The Death of Napoleon
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.59 (701 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 031242177X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 144 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-11-21 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
darren said A short, wonderful novel. Simon Leys usually writes histories, but he created an absolute gem in his only foray into fiction--albeit, historical fiction. Death of Napoleon is a simple and spellbinding must-read, a rare thing of masterful beauty from first page to last.. Thought-provoking A Customer This book is a little gem that examines the different views of people on life. By concentrating wholly on wars and empires, Napoleon "wasted" his life and remarkable mind without ever experiencing the true humanity of exhistence. Love was a complication for him, not a pleasure. To him, what was most important was to make a name for himself, a name that would shine in the annals of posterity. Ley examines the reprecussions of this want of Napoleon. It leaves the "great little emperor" a broken man, a poor farmer, who has never know real happiness. Ley carries his story with color and fevor. I only wish the novelett was longer.. What might have been hrladyship Reading The Death of Napoleon is like having a taste of a rare treat and being satisfied at the end. This novella, depicting how things might have gone had Napoleon escaped from St. Helena, is a lovely read with insights into the character of the former emperor and how he affected people he met. It is also a study of how a small number of people felt about him after he fell from power. This was an accidental find and a most interesting piece of alternate history.P.S. The PR review is incorrect in some of its facts about the story.
Napoleon has escaped St. Travelling incognito through the Continent, he experiences a series of bizarrre adventures that bring him face to face with the myth of Napoleon as it is disconcertingly played out in everyday life.. Helena, but the impersonator he left in his place has unexpectedly passed away
From Publishers Weekly In Leys's deliciously sardonic short fable, Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from imprisonment on the isle of St. The exiled emperor becomes a cabin hand on a crayfish schooner, returns to the Continent under an alias, takes a tourist excursion to the battlefield of Waterloo and eventually makes his way to Paris, where loyal Bonapartists are mourning the death of their hero. While coolly plotting his return to power, the deposed ruler lapses into domestic joy and small-time prosperity as a melon merchant, and becomes the live-in companion of a simple, warmhearted widow whom he knows only as "the Ostrich." On his deathbed, he fails a divine test, too enamored of his lost glory to care for basic human ties. His exquisite tale, a gem of a book, can be read as a parable on the folly of hero-worship, the perils of self-justifying notions of destiny and the vanit