Customer Reviews

Memoirs of a Dwarf: At the Sun King's Court

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The point of any great story is not just entertainment, but the hope that it will invoke, on some level, a curiosity, an interest, in those things that make up the world in which we live. That interest may be in human affairs, society, one's own situation, and the like. If nothing else, Paul Weidner's MEMOIRS OF A DWARF: AT THE SUN KING'S COURT definitely accomplishes this.

Hugues, an uneducated, orphaned dwarf who begins his impoverished days in a squalid Versailles, is the story's narrator and protagonist. Throughout the book he recounts the tale of his rise in the court of Louis XIV. As a servant, his penchant for curiosity embroils him in some precarious situations. Appearances are everything as members of society's upper echelon are just as shady as those they look down on. Yet, the one fault of the book may indeed be that which propels it forward--the narrator's voice: How could an individual with no formal education learn to speak and write so ostentatiously? Still, as the tale unfolds, the reader can't help but be held captive by the seamless tapestry of events that blur fiction from historical events.

Upon finishing the book you're left wondering if such a character as Hugues ever existed, and/or if the Royalty's practice of having so many little people around was to hide (shelter) an actual family member born a dwarf.

Such is the curiosity and interest this story Weidner has created. It has been a year since I have read the book, and yet there are those with whom I shared the book who never cease from keeping an eye out for information connecting the fictitious events with the reality of the time.

Say what you will about the book, but should a book be spoken of so long after it has been read is the highest compliment an author can receive. It is, then, an example of a great story.

Paul Weidner's MEMOIRS OF A DWARF is wonderfully original, stylish and most importantly a grand fun read. Viewed from the diminutive vantage of Hugues, the dwarf of the title, the ribald underside of Versailles, and the opulent and decadent court of Louis XIV are revealed. Weidner's detail and accuracy bring to life a colofully realized world with many outrageous and humorous characters. The plotting is exquisite, providing mystery, adventure and twists worthy of the best eighteenth century novels. This is historical fiction of the hightest order, lively and surprisingly droll.

Many times the movies make the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV appear filled with lace, elegant people and glamor. In reality it was not such a nice place. It was a filthy, deadly (Do a search on The Affair of the Poisons) place.

This book is the autobiography of a dwarf named Hughes. He winds up at the court of Louis XIV, particularly as part of the household of his mistress Madame de Maintenon and eventually that of the kings mistress, Montespan. The story is filled with intrigue, sex, violence and mystery. As with most historical fiction, there is a mixture of fictional characters combined with the historical.

This is an easy way to learn history. A good novel gives you the truth about the historical parts and combines it with a story that doesn't leave you trying to memorize a never ending list of dates. The important part is that a good novel, as this one is, gives you a feeling and understanding for life as it must have been during these times.

I purchased this book because of its rave reviews and because of my predilection for period dramas; I was horribly disappointed.

Contrary to what the other reviewers said, the language was not eloquent and beautiful--it was just pretentious and rambling. There were so many meaningless digressions that, if anything, the author's attempt to create something beautiful detracted from the only sometimes intriguing plot, and instead of enhancing meaning and a sense of the era, only tempted the reader to skip paragraphs. Bad editing.

The plot itself was fine, neither extraordinary nor bland. The basic idea is that there is a dwarf whose life begins and ends in misery, but whose journey takes him from a filthy orphanage to the catacombs of the Notre Dame Cathedral performing satanic rituals, to the court of Louis XIV. Along the way, he is molested, serves the sexual needs of women in the court, helps the aristocracy cheat at cards, and participates in the world of intrigue and gossip to achieve legitimacy and some degree of stature in society. PLOT SPOILER AHEAD. In the end, he does not formally receive this recognition in any way, but does find out he is the actual heir to the throne...to no avail of course because of his appearance, and also because he has his tongue cut out by the same priest with whom he had performed these rituals; worse yet, in the very end he learns to read and produces this very book. That is, more or less, the story.

Because the story had its moments, I am generously giving the book three stars. Maybe you will like it as much as these other reviewers did, and if you end up spending good money on it, I hope you do. I, however, regret having payed for this verbose, self-important, repetitive little drama.

I really enjoyed reading this book and couldn't drop it once I started it.
I love Weidner's style, he's a great author and I hope he will publish more books.
This is the type of book that you just can't get enough of!
On a trip, in the plane, late at night, whenever you read, this is not the book you buy to help you fall asleep, it will keep you wanting to know more and will keep you interested until the last page. Or at least it kept me interested until the last page!
I am just sad there are only 5 stars ratings, I would give it more than that otherwise!

Like the diminutive heroes of some of my favorite books, Cadence Roth in Maupin's MAYBE THE MOON and John Irving's Owen Meany, Paul Weidner's Hughes from his terrific MEMOIRS OF A DWARF invites us into his world made awful and ridiculous and compelling by the cold fact of scale. It is Hughes' size that decides his fate. However, it is his character that defines his life. In Hughes, Weidner has given us a hapless protagonist who, in the intrigue-riddled world of Louis XIV, stumbles upon his dignity through the most undignified of circumstances. And by peppering his narrative with bursts of unexpected bawdy humor and sobering cruelty, Weidner deftly manages to avoid the traps of sentimentality to give us a mystery that satisfies in its details and in its rendering of a complex and winning hero of contemporary fiction.

"memoirs of a dwarf" is amazing!
it is the sign of a really good book when you can't bear for it to end - which is how i felt with this one.
it is extremely funny and touching and interesting and rich and full and clever and smart and imaginative.... the voice of the narrator is incredibly specific, well-defined ---- and UNIQUE!!
it is absolutely delightful and i highly recommend it!!

an irreverent, witty, and quite fascinating account of a delicious cast of characters. Even though it is a work of fiction, it takes you back to the time of Louis XIV in such a vivid, bawdy way that it reads as riveting--and strange--as non-fiction.

What a marvelous book - I couldn't put it down! The setting is the court of Louis XIV, and is full of intrigue and political machinations. There is rich detail of life at court - from a very unique perspective. The characters are wonderful and all are beautifully and fully developed. There is great wit and humor, but also heartbreaking poignancy. I highly recommend it - it is a thoroughly enjoyable read. I hope Mr. Weidner continues to produce work like this.

One might blush at some of the fascinating adventures of Hugues (rhymes with Fugues) a Dwarf who serendipitously lands some lowly yet priveledged standing in the Court of his very own Sun King! A wondrous telling of scandel and the inner workings of the French Royals as told by a misplaced Dwarf who is quite verbose and miraculously literate in his later years so that we can read his story. I highly recommend this first historically and theatrically charged novel by Paul Weidner.