What do You think about Il Diario Proibito Di Maria Antonietta (2011)?
I was set to give this book three stars. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't great. I reduced my rating to 2.5 stars because there were a few things that really bugged me.My biggest issue I had was with the language in the book. I don't know if this was an issue with the Kindle version or if this is a problem with all versions. I don't speak French. Not even a little bit. I speak a little German but I am by no means fluent. The constant use of the two different languages with no translation drove me nuts. Some of the words I was able to figure out using contextual clues but even then I had to seek out translations just to make sure. From what I have found this was a book meant to be published in English. I can understand if this book was translated to English but that doesn't seem to be the case. I realize the author may have used the various languages as an attempt to authenticate the story but at the end of the day, it just got in the way of my reading. Another huge problem I had was with the way the author referred to inoculations. I am not going to go into a lot of detail about why I had a problem with it. It boils down to a personal preference and how I would have handled the situation differently in an attempt to avoid reader confusion.I will say the descriptions in the book were well done. The manner in which the author went into detail about the time and effort spent into Marie's various hairstyles was interesting and provided some insight into the era. I also painfully enjoyed the author's description of Marie's braces. I was fortunate enough to never need braces in my lifetime. I can't imagine getting them in a time before painkillers stronger than brandy. As hard as it might be to believe, I am more than likely going to continue on with the trilogy. Only because I'm interested in seeing how the author interprets the politics of the era. I did enjoy about the first third of the book. Marie's childhood in Austria was an interesting read but once Marie arrived in France, the story went down hill. I know the events in France start to pick up throughout the reign of Marie Antoinette and it is for that reason I will more than likely give the next book in this trilogy a try.
—regie
Maria Antonia finds herself destined to become the future Queen of France, and she goes through endless training and remonstrances from her elders about how a Dauphine needs to conduct herself, and yet also navigate the touchy and treacherous minefields of diplomacy.That's difficult for someone who is not an avid book-learner like Maria, but she understands her role and does the best she can. Upon meeting her husband (already wed by proxy, of course), she despairs what her future will be, but tries making the best of it.There was plenty of the vacant fatuousness that we expect from Marie Antoinette, but it wasn't unfeeling. She had boatloads of compassion for her subjects, as she was taught in her mother's court in Austria. Perhaps the Hapsburgs felt more duty to being caring sovereigns than the Bourbons, or it was a convenient mechanism by the author to make her more sympathetic. Regardless, I liked the characterization and it didn't feel forced. In fact, I felt so bad for both her and Louis, two teenagers who are thrown together for political purposes. She is game to make what she can of her situation, but Louis is not, so therefore her job is twice as hard: how to maintain her sense of ladylike honor and demeanor and try to get Louis to consummate their marriage?I listened to the audiobook version, and it was fantastic. Read by the author herself, it was brimming full of dramatic flair. Who else would be as familiar with the words, right? The voices of the male characters were very well done, and every single voice was distinct and consistent. Because there isn't really much "plot" in the story other than Marie's upbringing and grooming as Dauphine, and diplomatic discussions between various characters, the wholehearted narration overcame that shortcoming. I probably would have gotten bored reading it, but listening to it was a joy. Highly recommend the audio.I will definitely be listening to the other books in the trilogy.
—Aby
I loved it! So charming!!
—sav
