I didn’t think I would make it to the end of this book which presented itself immediately as a “paving stone”.
Make it 595 pages and without images!
Accustomed to the novels of this author, never very thick and always captivating, such as one of her last “Don’t forget your name is Ruth”, I thought to myself but what went through Deborah’s head to make such a “leap”? And that’s just the case!
She took a leap of 3 centuries back in time and took us, without warning, to the Court of Versailles, with Louis XIV himself!
But how can we link Judaism, so dear to the heart of this author, and this time when only the religion of the King is accepted?
How was Deborah Malka Cohen going to be able to draw us, despite a certain Cartesian resistance, into the intrigues and shallows of the Palace of Versailles?
Describe all the magnificence of the Sun King’s kingdom in great detail – to believe that she would really have lived during this period? In another life perhaps – and make the values of Judaism triumph?
At the same time, how can we doubt his sensitivity and inspiration?
She has managed to reconcile the impossible; the seeming and the being.
Versailles, which is the height of appearances, reveals all its ugliness, nobility and smallness, where their only distraction is talking about each other, outrageously making up false smiles, masking the blows they receive with make-up and extravagant toilets.
There are all the warning signs of a sick society that has reached its Zenith and which can only decline to the point of making the last of the reigning Bourbons, Louis XVI, lose his head!
A veritable orgy of pretence, where telling the truth is far more dangerous than spreading rumours. What strategy must be invented to survive this moral misery?
A world where the intimate dramas, and there are many of them, are masked by the sumptuousness of the place, its festivities and by the unique personality of this sovereign.
To let nothing of his moods appear, to amuse the King is a “divine order,” a King without his court is no longer one! Are they prisoners of each other?
But what does this young woman of the 21st century do with her outspokenness, her outspokenness in this unfamiliar world, where honesty and naivety can cost you your life!
The King at Versailles is God, his house is his palace, his court are his guests.
He needs to know everything about everything, about everyone.
Versailles is therefore a place full of “personified microphones” in the unseemly appearance of those lackeys glued to each front door.
A golden prison, so to speak, but from which one comes out, all the same, with fragments of a certain “savoir-“sur”vivre.
The characters in this novel are really endearing, we easily plunge into this miserable Paris that prowls around, we subdue it.
It is as frightening as this murdering court, ready to do anything for crumbs of power.
Mask, kill and above all exist in the eyes of this King who gives or takes away his grace with a simple flutter of his eyelashes.
It’s hard to leave Suzy’s new friends, even to fall into the arms of Morpheus, we want to know everything quickly!
We understand that whatever the century, in which we are given to live or…to relive; friendship, love, fidelity, trust remain the aspirations of each one.
These are the values that make up humanity, or at least what we hope for.
This is a surprise book, which catches you off guard, so much information about life in Versailles is delivered in abundance. Historical research has been necessary, of course, but it takes a certain talent to make it come alive, so real, so real that we, in turn, neither computer, tablets, nor smartphones are missing!
This story of the great History, will transport you, without any doubt, in a universe of waking dream, we cling to it .
We want to know the outcome of this return to the past.
To know the end of this exciting love story, will it have a sequel?
At least that’s what the author promises us in her epilogue.
The same epilogue that had the elegance to answer my very first question.
To discover some pages click on this link
“Our heroine, Elisabeth Breitman, known as Suzy, was raised by her grandfather Samuel. Her parents separated shortly after she was born. Too absorbed in their own lives, and never having known how to be there for her, they entrusted her to Grandpa Sam. Samuel Breitman, a former musician and survivor of the death camps, does his best to ensure that she grows up in a stable and loving environment. To help her overcome her handicap, Samuel introduces her to drawing at an early age, an ancient art form that subtly combines the imaginary with the real. Luckily, she turns out to be naturally gifted. He will weave with her a strong and powerful emotional bond, which will be their lifeline to both of them. A few years later, Grandpa Sam dies suddenly, leaving his granddaughter distraught and very alone. The drawing having become for her a painful reminiscence of her grandfather, she decides to bury her gift with him to bury her deep sadness. As an adult, she finds herself spending a weekend at the Trianon Palace Hotel in Versailles with her lover of the moment, Cyril. After a disastrous marriage proposal from her companion, our Suzy falls asleep, only to wake up mysteriously in 1688… Between dream, fantasy and reality, this time travel defying all logic will allow our heroine to live a fascinating adventure full of surprises, which will reveal her true personality. Suzy will learn a lot about herself, but also about the concept of family, friendship, and of course love…”
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