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Le Rouge et le Noir,
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Alan Lindsay
This book is a classic for good reason. But if you are not familiar with the state of France in the early days after Napoleon, then you're probably missing most of the subtext. The "plot" of any really good novel is not likely to be particularly entertaining. The development and exploration of ideas is. To understand what ideas the book is embroiled in, you may wan to spend some time reading about the book. The title gives you a start: the red (soldier, politics, the world) and the black (religion, priesthood, forsaking of the world). But even that is superficial. Rene Girard offers an interpretation of the book in Deceit, Desire and the Novel that places the interests in the realm of what he calls Mimetic Desire. Follow the path of the theme not the dull movement of Julien's love interest and you'll see why this novel deserves its reputation. If you're not yet ready to do that, put it aside and come back to it later.
MotherOfMutts
I felt the same way. It gets better as the book progresses, if you can stick with it. The last 1/3 of the book and especially the ending, is particularly interesting. That is, if you're able to hang in that far.
Mal58
To keep the French happy critics have to pretend Stendhal is good, otherwise they don't get invited to conferences in France, and miss out on French cuisine.
Teodora Goidea
I'm not sure, I read this book when I was about 13 and I loved it. I probably had more patience then than I do now because I didn't expect to be ENTERTAINED. I think I was more open to different kinds of reading experiences without expecting something specific.
Cathy Douglas
I'm basically reading this because I'm an insomniac. I think it would be a lot less stultifying for someone interested in the politics of nineteenth-century France. Based on descriptions, I expected the MC to be more of a jerk, and to find entertainment in that. But I'm actually quite sympathetic to him. The theme seems to be about the loss of idealism we all face as we grow up. But you're right, it's boring as *u**.
Greg
I had to do some research along the way, it made a differene.
´³´Ç²¹±ç³ÜòÔ
@Teodora, I was far more entertained reading Das Kapital than this
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