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nickyb3po's review against another edition
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
berenikeasteria's review against another edition
2.0
Mata Hari was a really strange book from Michelle Moran. I do think that Mata Hari would make an interesting subject for a novel, but the execution is so odd.
The book is short, and I mean really short. I took me between 3 and 4 hours maximum to read, and feels much shorter than any other novel from Moran. And yet it’s not marketed as a novella – I checked, wondering if I’d missed something.
The attention to historical detail is, as others have pointed out, absent. That is to say, Moran doesn’t make any huge historical bloopers, but tiny ones in the background setting – the clothes Mata Hari wears, the furniture in her residence – which give you the impression as you read of a rather generic setting, as if Moran didn’t exactly know all the details so she just guessed. Like a painting where the background is just a blurry suggestion. For me it’s not a big thing, it just feels slightly odd.
The weirdest thing however is the book’s shortness and writing style as a result. The narrative feels like it’s skimming over events. We get a vague, fuzzy sketch of what is happening but we never go into any real depth. Much of it is surface fluff, Mata Hari going from one performance and liaison to the next. I felt like I was waiting for the greater depth and insight into Mata Hari, or a connecting theme of the story to reveal itself… and it never did. The experience felt like being one of those stones you skip across the water –skip, skip, skip along the surface of Mata Hari’s life, but at the end there seemed little point to it all and I was none the wiser about her as a person.
It’s so short that I really have very little to say about it in review. Mata Hari seems to me like the bare bones of a novel – a first draft with all the events sketched out but none of the meat on paper yet.
3 out of 10
justjeanettelee's review against another edition
3.0
A quick, light read, Mata Hari has all the elements I enjoy from Moran’s writing.
However, I felt that the story was too short. I felt like more could have been included in this tale, but I suppose discerning fact and fiction with a historical character is a tough job to do.
I always enjoy coming back to a historical novel, even if it’s fictionalised a bit, because I always learn about exciting people, events, and places.
However, I felt that the story was too short. I felt like more could have been included in this tale, but I suppose discerning fact and fiction with a historical character is a tough job to do.
I always enjoy coming back to a historical novel, even if it’s fictionalised a bit, because I always learn about exciting people, events, and places.
raebooknerd's review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
miss617's review
2.0
Of all of Michelle Moran's books, this one is my least favorite. It lacked depth and I didn't feel like I really learned anything about Mata Hari beyond the little I already knew. It was basically a Little Black Book of her lovers. I felt like I would have preferred to read more about her life before she became Mata Hari because those few glimpses made her *slightly* more sympathetic.
colorfulleo92's review
4.0
Mata Hari is someone who I've thought was fascinating for sometime now, but I didn't know much about her life. This book was good mixture of an interesting fiction but sprinkled with real life facts, making her feel more real and very much a human. This peaked my interest to learn more about her and even pick up a fiction book I've read earlier about her.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
Moran is a great writer, and for that reason I did wish that the book had been longer. As it stood now it did not even reach 300 pages. Which is sad cos she does brings life into her rl characters. I always wonder who she will write about next.
I can't say I knew a lot about Mata Hari except how she died and that she created this persona . In this book we follows her from her start in Paris and to her end. The book is heavy on her beginning and honestly how did people buy all those lies? Silly people. She sure knew how to tell a story. A fascinating person. I liked how Moran showed the human behind her. She was weak, but strong. She loved to spend and not think of her future. She adored a man in a uniform and did not care what people though of her. She loved her daughter dearly even if she had not seen her for years. She was a great liar, but could not save herself in the end.
As for the whole spying thing, I do wonder, if so she must have been bad at it. But then the way she is described here the whole thing does make sense. She could be a fool, who did not think forward.
It's a rather simple book, I read it fast. It was light and short. It was a quick insight into an enigmatic woman. But she did achieve what she wanted, she is still famous.
Now I wonder again what Moran will write about next, I better go check ;)
I can't say I knew a lot about Mata Hari except how she died and that she created this persona . In this book we follows her from her start in Paris and to her end. The book is heavy on her beginning and honestly how did people buy all those lies? Silly people. She sure knew how to tell a story. A fascinating person. I liked how Moran showed the human behind her. She was weak, but strong. She loved to spend and not think of her future. She adored a man in a uniform and did not care what people though of her. She loved her daughter dearly even if she had not seen her for years. She was a great liar, but could not save herself in the end.
As for the whole spying thing, I do wonder, if so she must have been bad at it. But then the way she is described here the whole thing does make sense. She could be a fool, who did not think forward.
It's a rather simple book, I read it fast. It was light and short. It was a quick insight into an enigmatic woman. But she did achieve what she wanted, she is still famous.
Now I wonder again what Moran will write about next, I better go check ;)
lish90's review
2.0
I have read every book Michelle Moran has published and I have given them all 4 and 5 Star ratings, she is one of my favourite authors so I was so excited to read Mata Hari's Last Dance but it was just so underwhelming.
The plot and characters lacked depth, I felt no connection to Mata Hari or any other characters. There was no relationship building or developments, just one or two pages of brief description another lover or friend and then they were gone from the story never to be heard of again and I just didn't care about them or when something happened because I barely knew these Characters or Mata Hari herself.
From reading the Authors Note at the end of the book I understand that Mata Hari did re invent herself and it is hard to know what was true about her life and what fake so there's not a lot to work with, but I almost wished Michelle Moran had spent the time writing another book on Ancient Egypt then writing this one.
Nevertheless, I look forward to reading whatever she writes next.
The plot and characters lacked depth, I felt no connection to Mata Hari or any other characters. There was no relationship building or developments, just one or two pages of brief description another lover or friend and then they were gone from the story never to be heard of again and I just didn't care about them or when something happened because I barely knew these Characters or Mata Hari herself.
From reading the Authors Note at the end of the book I understand that Mata Hari did re invent herself and it is hard to know what was true about her life and what fake so there's not a lot to work with, but I almost wished Michelle Moran had spent the time writing another book on Ancient Egypt then writing this one.
Nevertheless, I look forward to reading whatever she writes next.