What is "attentat"

Attentate \At*ten"tate\, Attentat \At*ten"tat\, n. [L. attentatum, pl. attentata, fr. attentare to attempt: cf. F. attentat criminal attempt. See Attempt.]

1. An attempt; an assault. [Obs.]
   --Bacon.

2. (Law)

   1. A proceeding in a court of judicature, after an inhibition is decreed.

   2. Any step wrongly innovated or attempted in a suit by an inferior judge.

n. 1 (context legal obsolete English) Anything whatsoever, as a ruling, by the judge of a lower court in a matter pending an appeal. 2 (context legal obsolete English) Any step wrongly innovated or attempted by an inferior judge in a suit. 3 (context obsolete English) An attempted assault or assassination of a political figure; a politically motivated attempted assault.

Attentat or Atentat may refer to:

• Attentat (band), Swedish punk band
• Attentat (novel), a 1997 novel by Amélie Nothomb
• Atentát, a 1964 Czech film directed by Jiří Sequens

Attentat is a Belgian novel by Amélie Nothomb. It was first published in 1997.

Summary

In Attentat, the novelist creates two original characters for her readers. On the one hand, the grotesque yet enlightened Epiphane Otos is both refined and vulnerable. On the other hand Ethel, a smart young actress, is portrayed as incredibly beautiful. The story is about Epiphane's love for and devotion to Ethel. It is also a pretext for discourse on the idea of societal norms. Like in all books by Amélie Nothomb, literary and artistic references abound (for example Notre Dame de Paris). The use of little known vocabulary is equally an essential style trait of this novelist's work.

Comment

All the author's ideas support the debate she puts forward on normality. What is a norm? What is the role, involuntary or not, played by society in the elaboration of such standards? Amélie Nothomb skillfully demonstrates depictions of beauty and ugliness throughout the dialogue between Epiphane and Ethel: We are thrown by others views, shaped by them. On a wider scale, Amélie Nothomb invites us to question our philosophies and core beliefs, through the character of Epiphane Otos. Are one's views on a given topic, fact, or idea a result of personal reflection or the absorption of a societal concept which has not yet been refuted?

Some minor oversights are present in this work. One example is where the author writes, “the square of my hypotenuse was equal to the sum of my right angles,” whereas the square of the hypotenuse should be equal to the sum of the squares of the two other sides. In another quote, “it was six o'clock in the morning in Japan therefore 2pm at Ethel's” is erroneous even if it is not specified whether she lives in France or Belgium We do know however that the location is in Europe, somewhere west of Germany, thanks to a fax written by Epiphane during the journey to Japan which indicated the countries on the flight path. So the Time zone difference with Japan is not correctly calculated. In January, the month in which the action occurs, it is in fact 10pm in France or Belgium while it is already 6am the next day in Japan.

Category:1997 novels Category:Belgian novels Category:French-language novels

Attentat was a Swedish punk band originating from Askim, Gothenburg, Sweden and established in 1978. It fronted Mats Jönsson on vocals. Original members also included Magnus "Paddan" Rydman, Martin "Grodan" Fabian and Dag Wetterholm. The band was known as The Frogs before being renamed Attentat. The first singles were on their own label "Rickman", but the debut album Tatuerade tårar was released in 1981 on Hiss Records, before being signed to Transmission. The band was on a hiatus after 1984 but had a comeback in 1991 and 1992 after signing with Arda Records. They also came together in 1998 for the 20th anniversary and in 2003 for the 25th anniversary. Later line-ups included Mats Jönsson on vocals, Magnus "Paddan/Remdo" Rydman on guitar, both from the original band as well as Cristian "Crippa" Odin on bass and Peter Björklund on drums. The compilation album Fy Fan! released in 2013 on the band's own Rykkman Records raised interest in the band's legacy and climbed the Swedish Albums Chart reaching number 20.