Liberty's Fire is a historically original and accurate book detailing the events of the periods of the Franco-German War, also known as the Franco-Prussian War, as the conflict was between France and a coalition of the North German Prussian Leading States. From this war was born the Paris Revolution which occurred in 1871 and which is at the center of this novel. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The events of the book are written through the eyes of four friends who observe the developments of this civil war while having personal political experiences through many difficult circumstances. I found the book to be slow paced until a point in later chapters where it begins to detail the relationships shared between the main characters. The plot revolves around the relationships between the four core characters and how their individual struggles and political beliefs force them to cooperate. The four main characters struggle to support themselves while developing their talents. Jules is an upper class American photographer and is suspicious of the Commune. He also seems skeptical of Zephyrine's radical approach and becomes somewhat annoyed, along with Marie, by Zephyrine and Anatole's new found relationship. Zephyrine is a young girl, 16 years old to be exact, and finding herself alone after the death of her grandmother, she is taken in by Marie as she grieves. Desperate to make it on her own, she turns to the streets where she is quickly drawn by her friend Rose, who matches her zeal, to the revolution and the ideals of a radical new government, and finds herself captivated by its "promises of freedom, hope, equality and rights for women”. It is during this time that he meets Anatole as he intervenes in an altercation Zephyrine has with two men, arguing over his services. It isn't long before the two meet again, following the revolution, and fall in love. Concerned about the relationship, Rose questions Zephyrine about her commitment to the Commune. “'But I know,' said Zephyrine. «Of course I know. I want to help the Commune." She enjoyed working with the committee." Marie, who is a promising opera singer, and performs with Anatole, sings with sympathy for the enemy forces storming the city because of her brother, Emile, and many other prisoners, who are in their ranks. I was surprised that Marie, who even though she seemed focused on her own success, cared about a lower class as Zephyrine is a young violinist, who comes across as an attractive man, both in personality and in appearance. He has an enormous zest for life and is the kind of person whose charisma and passion make him a bait for other people Anatole's actions were a bit careless and had a negative impact on others However, the text seemed appropriate as it offered a glimpse into the lives of those who had experienced so much in such a short span of time which, for the characters, must. seemed like a lifetime. The Commune has eliminated the typical rules of social interaction, so when Anatole meets a poor young woman called Zephyrine, he welcomes this as a chance to get to know her better. Zephyrine is influenced by the belief system of the commune members, by the possibility of freedom and justice for all, and Anatole is overwhelmed by her passion. Marie is ambitious and sees that the Commune could offer her sudden opportunities for a promising future. Unfortunately, he desperately tries to help and encourage his brother, who he has become a prisoner ofwar; however, she finds that her attempts to do so make her question her decisions. There were some things about the Commune that weren't explained, so I was a little confused by the events described and what was going to happen. It was like actually being there. In other cases, however, the author does a convincing job of making the events real. Here he writes of an explosion in a cartridge factory that Jules and Marie observed from their windows: "...the cloud had a capricious and elusive beauty: innumerable silver ostrich feathers, continually unfurling, swirling, twisting in the air, they spun around themselves and each other, rolling in and out of each other quickly... And from the sky fell burning lumber, molten lead, empty shell casings, and human remains “How the characters are defined, we learn that Anatole has just landed a theater contract, Marie has an understudy part in Il Trovatore, and Jules' photographs begin to acquire semi-official status as his work becomes noticed. The political aspects added in the book help to exaggerate each character's growth throughout the story. The book's plot and characters seemed very realistic and you could tell that the author must have put a lot of time and research into this work. There were little details in this book that enhance the reading experience so much that they influenced me to do a little more research on that period in history and why the French Revolution happened. I think both key characters, Anatole and Zephyrine, were well represented. Furthermore, many of the events recounted in the book occurred on the streets; this required some description of the surroundings in order for the reader to understand the urgency of these events. The novel also included many cliffhangers that always kept me reading. Zephyrine's character is not immediately involved with Anatole; she was simply a desperate girl struggling against the struggles of Paris. The author attempted to depict her character in moments of desperation that bring the reader to a point of empathy for Zephyrine, bonding the character and the reader. This was successful; but after this first strong introduction Zéphyrine doesn't have much to show in terms of personality. He often gets annoying when he asks questions, for example to Jules about photography equipment in chapter 20. I found the dialect used by the revolutionaries to be very formal. This doesn't seem realistic for the characters who lived mostly in the poorer areas of Paris. Although perhaps the author was using this to make the book seem realistic for that time period. All in all, the pacing of the book was a little disappointing at first. The characters meet briefly in the first thirteen chapters. It wasn't until chapter fourteen, when the characters met a second time, and began their story together, that the book began to flow. applause, and the sweet scent of gingerbread, flowers and toasted nuts. , there were eerily quiet scenes that slowed the pace of the intensity of the last week. For example, Marie goes out to a bistro amid the conflict, leaving Zephyrine alone once again. While it was obvious that the fighting wasn't taking place all over Paris, the total absence of danger described in these chapters made the events seem subtle and, in turn, lose some of their importance. The truth is that Paris was engulfed in a fierce battle, as a result events occurred that would change the characters forever. “…One by one, hostile newspapers were suppressed. It had already happened before, less than a hundred years before. Paris remembered the Reign of Terror after the first revolution and shuddered. Every plot was.