Original Sins

Trade Secrets of the Femme Fatale

By: Kim Krizan

Narrated by: Stephanie Nemeth-Parker

How to do really bad things!

What's a woman to wear when she kills her husband? Or plays her detective for a sap? And ultimately, what's the appropriate ensemble for facing a firing squad? Who is the femme fatale? Since time began, every culture has obsessed about her; women have wished to be her, and men - the dumb clucks - have connived to control her. Drawing on examples from history to Hollywood, this tongue-in-cheek book presents a new appraisal of feminine power: Revealing how any woman can lay claim to her fatale birthright and have a hell of a lot of fun doing it. Original Sins is a guide for the woman who'd rather track her prey than be tied to the tracks. Written by Kim Krizan, the Academy Award-nominated co-writer and creator of the Before Sunrise film series.

©2013 Kim Krizan (P)2019 Kim Krizan

Dressed to Kill

I was given a promotional copy of this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review, so here goes.

This audiobook walks you through a somewhat fictionally embellished and satirized history of the Femme Fatale, from ancient archetypes, through historical figures to screen sirens and the women who portrayed them in movies. The range of the characters both fictional and real, presented each in short little vignettes, is substantial and very entertaining. (Did you know Mata Hari was a Dutch woman? I didn't).

The cast of real and fictional characters reserached by author Kim Krizan includes names such as Eve, Cleopatra, Lillie Langtry, Theda Bara, Scarlett O'Hara, Greta Garbo, Catwoman, Faye Dunaway, Madonna, Britney Spears and many more.

Interspersed between these vignettes are descriptions of the perfect Femme Fatale attire for every occasion. These were a bit reminiscent of American Psycho Patrick Bateman's endless ramblings about beauty products. In these descriptions, the true meaning of "dressed to kill" is revealed.

Stephanie Nemeth-Parker, a new name on Audible as a narrator with only this title under her belt so far, has the perfect voice for this performance: Calm, warm, low, sexy and seductive with a hint of dripping sarcasm and irony. She performs the text very well, and the audio production is very good. However, I did set the speed to 1.25 after a while because at normal speed, the narration was too slow for my personal taste. I hope she does some sci-fi or fantasy books in the future, because I'd love to hear that.

All in all, a very enjoyable, entertaining and thorough examination of Femme Fatales throughout history and, for a man such as myself, very insightful and enlightening