This is a fitting book to be my last post of 2006 considering that NYC is overflowing with “abundance” these past few weeks.  Goldman Sachs alone just paid $16 billion in bonuses - an average of $622,000 per employee and apparently the secretaries were pissed off that they only walked away with an average of $120,000.  So as I open the NY Times every day and read about these Wall Street bonuses, the book “Abundance” which is a historical novel about the life of Marie Antoinette, suddenly didn’t seem so outrageous.

 

I am a fan of historical novels and with all the buzz this year about Marie Antoinette, this sounded like a good read.  Plus, the author is Sena Jeter Naslund who also wrote, Ahab’s Wife, which was a favorite pick of mine a few years ago.

Overall, the book was about a B.  The book was told in the first person and I thought Naslund did a good job of portraying Antoinette’s voice throughout the book.  The story began when she was 14 and and the prose definitely conveyed a young teenager’s voice.  As the book progresses through her 20’s and into her 30’s, the reader follows her maturation from a teenage girl to a young woman who is then executed at age 37 during the Reign of Terror.

One of 10 children of the Empress Marie Therese of Austria, Marie Antoinette was married off to Louis XVI and became the Dauphine of France, in order to align the French and Austrian empires.  Antoinette is portrayed as an innocent girl whose sole purpose in life is to please her mother and her husband and have fun.  Prior to reading this book, I always envisioned Antoinette to be a scheming, selfish person but both she and Louis XVI are shown to be naive, somewhat unintelligent people who had no idea with how to deal with the changes that were happening around them.   She is also portrayed as compassionate and while she believes that it is her divine right to rule over France, there are also many scenes throughout the book where she wishes to have the “simple, peasant life”.  Seemingly naive to the impact that her whims have on the royal coffers, she spends money whenever and wherever she likes.  Ironically, she views herself as sympatico with the peasants but then spends millions to build herself a charming cottage so that she can live like “them.” 

Much of the first half of the book discusses the inability of the King to consummate their marriage much to Antoinette and everyone else in the court’s chagrin.  It is quite humorous to read about all the ritual surrounding their sexual relations or lack thereof.  Between the sex, the court intrigue, her relationship with another man, Count Axel von Fersen of Sweden and all the descriptions of her clothing and hair, it was an easy, fun book to read.

” he builds a steep cliff straight up from the forehead.  High up in this hairy tree trunk, he will embed embellishments.  His case overflows with fruits of all sorts, animals, especially monkeys, jeweled flowers, carriages, a herd of cows, a sailing ship larger than two hands with all its miniature masts, line and canvas sails.  I have asked for something musical to plant in my coif today……..”

If you have any interest in her or the French revolution - it’s worth a read.  If not - pass.

Happy Holidays to all my fellow BGB bloggers!