The Conversation

Description

Having just studied French history with a focus on Napoleon Bonaparte, I was very happy to be reading this book. While it is a work of fiction, the author, Jean d’Ormesson, uses actual conversations documented as Napoleon’s to write an entire book based on a conversation between Napoleon and Jean-Jacques Regis de Cambaceres. It basically reads like you are at a two-man play, and it is easy to visualize sitting in the theater watching it being performed. The Cambaceres side of the conversation is entirely made up, but it takes the words of Napoleon and provides an interesting and compelling conversation about war, friend and foe, and keeping one’s word.

This is definitely an easy read and written in plain English so anybody can understand it. It is very short and kept my attention, which was impressive since it is really just a conversation and not an actual story. This book would be a fun addition to history class for teenagers or as a quick read for adults, and I know it looks great on our bookshelf!