Sentimental Education

Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert translated by Robert Baldick

This felt like a lite version of Les Miserables. There are some people with intertwined lives. There is a another revolution going on in France. The people are revolting, but having a hard time deciding what they really want to do. Those remaining are interested in affairs and the like. The central character is attracted to a woman. It was tough to the characters. The audiobook didn't mention the translator at all. Hopefully AI got it right. 

Reflections on the Revolution in France

Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke

Burke was not a fan of the French Revolution. He pointed out many of the problems and did a good job foreshadowing what would eventually become significant issues with the way it was carried out. The French used the guise of a corrupt ruler to overflow the entire system. And in its place, they established "equality" and more corruption. The ended up getting Napoleon (but that was well after Burke's writing.) There was a great deal of arbitrariness on the French side. The church was particularly attacked. There were various excuses given, but in the end it was more a robbery than great morals.

The French Revolution fell the fate of many other revolutions in that one form of known tyranny was replaced with another form. It is hard to get rid of the bad without also hurting the good.

The Librarian of Saint-Malo

The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar

Life in France was challenging during World War II. First the able-bodied were called out to defend the country from the Germans. Alas, the Germans defeated France quickly and established a puppet government. The French then had to endure German occupation for half a decade. Germany was using France as a source for resources and was intent on installing its ideology. German soldiers were free to take what they wanted, or kill those that got in their way. The French resistance ended up adopted the same in reverse. Aligning yourself with one side could lead to the wrath of the other.

The novel focuses on the life of a librarian in coastal Saint Melo. Her husband went off to fight. She stayed back and worked to save the library, while trying to find the status of her husband. The Nazis came into the city. There was a "good Nazi" that stopped cruelties of others and respected books. There was also a "bad SS Nazi". He just wanted to take what he could and was willing to destroy anything or anyone that got in the way. The French were mostly subservient, but there were collaborators and others that killed collaborators. 

Her husband eventually comes home, but dies after a fight. She becomes closer to the good Nazi. (I  expected them to get married at the end, but that did not happen.) They go through multiple layers of efforts to protect antique books. The good Nazi helps them and also helps out for others in need. In the end, the allies come. The Germans are reluctant to surrender and the town gets damaged. They learn of atrocities of concentration camps from one who got out. They also help shelter Jews and German deserters. The book shows the positives that can happen even under the horrors of war.

The Red and the Black

The Red and the Black feels like it should be an interesting psychological exploration of a man's life in early 19th century France. Alas, the narration of audiobook just makes it seem boring. It is if they decided it was a book of European Literature, so they had to give it a snooty narration. The novel explores the life of a man who is willing to do what it takes to advance in the way he sees fit. Being French, there is of course a great deal of time spent conquesting women. There is also working through the intellectuals and the church to advance his position. Eventually he is convicted for killing somebody. Only she survived... But he is guillotined.

1066: The Year That Changed Everything

The Teaching Company course on 1066 is one of the shortest courses I have listened to. It provides some background to the William the Conqueror's invasion of England as well as a bit of the aftermath. William had a claim to the English thrown, though it was not a strong one. The English had just completed a major victory and were a little full of themselves (as well as a little spent.) The Normans were originally from the Viking lands, but they had quickly assimilated into the French culture. (Would we consider it like Americans and British? Or perhaps German Americans and Germans would be a better comparison today.) In the end the Norman's come over and continue to merge some cultures that were already merging.

These lectures are a quick overview of 1066. There are a few new things and new ways to look at things, but it mostly an overview of the key events of the Norman invasion.

The Measure of All Things

In the The Measure of All Things, Ken Alder presents the history of the metric system, with a focus on the Frenchmen that measured out the earth to determine the length of the meter. They did run in to a significant number of obstacles attempting a detailed survey in the midst of the French Revolution - especially since churches were principle landmarks - and things most likely to be destroyed by the revolutionaries. In the end, they didn't get the measurement exactly right. But, we've still kept their meter.

I was most fascinated by the tales of how the French tried to 'metricize' everything, even creating a new calendar (that alas only made it a few years before they gave up on it.) The French also initially rejected the meter system, but eventually it caught on there (and most everywhere else.)

The book has its interesting tidbits, but the core story of measuring the earth does become a little tedious. Perhaps that is to be expected when describing a laborious endeavor that did shed some light on precision, accuracy and the shape of the earth; but failed in its main goal of providing an exact 'meter'.