1913 : The Year Before the Storm

With a cover like that, expectations are high. The book seems to promise us a unique dive into the elegant and mysterious past, and at the same time so close to us, that is the year 1913. Will we discover what could have led to such a horrible event as the First World War?

Summary

In this book, the year 1913 is not told, it is sketched. The order is certainly chronological, because we go month by month, but everything else is free. These are scattered anecdotes about personalities of the moment who lived their lives like the rest of the world, in total ignorance of the disaster that was brewing. We follow for a few days Hitler painting in a small room, Kafka writing a catastrophic marriage proposal, Armstrong learning to play the trumpet, and so on. All these details that could go unnoticed, but which, in the end, make up the essential.

Impressions

I would have loved to say that I loved this book, that it was both funny and brilliant, enlightening and exciting. But unfortunately, I had to ask myself several times if I really wanted to continue. The concept is superb, and it was indeed both funny and brilliant. But exciting, no.

I had the idea that after reading this book I would have a good idea of what led up to the First World War, but obviously that wasn't the point. The focus was on the lives of the personalities of the time, whom I knew a little, mostly by name. It's true that what they went through is interesting, but for me it was a bit like reading celebrity gossip, which I never do.

I smiled a few times, because humans often do funny things, my general culture came out greater, but I missed the normal narrative format. Snippets have their charm, but not when you want to read a lot and for a long time, like during the holiday season. It takes willpower, whereas I wanted to be carried away.

It wasn't the right time, and I'm not the ideal audience. But I sincerely hope this book finds its match, because I can see it: it's a gem.