Sisi: Empress on Her Own

Would I Recommend It?
She cocked her head with a contemplative cocked eyebrow and declared, “NO!”
Okay, maybe a less adamant, “no.” 

Thoughts?
Allison Pataki, what is your obsession with cocked? Like, seriously?
Page 21 – Andrássy – cocked head
Page 82 – Sophie-Charlotte – cocked head
Page 84 – Néné – cocked an eyebrow
Page 95 Sisi – cocked head
Page 141 – Sisi – cocked head
Page 223 – Sisi – cocked head
Page 351 – Valerie – cocked head
Page 413 – Baroness – cocked eyebrow

And there were more! These were just the ones where I had something to mark the page with. There was also two new variations introduced: elevated head and tilted head. But only once each.

I definitely enjoyed The Accidental Empress over Sisi: Empress on Her Own. This book started in a very labored fashion where the author spent pages upon pages recapping the first book. It was incredibly choppy and was hard for me to get the words of another reviewer out of my head about how the beginning is incredibly slow. But, I pushed on because of my want to learn about the life and times of Sisi.

Based on Author’s Note it appears that Pataki stayed closer to actual events versus with the romantic storyline she built up in The Accidental Empress. This probably having to do with having access to more abundant and detailed historical notes from which one can piece together a timeline of events.

As it always seems to be the case with aristocrats this one is yet another tragic story with insane amounts of drama.

I definitely am baffled as to why my Hungarian ancestors were so enamored by Sisi. She appears to me like any other spoiled brat of a princess turned empress. I don’t know if it’s the author’s representation of her or truly she was as described in the book, but she comes off like a spoiled and an extremely vain lady with massive mental issues. Perhaps milder mental issues than her son. All that family inbreeding that was going on back in those days and of course mental issues not yet having been identified/treated. This isn’t to say Sisi was stupid. She wasn’t. She was definitely educated and had a love for poetry and Pataki does share some of Sisi’s own poems/writings throughout both books. She just wasn’t equipped to deal with the world’s troubles on a political level day in and day out. Who is to blame her? But again, just don’t understand why people loved her so much if she was so detached from dealing with the people. Too caught up in her own mood swings. Too all about wanting to enjoy her life. In Hungary she didn’t stay in the capital city, but hid in the countryside in Gödöllö. So, I’m just baffled as to how she had such a hold on the Hungarian people.

Overall, I learned quite a few things about the period during which Sisi lived and overall I enjoyed it. But perhaps the book, Sisi, could’ve been shortened by a 100 pages to avoid the boredom that often settled in and required two whole weeks to finish reading.

Pataki’s writing is not quite strong enough for me to try her other books. I appreciate that she wrote about Sisi, but I specifically read her books because of Sisi’s connection to the Austro-Hungarian empire and Pataki, herself, being from a Hungarian family (though, herself, not one). I don’t believe I’ll venture to read other books by her. I know she has a new one out.

I also don’t like inconsistencies in Pataki’s writing. Page 422 she quotes Emperor Franz Joseph as saying, “No one will ever know how much I loved her.” Then in author’s note where Pataki explains/confirms that Franz Joseph did in fact say this, the quote she writes in the author’s note is different. It says, “No one will ever know the love we had for one another.” This has a COMPLETELY DIFFERENTLY feel and emotional impact to it than what Pataki wrote in her fictional book. I’m annoyed as to why she wouldn’t use the same quote. Did she do it intentionally to create more feeling in us writers? Or was this just a blatant typo on her end? I know this book is a historical FICTION, but when in history there is an exact record of someone having said something, then stick to that! I’m also now at a loss not knowing which is the correct quote. (Yes, I just spent 10 minutes Googling for an answer, but didn’t find it, and giving up because my internet connection is moving at a snail’s pace.)

So, I dunno. I’m hitting the pause button for reading more Pataki books. But overall, I appreciated learning the things I learned from The Accidental Empress and Sisi: Empress on Her Own.

Quotable Quotes:
Sisi to King Ludwig regarding her daughter: “I’ll bring her next time.”
Ludwig: “Oh, I wish you wouldn’t!” Ludwig gasped, as if disturbed by the thought. “…it’s just that… well, children make me so terribly uncomfortable. How they frighten me!”-page 97

Oh, Ludwig, you became my favorite tragic character with this. I feel your fright. =)

From author’s note:
“This was the stuff of epic: World War I and Strauss waltzes and Disneyesque castles and the golden age of imperial Vienna and an empress who raced horses and grew her legendary hair to the floor–this was a fairy tale meets a Shakespearean tragedy meets a family soap opera meets an international saga.”
Yeah, this was the perfect description of the characters and stories they lived.

Book:

Sisi: Empress on Her Own

Author:

Allison Pataki

Genre:

Historical Fiction

My Rating:

3 Stars