What I am reading
this is the highly subjective way I read and interpret literature
(I mostly read classic belles-lettres, but you’ll find some examples of trashy readings here and there as well)
Facts, facts, facts (this is a non-fiction book)
Richard Cobb - Death in Paris
Richard Cobb had access to the files of the Basse-Geôle, an archive for suicides in Paris during the years of the French Revolution. By analyzing the files he tries to find out as much as possible about the social life of that time and also the reasons why certain people would commit suicide by (mostly) drowning themselves in the river Seine.
With lots of quotes out of the original files, the book is really interesting and exciting, but sometimes quite creepy to read and Cobb's writing style is something that takes time to get used to. Due to his effort to deliver as many facts as possible, there are at least 3 (and sometimes even more) very detailed footnotes on every page and those are constantly interrupting the running text which makes it a rather hard read.
In summary: I did learn a lot of really interesting facts and fun-facts about the social life and clothes in late 18th century Paris, but it is exhausting to read and sometimes quite creepy.
So for me this was 3/5 stars.
