her interactions with the French court and her effect on the French populace. Belloc portrays her as an uneducated, ignorant girl who simply didn't comprehend the intricacies of the French court and didn't understand how negatively her naïve behavior would be perceived. Of course, the book also deals with the French Revolution as a whole, and Belloc analyses in minute detail the causes of the discontent in France and Marie Antoinette’s role in them. Ultimately, the book sets forth Belloc’s thesis that the French Revolution was a crisis necessary to revitalize a quickly decaying Europe.
This book is definitely not for the casual reader. Belloc’s style is academic and extremely dry; moreover, he has a very strong point of view that animates almost every page of his book. He takes the long view of history and is very interested in the ideological changes that made the French Revolution possible. Additionally, he is not (nor does he try to be) objective about the people and events he describes: he makes moral judgments about everyone and everything, which I actually found quite interesting. Nowadays historians strive for objectivity and attempt to describe past events without bias, or at least that’s the ideal. Apparently, such was not the case in 1909, and it was very interesting to see Belloc’s different approach. Nevertheless, I found this book a difficult read and would not recommend it.
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87. Nina Schindler, An Order of Amelie, Hold the Fries (trans. Robert Barrett)
Sixteen-year-old Tim is fascinated by the beautiful girl he sees walking down the street one day. When a paper falls out of her purse, he picks it up and discovers that it contains the girl’s name and address. He can’t believe his luck and immediately writes her a letter. However, when he actually gets a response, the girl who writes to him isn’t the girl he saw. Undeterred, Tim strikes up a correspondence with this second girl, Amelie, and soon falls for her humor and charm. Amelie finds herself responding to Tim as well, but their fledgling relationship is complicated by her long-term boyfriend Sebastian.
The premise of this novel is entertaining, as is its format - the story is told entirely through letters, text messages, and random notes between the characters. However, the book is much thinner than I expected - only 136 pages, all told - so there’s literally no room for the characters to develop or for dramatic tension to build. I also found the premise a little unbelievable, in that Tim’s character was so annoying (and downright sketchy!) at first. I felt like Amelie should have been creeped out rather than intrigued. At one point she does get frustrated with Tim and tells him to stop bothering her - but if she really wants him to leave her alone, why does she keep writing him back? If she had just ignored him, he would have given up sooner or later! Perhaps I’m analyzing this too much for such a slight read, and I do think young teens would probably enjoy this book. I found it entertaining enough, but far too short to sink my teeth into.