Maggie M. - , reviewed on 8/23/2013 + 400 more book reviews

Reading/listening to Abundance is so far out of my normal police-procedural/mystery-book genre that I didnt know if Id like it or not. But, always being a lover of period history, I figured Id give it a shot. This book does not disappoint! I loved it, from the way its written/read (language and voice nuisances), to the descriptions of the scenery and clothing, the character interactions, and all the way to the true-history tidbits thrown in. I found myself laughing at some parts and, to my chagrin, crying during descriptions of the rebellion and violence. How can humans be so horrible? Not being quite sure at times what was true history and what was creative writing added in by the author, Sena Jeter Naslund, I searched the internet for details on Marie Antoinette and the time period. In addition, I found paintings of the various characters in the books and I was able to put faces to the individuals interacting with Marie Antoinette and the revolution, as well as the locations given. Never has history been so interesting for me and, I think Ive actually retained it this time (unlike those boring high school books and classes)!

My only disappointment at all (besides the book ending, that is) was listening to the authors interview by Harper Collins at the end of the book. The author does answer some interesting questions about her writing Abundance and her research of Marie Antoinette, but I found her to be quite full of herself, and she really, really likes to hear herself talk. I ended up not finishing the interview because of that factquite vain/smug, in my opinion. Still, all-in-all, if her research and story-telling skills are based on just this book alone, then perhaps she has a right to be arrogant.

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