by Pamela Binnings Ewen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Can you truly enjoy a book and kind of dislike the main character?
The Queen of Paris challenges the reader to determine an answer to this question as they see the choices and lifestyle famous perfumer Coco Chanel benefited from during France's occupation in WWII. Personally I don’t like all her decisions and struggle to determine which truly saved her life and which were in her own best interest to keep her elegant, high lifestyle. One thing I do know is that this book is well worth the read and fairly different from your average WWII fiction.
Villain or Survivor
In the spectrum of WWII historical fiction there are clear survivor stories where I think people cannot be held accountable for some of their action based on circumstances. The Tattoist of Auschwitz is the first that comes to mind; but nowheres near the only example. In The Queen of Paris we see the luxury that Coco Chanel retained during the occupation of France by the Nazi's. Did she have to endure Germans in her living space (ie: hotel)? Yes. Did she have to perhaps 'make nice' with some of them? Sure. But did she have to eat so luxuriously, attend parties, have tobacco access, and pass on notes? Here I am not so sure. Given the conditions for the 'average' person in France at the time even the hardships that Coco Chanel experiences are actually luxuries to most. Arguably she would have been in better shape if the Nazi's had won the war...
So is she a villain or a survivor?
Hating the Main Character
I love villains. Always have. As a kid I thought they were the best as they were always so powerful and didn't rely on love or luck to get by. Yep I'm pretty black hearted a lot of the time when it comes to romance. Villains are interesting as they are often made into awful people because of circumstance and so I tend to have more empathy for them than heroes. A few mainstream examples of villains I adore include: Loki, Maleficent, Gollum, Harley Quinn, and many more. So I'm used to disliking a lot about the main character in a story.
So what makes CoCo different?
Coco Chanel was a real person, in real life situations. It's one thing to have fan-girl love for the characters above; but we all know in real life most people are not going to make those exact choices. But in the case of Coco she really did do these things. She really did spy and pass information to the Germans. She really did benefit from their time in Paris; and she really did flee in fear of persecution when France was freed from occupation as she was certainly a sympathizer if nothing else. While people around her were starving, murdered in camps, stripped of everything they owned and their humanity; she wined and dined with prestigious Germans. This is a lot harder for me to forgive.
Pamela Binnings Ewen does an excellent job of showing some of the tight spots Coco was in and how at times it certainly felt like she had few 'good' choices. But the reality is that she had the means to help a lot of people; and she didn't try until it was too late. Being more concerned about securing ingredients for her perfume than helping a friend in true peril is only one example of her choices not sitting right for me.
Overall
I could be a total hypocrite for criticizing Coco Chanel's choices and life. Having never been in the types of situations she was; it's hard to say if I might have chosen to fight a little harder. What I do know, in early 2021 as I write this, is that those who are anti-maskers or don't understand the necessity of the lockdowns for the COVID-19 pandemic are the types of people I might put into a bin with Coco. It's not hard to: wear a mask for the majority of people (I had to get over my own anxiety about it), avoid holding gatherings, and be conscious of those around you by sanitizing and keeping your distance. These are relatively simple requests in comparison to the strict curfews, persecution, rations, etc. that most of Europe experienced in WWII.
So, I would like to think that unlike Coco Chanel, I would have used celebrity power to benefit as many people as possible; while still staying relatively safe. She did not need to remain at the hotel like she did; and she did not need to participate in the spying. Those are decisions she made of her own will. But don't trust me on it, read this brilliantly written book and determine for yourself; is she a villain or a survivor?
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Can you truly enjoy a book and kind of dislike the main character?
The Queen of Paris challenges the reader to determine an answer to this question as they see the choices and lifestyle famous perfumer Coco Chanel benefited from during France's occupation in WWII. Personally I don’t like all her decisions and struggle to determine which truly saved her life and which were in her own best interest to keep her elegant, high lifestyle. One thing I do know is that this book is well worth the read and fairly different from your average WWII fiction.
Villain or Survivor
In the spectrum of WWII historical fiction there are clear survivor stories where I think people cannot be held accountable for some of their action based on circumstances. The Tattoist of Auschwitz is the first that comes to mind; but nowheres near the only example. In The Queen of Paris we see the luxury that Coco Chanel retained during the occupation of France by the Nazi's. Did she have to endure Germans in her living space (ie: hotel)? Yes. Did she have to perhaps 'make nice' with some of them? Sure. But did she have to eat so luxuriously, attend parties, have tobacco access, and pass on notes? Here I am not so sure. Given the conditions for the 'average' person in France at the time even the hardships that Coco Chanel experiences are actually luxuries to most. Arguably she would have been in better shape if the Nazi's had won the war...
So is she a villain or a survivor?
Hating the Main Character
I love villains. Always have. As a kid I thought they were the best as they were always so powerful and didn't rely on love or luck to get by. Yep I'm pretty black hearted a lot of the time when it comes to romance. Villains are interesting as they are often made into awful people because of circumstance and so I tend to have more empathy for them than heroes. A few mainstream examples of villains I adore include: Loki, Maleficent, Gollum, Harley Quinn, and many more. So I'm used to disliking a lot about the main character in a story.
So what makes CoCo different?
Coco Chanel was a real person, in real life situations. It's one thing to have fan-girl love for the characters above; but we all know in real life most people are not going to make those exact choices. But in the case of Coco she really did do these things. She really did spy and pass information to the Germans. She really did benefit from their time in Paris; and she really did flee in fear of persecution when France was freed from occupation as she was certainly a sympathizer if nothing else. While people around her were starving, murdered in camps, stripped of everything they owned and their humanity; she wined and dined with prestigious Germans. This is a lot harder for me to forgive.
Pamela Binnings Ewen does an excellent job of showing some of the tight spots Coco was in and how at times it certainly felt like she had few 'good' choices. But the reality is that she had the means to help a lot of people; and she didn't try until it was too late. Being more concerned about securing ingredients for her perfume than helping a friend in true peril is only one example of her choices not sitting right for me.
Overall
I could be a total hypocrite for criticizing Coco Chanel's choices and life. Having never been in the types of situations she was; it's hard to say if I might have chosen to fight a little harder. What I do know, in early 2021 as I write this, is that those who are anti-maskers or don't understand the necessity of the lockdowns for the COVID-19 pandemic are the types of people I might put into a bin with Coco. It's not hard to: wear a mask for the majority of people (I had to get over my own anxiety about it), avoid holding gatherings, and be conscious of those around you by sanitizing and keeping your distance. These are relatively simple requests in comparison to the strict curfews, persecution, rations, etc. that most of Europe experienced in WWII.
So, I would like to think that unlike Coco Chanel, I would have used celebrity power to benefit as many people as possible; while still staying relatively safe. She did not need to remain at the hotel like she did; and she did not need to participate in the spying. Those are decisions she made of her own will. But don't trust me on it, read this brilliantly written book and determine for yourself; is she a villain or a survivor?
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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1 comment:
That sounds like an interesting read, and an interesting perspective as well. Certainly she wasn't one of the 'heroes' of her time, but was she a villain? How much does common decency 'require' you to get out of your comfort zone or even put yourself at risk? And how does that balance change when you are in a position of influence? Don't think there's an easy answer on this one, but I'd be interested in reading the story.
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