Napoleon: The Song of Departure

Napoleon #1

by Max Gallo

In May 1779, the son of a prominent but poor Corsican family arrives at a military school in eastern France. Barely able to speak the language and fiercely proud of his Genoese heritage, it will nevertheless take Napoleon Bonaparte just 20 years to become absolute ruler of the country he once saw as his oppressor. Set against the murderous unpredictability of revolutionary politics and the battlefields of Italy, Egypt, and France, The Song of Departure introduces us to the man who would become the Little Emperor.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, France, Historical, 18th Century, 19th Century, Literature

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Max Gallo was a French writer, historian and politician.

The son of Italian immigrants, Max Gallo's early career was in journalism. At the time he was a Communist (until 1956). In 1974, he joined the Socialist Party. On April 26, 2007, the French Academy recorded his candidacy for its Seat 24, formerly held by the late Jean-François Revel. He was elected to the French Academy on 31 May 2007.

Reviews

[Nadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

« Mais qu'est ce qu'un homme sans ambition ? Une terre stérile. »

Dans ce premier tome, Max Gallo raconte la vie de Napoléon dans les moindres détails. Son écriture très lyrique et descriptive ranime la vie de son objet de biographie et nous fait connaitre l'homme Napoléon. Au delà de cela, son style fluide permet le lecteur de facilement rentrer dans le monde et dans la tête de Napoléon.

Nous rencontrons le jeune homme Bonaparte alors qu'il a à peine atteint ses dix ans. Il vient d'être envoyé en France, pour commencer une nouvelle vie dans ce pays étranger. Il est seul, il rentre dans l'école militaire de Brienne. Cet enfant qui ne maîtrise pas encore la langue française, qui n'est pas impressionné par les paysages gris. Ce petit garçon, ensuite jeûne homme devenu officier, sera l'un des plus grands personnages dans l'histoire de la France. Gallo nous fait connaître les pensées les plus intimes de Napoléon, nous fait observer le conflit qui se déroule à l'intérieur de lui, entre le Napoléon de la Corse, et celui de la France. « Il se sent, peut-être pour la première fois depuis l'enfance, uni en lui-même, comme si les deux parties séparées de son être s'étaient enfin rejointes. »

Plus tard, la trahison de la Corse quand les partisans de Paoli brûlent sa maison familiale; cependant c'est la France qui devient sa patrie. Comme chef d'artillerie à Toulon il découvre vite son influence sur les hommes, une nouvelle force qui naît au fond de son être. « Sa foi en lui-même s'enracine : il est celui qui sait commander aux hommes. » Le général devenu vainqueur suite à ses batailles victorieuses. On le voit pendant l'expédition militaire en Egypte en 1798, sa relation et son correspondance avec Joséphine, cette épouse infidèle qui suscite en lui la jalousie; et son retour en France jusqu'au coup d'État du 18 Brumaire.

J'ai beaucoup aimé ce livre de Max Gallo et je continuerai sa série des romans sur Napoléon. Pourtant, je pense qu'il faut classifier ce livre comme un roman historique et non un livre d'histoire. L'histoire de Napoléon est romancé et il y a bien-sûr des passages où on peut pas être sûr de la crédibilité, vu qu'il n'existe pas des sources précises sur ces moments-là dans la vie de Napoléon. Il serait donc mieux de complimenter sa lecture avec des articles sur le contexte historique ou bien un autre livre sur Napoléon.

[Jelena Nemet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ability is nothing without opportunity.

[Romulus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Niezła powieść. A raczej fabularyzowana biografia. Autor przyjmuje w niej (a raczej w nich - to zbiorcze wydanie dwóch powieści, we wcześniejszym wydaniu podzielonych na cztery) perspektywę Napoleona. Choć narracja jest trzecioosobowa to jednak tylko z perspektywy głównego bohatera.

Kilka lat temu czytałem biografię Napoleona napisaną przez Andrew Robertsa i choć była świetna to moglem poczekać na te powieści. Jest bogato jeśli chodzi o wydarzenia, bo i Napoleon miał takie bogate życie. Z pewnością lepiej się czytało od kiedy objął dowództwo nad Armią Italii. Od tego momentu wir wydarzeń nabiera prędkości. Aczkolwiek w przeciwieństwie do książki Robertsa w powieści bardziej rozmiękczono małżeństwo z Józefiną. Nie zmienia to faktu, że była jego pierwszą i wielką miłością. Tyle że dla niej to małżeństwo było tylko interesem i od samego początku zdradzała Napoleona. A kiedy przestała to on zaczął zdradzać ją. A mimo to trwał w tym związku. Do czasu, oczywiście. To jedna z najlepszych love story w dziejach.

Powieść jest świetnie napisana. Doskonale się ją czyta. Pochłania, choć kiedy przeliczyłem spędzone nad nią dni, dzienna porcja stron wcale nie wypadała imponująco. Raptem pięćdziesiąt kilka stron dziennie. Przeszkadzało mi to, że paradoksalnie dominuje tu tylko Napoleon i skupienie się wyłącznie na nim. Przy takim planie to chyba oczywiste, mimo to perspektywa tylko jednej postaci w połączeniu z fabularyzacją biografii czyniło tę powieść nie tak emocjonującą jak oczekiwałem. Może za dużo tu biografii a za mało literatury? Niemniej, zabrałem się już za drugą część (w pierwszym wydaniu podzieloną na dwie książki).

[zuzia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish Napoleon was real

[El Bibliófilo · Rating 3 out of 5]

My comments in video https://youtu.be/NVVim_d6Izc

He did more honor to Malraux than to Stendhal.
The French writer expert on Napoleon presents us with an ambitious work in which he presents the life of Napoleon. Written in the third person, with the addition of Napoleon's thoughts in italics, and some dialogues (which seem more like monologues because Napoleon hardly ever receives an answer) make the work seem like a documentary. In the video you can see other criticisms that I make as well as highlight some interesting reflections. I say that it does more honor to Malraux's dedication because it is equally focused on the hero without showing other interesting aspects of the time as Stendhal did, however, I would recommend reading it for the thoroughness and detail that it allows us to know.
I compare the work with that of Cesar by Colleen McCullough and I miss that figures other than Napoleon stand out. I would even like to see what Posteguillo would do.
I await his comments.

Hizo más honor a Malraux que a Stendhal.
El escritor frances experto en Napoleón nos presenta una obra ambiciosa en la que presenta la vida de Napoleón. Escrita en tercera persona, con añadidura en cursiva de los pensamientos de Napoleón, y algunos diálogos (que más parecen monólogos porque casi nunca Napoleón recibe respuesta) hacen que la obra parezca un documental. En el video podrán ver otras críticas que hago así como destaco algunas reflexiones interesantes. Digo que hace más honor a la dedicatoria de Malraux porque está igualmente centrada en el héroe sin mostrar otros aspectos interesantes de la época como sí hizo Stendhal, sin embargo, la recomendaría leer por la minuciosidad y detalle que nos permite conocer.
Comparo la obra con la de Cesar de Colleen McCullough y extraño que se destaquen otras figuras aparte de Napoleón. Incluso me gustaría ver lo que Posteguillo haría.
Espero sus comentarios.

[Milaii · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dla mnie może zbyt szczegółowa. Wolałabym jednak, żeby te opisy przygotowań do bitew i aspekty polityczne były jedynie wspomniane, ewentualnie napisane w taki sposób, który by bardziej zaangażował takiego czytelnika jak ja, czyli takiego, który akurat historią Europy w ogóle się nie interesuje.

Przy tej okazji myślę o reportażu Kajś. Opowieść o górnym Śląsku. Gdzie temat, dla mnie, mało atrakcyjny, bo ani Śląskiem, ani historią się nie interesuję, a byłam totalnie wciągnięta. Także da się.

Tę książkę czytało się trochę jak podręcznik szkolny. Ciekawy, ale wciąż podręcznik. To jest b. książka historyczna.

Aspekt psychologiczny Napoleona, na który liczyłam, jego charakter, motywacje, mocne i słabe strony, na szczęście, zostały tu przedstawione, równie szczegółowo. I te fragmenty książki były dla mnie najciekawsze.

[Aya Lawliet · Rating 4 out of 5]

La scrittura di Gallo non è delle più leggere, ma avendo precedentemente molto apprezzato la sua biografia romanzata di Luigi XIV ho voluto dare una possibilità anche al suo Napoleone - figura storica che, al contrario della precedente, mi è sempre stata un po' sullo stomaco. E non posso dire che me l'abbia fatto riuscire improvvisamente simpatico. Però penso di poter dire di capire meglio, adesso, una personalità così scaltra e ambiziosa, che tanto ha determinato il corso della storia. Mi accingo con molte aspettative alla lettura del secondo volume, che riprende da Austerlitz.

[Suzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,75/5
Piękna biografia, bogate słownictwo. Dlaczego nie 5 gwiazdek?
Czasami ciężko się czytało.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the original in French .Fantastic Book highly recommended

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much has been written about Napoleon over the years. I won't add much to that deluge, because the point I want to make in this review is simple. I want to emphasise the importance of speed in the life of Napoleon and other great men, such as Caesar, Teddy Roosevelt, and Elon Musk. Whether or not all great men possess speed is irrelevant. That the men listed above possess it is proof of enough of its importance.

By speed I mean two things. Great men possess speed in both senses.

In the first sense, someone who possesses speed thinks, decides, and acts quickly, relative to their peers, without sacrificing the quality of those thoughts, acts, decisions. This definition is straightforward and is what I guess most people think speed means. A recent example of speed is Elon Musk massively downsizing Twitter staff and implementing significant operational changes ($8 per month blue checks) less than one week after taking it over.

In the second sense, someone who possesses speed feels compelled to be speedy in the first sense. In this sense, people actively try to be speedy; they have a need for speed. One example of this sense of speed is Teddy Roosevelt completing his university studies in half the allotted time and reading multiple books per day, even when he was President.

It's unclear how much the two senses are extricable, although it's clear that they're two separate things. I think it's possible to be speedy in the first sense without being speedy in the second. For example, I can conceive of someone who never procrastinates, but who also never rushes; thus, they're speedy in the first sense but not in the second. I imagine that meticulous and detail-oriented people, such as Augustus and Bezos, are speedy in this limited sense. Similarly, I can conceive of someone who rushes everything they do, executes poorly, and thus gets very little done. We see these busybodies every day: we call them stress-heads. They do shallow, unimportant work. This is why speediness in the first sense demands that speed does not sacrifice the quality of our thoughts, decisions, and actions. Poor performance clearly is not characteristic of history's greatest men.

Napoleon, and all the other great men listed, are speedy in both senses. They both acted quickly and felt compelled to act quickly. Author Max Gallo draws attention to Napoleon's speed often. He frequently ends chapters by saying something like, 'He is only nineteen years old', or, 'He has been twenty-five for five days now', or, 'Everything is still to be done'. These statements of age draw attention to Napoleon's precocity, how rapidly his fortunes change, the speed with which he gathers power. The last phrase emphasises speed in the second sense: Napoleon was a man of action who always felt that there was more to be done. Not only did not procrastinate, he positively rushed to do things. Hence his use of forced marches, which surprised so many of the armies he'd go on to crush. Hence his obsessive letter-writing to Josephine: he would sometimes write her multiple letters a day. Hence his pathological inability to rest: instead of consolidating power in Europe after his overwhelming victories, he pushed onwards into Russia; and when in Cairo, he planned to do as Alexander did and conquer India.

I noted earlier that not all great men rush. Some are patient, slow, meticulous. I have no opinion about which is better, although I suspect that most people would benefit from not being speedy in the second sense, because it sounds exhausting. Indeed, Napoleon, Teddy, and Elon have all been called madmen by their peers for their manic restlessness. Napoleon was so charged with energy that he would often pace up and down whatever room he was in at the time, his mind racing, unable to sleep. Teddy was known to do the same while beating one fisted hand into the other, chanting, "Get action, do things, be sane". And the mind consistently boggles at Elon Musk's work ethic and aggressive project timelines.

All of these great men were clearly energetic aliens. I suspect that it's possible to become an energetic alien through practice. Probably some of it's genetic, just like short sleeping. But I digress.

The one feature of both Napoleon's career and his personality that author Max Gallo emphasises is his speed. In the case of Caesar, it's possible that his speed was due in part to spectacular political intuition. Perhaps something in him just knew the right path to take. No doubt Napoleon had great intuition, too. But as he said himself, "Give me lucky generals", meaning, luck comes to those who are prepared and who act well when the time is right. Gallo also makes clear that Napoleon's speed and decisiveness were due in large part to his studious nature. It was only because he was so well-versed in, well, everything that he acted with such enormous confidence. Napoleon knew his shit. In military school, he abandoned all other subjects and studied maths obsessively for months in order to secure a promotion. He read and reread whatever books he could get his hands on, perhaps suspecting that one day it would be useful. In this way he learned ancient Roman law when he was still a teenager, which came in handy years later when he wrote entire constitutions from scratch. His used his maths knowledge to calculate the trajectories of all of the cannons he organised when he was an artillery commander--in other words, he micromanaged everything and stored up wells of knowledge just in case they would be useful, which they often did.

Teddy, as mentioned, was also phenomenally well-read; he'd probably read more than other political figure in the world at that time. Countless anecdotes about Musk confirm that he speaks at length to his employees about all the nitty-gritty details of their jobs. As proof, watch him speak about rocketry engineering and car design minutiae on YouTube. Caesar was known, as Napoleon was also, to burn through scribes to whom he'd dictate political missives. Both of them communicated so consistently about so many things that not even a small army of personal assistants could keep up with the simple task of transcription!

It seems clear to me that contributing to their speed was an absolute mastery of the minutiae of their positions. Rapid, confident, successful decision-making was possible only because they had studied in minute detail most everything there was to know about what they were doing. This greatly minimised uncertainty and thus decision-making delay. Napoleon is written as a perpetual insomniac who ruminates endlessly about every conceivable outcome of his decisions. Max Gallo even has him say, "To succeed, one must anticipate everything". This extends to anticipating every move his own soul might make. In this novel, Gallo has Napoleon journaling through the night, writing about himself and the world, forming his own opinions in ever more decisive terms. Massive self-knowledge is another way Napoleon maps the territory of his life and reduces uncertainty about life's terrain. It's only through prolific writing and reflection that he develops the intransigent republicanism that eventually morphs into his historic narcissism. He was absolutely cock-sure of himself. His obsessive study of his own inner life made his purpose clear, and his equally obsessive study of the world around him helped make his purpose of world-domination real.

But how to explain his compulsion? Why did he feel he needed to act? One could speculate for ages. I won't. (Thanks for encouraging me focus on useful things, Napoleon!) It seems to me though that Napoleon viewed time itself as merely one more barrier to his success. Time should be smashed through like so many enemy armies. In order to conquer continents, one must first conquer time. Nowadays we know that spacetime is malleable, less a concept to wrap our heads around that a physical thing which, under certain conditions, can be moulded, warped, transformed. Perhaps Napoleon conceived of time in this manner. Time, like history itself, is not something destined to pass us by; time, like history itself, is something we can very much take control of.

Speed, impatience, an addiction to change, an abhorrence of repetition, stagnation, and powerlessness, and an obsession with the concrete acts that change things: this is peak Napoleon.

Thanks, Max Gallo, for making him real to me. I only wish you'd been less Napoleonic and taken more time to detail his military adventures.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always wanted to read about Napoleon's life and this was a good introduction to it although I'm not sure that the french historic present tense translates that well into english.

Another question is, does the novel stand alone from the awsome edifices of Napoleon and The Terror. Everyone is aware of the fear which must have permeated at the time - did that act as a crutch for the novel.

I'll probably be able to judge more realistically when I have read other works about Napoleon.

The diarised style of the book was interesting but at times, alittle frustrating: We were in Napoleon's head, living with his obsessions for Josephine, for looking after his family, for power but this left little room to explore the other characters.

I enjoyed it yet it felt a limited piece of work.

[Hirok · Rating 5 out of 5]

L'histoire de cet homme est incroyable. Hâte de découvrir la suite. Par contre comment on peu avoir avec autant de précisions des détails sur sa vie? C'est Romancé ? Si c'est le cas c'est bien amené. Même si mon but premier était d'avoir des faits réel.

[Józefcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jestem absolutnie zakochana w tym, jak Max Gallo pisał i prowadził narrację na samym początku książki; repetytywność niektórych tematów i opisy przeżyć wewnętrznych Napoleonea, które wydawały się zdystansowane od niego samego i bardzo poruszające jednocześnie. To wszystko sprawiło, że wciągnęłam się w książkę i polubiłam styl pisania autora. Niestety, mam wrażenie, że mniej więcej w połowie pan Gallo skupił się bardziej na pośpieszeniu fabuły niżeli oddaniu jej w jakikolwiek sposób. Opisy bitew i odczuć samego Napoleona stały się bardzo minimalistyczne przez co miałam poczucie, że akcja dzieje się zbyt szybko i gwałtownie. Również mam wrażenie, że książka ucierpiała na tym, jak płytko są ukazywane niektóre relacje, np. z Augustinem Robespierre'm; też częstym zjawiskiem jest to, że ważna postać nie zastała wcześniej przedstawiona wcale, a odbiora ma z góry wiedzieć/domyślić się, kim jest. Niemniej jednak, jest to według mnie dość przystępna biografie, jeżeli ktoś chcę mieć bardziej ogólną wiedzę na temat wojen napoleońskich. 4/5☆

[Alix · Rating 4 out of 5]

A crescendo story. I found the quality of the writing much better at the end (potentially because there's more to work with than for the first 20 years of Napoleon's life). I was a bit annoyed at the one-way narrative that is prominent in the first 75% of the book, where he's been given speech while his conversation partners barely respond in a dialogue style.

I really appreciated the feeling of reading potentially verbatim words from his letters or diaries. From parts taken (I assume) directly from archives to inferences about his thoughts or behaviors, it's anyway a really interesting shadowing experience of the first 30 years of one of the most delusionally ambitious, bold rulers of History.

it's a behind-the-scene story (at least for this 1st book), so it makes sense that one doesn't have the big picture understanding of what's going on on the main stage during the Revolution and Directoire. Though I would have appreciated more context explained, especially regarding the different factions, though it's somewhat understandable from the story.

[Antonia Saavedra · Rating 5 out of 5]

De Napoleón se cuentan guerras y derrotas, pero yo lo vi como cocinero del destino: echaba sal a Europa con cada paso de sus botas.
Es un libro que recuerda que también los grandes generales son como cualquier humano, hambrientos de gloria y de pan. Y yo, batalladora con mi cuchara le entiendo pues cada mesa es un campo de batalla y cada plato, una conquista.

Cada uno es artífice de su propia ventura. (Don Quijote, Parte I, Capítulo XLIII)

[David Hoek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps I don’t enjoy history as much as I thought but this one was certainly not a page-turner for me.
The entire narrative is spent inside Napoleon’s head and the is very almost only around the theme of “I must conquer, I must succeed”. Quite soon I found this quite dull.
I was hoping for exciting battle narrative, but can’t remember a single one that interested me. Although it did take me a year to finish so perhaps I’ve forgotten?

[Helena Mira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superbement documenté (Max Gallo nous détaille même les lectures de Napoléon!). Le tome 1 dépeint la vie de Napoléon de ses 10 ans à sa nomination comme Consul.
Ce livre est très centré sur le personnage principal. Ce n'est peut-être pas pour tous les goûts, certains lecteurs préféreront en savoir plus sur les autres personnages avec lesquels il interagit au cours de ces pages. Ou sur les événements qui se produisent en France en son absence. Ce n'est pas mon cas!

Hâte de commencer le 2.

[Sergio Meroño · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pues más interesante que entretenido o emocionante, la verdad. Me ha costado bastante mantener la atención, considerando que es un tema que me resulta muy interesante... En fin, creo que no seguiré con los otros 3 volúmenes.

[Cbg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Excruciatingly boring. All the sentences are in the present tense. This is very annoying and hard to concentrate on. "He did this. He did that." Isn't that what Wikipedia is for? I did not find this an interesting, captivating novel but a boring semi-non-fiction failure.

[Bernardo Arcos Álvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

El gigante cuando aún era una persona relativamente común. Sus conflictos y obsesiones tempranas, la improbable sucesión de eventos que llevó a la existencia de un César en la era moderna, algo totalmente inverosímil. El texto es rápido y conciso, es una buena lectura.

[Courtois · Rating 5 out of 5]

Très bonne biographie sur Napoléon
On se retrouve dans l'intimité de l'Empereur, on ne rentre pas trop dans le détail donc se lit comme un roman. Vraiment abouti.

[Madame Miou-Miou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Génial, tellement inspirant. Napoléon, I love you!

[Laurence D'Haeyere · Rating 2 out of 5]

Une accumulation de détails alourdissent la narration, tout en gardant à distance son héros principal.

[GuGuss · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Audiobook] Fascinant début de carrière de Napoléon en pleine révolution française.

[Sergio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Para mí fue sublime, puedo entender que las personas que no les guste el emperador Bonaparte les pueda parecer tedioso, pero yo como admirador de este carismático personaje le doy 5 estrellas!!

[MkLoveBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buja (czuję satysfakcję) (mój gust czytelniczy ma dwubiegunowość)

[Dominik]

Nie czytam biografii na co dzień więc nie wiem jak mam ocenić

[Jb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dynamique mais précis, sans trop s’étaler sur les anecdotes.

[Johnarson Rojo]

It was a good overview of Napoleon's life although it does not really give you a good understanding of the history in general.

[Rew ol ucja · Rating 4 out of 5]

on niejest hetero