38 ratings (4.11 avg)
9 reviews

Carolyn

Add friend

Carolyn’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (11)

currently-reading‎ (1)

read‎ (38)

did-not-finish‎ (0)

Stats | More…

Carolyn is Currently Reading

Carolyn rated a book did not like it

The Hat of Victor Noir

by Adrian Mathews

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in June 2008

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Carolyn said: " To be clear I knew when I bought this book that it was a fictional tale, that it had got good reviews for being delightfully funny and well written. I don't debate that... BUT!
I bought this book hoping to glean some information about the man whose na To be clear I knew when I bought this book that it was a fictional tale, that it had got good reviews for being delightfully funny and well written. I don't debate that... BUT!
I bought this book hoping to glean some information about the man whose name graces the title, in history, a radical journalist who wrote for a newspaper called Le Marsellaise when unrest was growing in the time of the second Napoleonic Empire. Noir was assassinated in the drawing room of the Emperor's cousin, Pierre Bonaparte, a man who walked on a murder rap in Corsica with help from powerful kin. Noir and a friend, acting as seconds in arranging a duel, arrived to deliver a letter to Bonaparte. Bonaparte shot at both men, killing Noir.
Victor Noir left behind a fiancee, to whom he was to have been wed on the day following his death. He was 21 years old.
His funeral procession was attended by 200,000 angry republicans, his martyrdom kickstarted the demise of the Empire and the forming of a new republic.
Over a decade after his death, his remains were transferred to Pere Lachaise cemetery in the heart of Paris, and a life sized bronze effigy of Victor was placed above, a supine figure of the man as he appeared in the moments after the shooting, dressed in his wedding attire, dishevelled by attempts to locate the fatal bullet wound.
The statue has become a fertility symbol, attracting many female visitors to the cemetery to pet and polish the bronze effigy in the superstitious belief that to do so will aid them in their attempt to have a baby or find a husband.
You can't make this stuff up.
Now for the fiction.
The Hat of Victor Noir is such. The name of a real historical personnage has been culled, and attached to grand urban legend, the author paints a character who is a scoundrel and lothario, maybe making the read more interesting to some, but a book whose arrival I awaited from Amazon with great enthusiasm is sitting on the floor amid some papers, after I snuck a peek ahead at some Victor Noir related passages, and found them wanting for reality.
I'm not saying the book isn't a good read, maybe it is. If I ever read the whole enchilada I will update this.
What I am saying is, if you're looking for historic information about a figure from the past, skip this. And if you do read this, be clear, you have learned little or nothing about a real man from history name of Victor Noir.
My quest continues. Peace, y'all. ...more "

Jul 07, 2008 12:44PM · see review

Carolyn’s Quotes

“A rumor is a social cancer: it is difficult to contain and it rots the brains of the masses. However, the real danger is that so many people find rumors enjoyable. That part causes the infection. And in such cases when a rumor is only partially made of truth, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly where the information may have gone wrong. It is passed on and on until some brave soul questions its validity; that brave soul refuses to bite the apple and let the apple eat him. Forced to start from scratch for the sake of purity and truth, that brave soul, figuratively speaking, fully amputates the information in order to protect his personal judgment. In other words, his ignorance is to be valued more than the lie believed to be true.”
― Criss Jami, Killosophy

tags: cancer, deceit, gossip, introvert, libel, lie, loner, masses, propaganda, rumor, slander, social, truth

225 likes

“You can't blame a writer for what the characters say.”
― Truman Capote

347 likes

“Wherever morality is based on theology, wherever right is made dependent on divine authority, the most immoral, unjust, infamous things can be justified and established.”
― Ludwig Feuerbach, Essence of Christianity

tags: atrocities, authority, ethics, justification, morality

46 likes

“I don't care what anybody says about me as long as it isn't true.”
― Truman Capote

253 likes