I must confess that I don’t normally read this type of book. However, I happened to watch the news on the television here in France the other week andI must confess that I don’t normally read this type of book. However, I happened to watch the news on the television here in France the other week and saw a woman of about forty coming from a courthouse in Chalon-sur-Saone, in France’s central Burgundy region, supported by two female lawyers. I was immediately distressed for the woman as she looked so fragile. I think she was probably still recovering from the shock that she had just been told that whereas she had been judged for premeditated murder, she was free to leave the court.
She killed the man (Daniel Polette) who raped her for years as her stepfather before becoming her husband and pimp, and went on trial in a high-profile case that has become symbolic in the fight against male violence in France.
The case has mobilised defenders of women against male violence, with hundreds of thousands of people signing a petition for her release.
When Polette started questioning her 14-year old daughter Karline about her budding sexuality, Bacot said she decided that “this has to stop�.
“I had to put an end to it,� Valerie Bacot, 40, wrote in her book called “Tout le Monde Savait� (“Everybody Knew�), adding “I was afraid, all the time.�
I found this book incredibly moving, although not an enjoyable subject. All I could think when I finished it was that here was a woman still fearful of men but luckily enough she had the support of her four children. Also, she was so pleased when she became a grandmother at thirty-nine and I hope that she enjoys a better life. She deserves it....more
Review - All Men Are Mortal - Simone de Beauvoir� 11 February 2019
If you are into Existentialism or even Absurdism, then this is the book for you. SimReview - All Men Are Mortal - Simone de Beauvoir� 11 February 2019
If you are into Existentialism or even Absurdism, then this is the book for you. Simone de Beauvoir has indeed excelled herself with combining her own philosophical leanings with a rather fascinating historical novel starting in 1279, in a castle in the city of Carmona in Italy, with immortality thrown in with our hero Raimondo Fosca. This individual would end up ruling Carmona.
These were difficult and hazardous times as Italy was not unified at the time and regions such as Florence and Genoa were constantly searching for ways and means to increase the size, power and wealth of their provinces. Carmona was viewed as a desirable target to acquire at whatever cost and it seemed at the time as if it would fall but then cause and effect entered the equation. Food was so low the situation was desperate and then like a miracle one of the beggars came out with a bottle of this Egyptian elixir which evidently made one immortal if one had the courage to drink it. Fosca was concerned about the future of Carmona, especially as the plague had started to gain a hold, and so it was tried on a mouse first of all. This poor creature then had its neck twisted and it indeed lived to tell the tale and to do so continuously for immortality as Fosca did indeed do.
Fosca spent many centuries in different places, and countries, and with different women, having children who invariably tried to kill him because of his immortality. They all failed of course. But there is a price with immortality because Fossa was soon very aware of the meaning of existence. He began to have nightmares and yet life continued. That in itself proved to be the nightmare.
He was even an advisor to Charles V and initially wanted to make him the ruler of the universe but soon realised that there was no universe.
Fosca travelled endlessly over the centuries but existence was always the same, no change.
Then he finds himself in Paris in the twentieth century and meets Regina, an aspiring egotistical actress and it is this individual who asks Fosca to tell her his life story as he had mentioned that he was immortal but even being immortal has a price as she soon finds out.
As for the ending, I believe that there are several interpretations but it is the screaming, especially the first scream that confused me. Why?...more
On 21 February 1971, Barbara told the Sunday News: “I was nothing. I had no friends. No talent. I was like a shadow. I didn’t learn a thing in schoOn 21 February 1971, Barbara told the Sunday News: “I was nothing. I had no friends. No talent. I was like a shadow. I didn’t learn a thing in school. I still can’t count. I hated movies as a child, people on the screen were perfect and it made me feel inferior.� Later on, in the Post: “I used to hide behind doors. I spent my childhood hiding behind my grandmother’s stove. I was very lonely.� Later, still in Positive: “I’ve gone through my while life like I was autistic, convinced I was worth nothing. I didn’t know who I was. I was all over the place, I had no pride.�
The author was completely unknown to me as was Barbara Loden, the subject of this book, and yet as soon as I read the blurb and saw that Loden, apart from being a stage and film actress, was also the second wife of Hollywood giant Elia Kazan, I knew that I would absolutely devour and love this book. That indeed turned out to be the case. I have a weakness for the films of the “Golden Age� of Hollywood and I have this wonderful French book of Hollywood actors and actresses, including Ava Gardener, Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart, etc.
Loden then managed to get small parts in films, nearly making great films with actors like Burt Lancaster but then they always fell by the wayside. When Elia Kazan was faced with her on a set he had only one thing on his mind! He subsequently married Loden.
Loden was a unique individual in that she really didn’t know who she was and finally decided to direct and star in her own independent film “Wanda� in 1970, when she was thirty eight. In reality she was playing herself.
You can imagine how difficult that must have been to find financial backing. She ended up with a rather low budget. This makes me think of Clint Eastwood who was born two years before Loden and who also directed and starred in his own films. At that time it must have been hard for a woman to make an entrance in the film industry as a director and she has to be admired for that.
Loden’s film “Wanda� brought her a certain amount of fame but she was never really accepted in the film world and died of cancer in 1980. She was still married to Kazan when she died. She consulted many doctors prior to her death and one even said that her problem was brought about because she didn’t cry enough! As she lay dying, all she said was Shit, shit, shit, then she spat out some tiny stones � it’s the liver, the nurse said � and died.
I was so fascinated by the content of the film that I’ve ordered the DVD of “Wanda� and I cannot wait to see it.
For a definitive review of this book, do read Proustitute’s excellent review on the link below.
So good to read another perfect book. It has made my day here in France where we have a holiday for All Saints� Day. It couldn’t be more appropriate. I’m sitting here on my terrace overlooking the Pyrenees, it is sunny, there is a clear sky and well, it couldn’t be better....more
I cannot remember when I last disliked a character in a novel so much. In this case it is Sam Tahar. He is everything that I dislike in a man.
I do notI cannot remember when I last disliked a character in a novel so much. In this case it is Sam Tahar. He is everything that I dislike in a man.
I do not care for the writing style at all. I wonder though if something has in fact got lost in the translation?
The story is pedestrian.
I feel that Sam Tahar is actually loosely based on Dominic Strauss Kahn, who is such a brilliant economist. If it hadn't been for his fall from grace, I'm sure that he would be heading the PS here in France, or even President of the country. Like Tahar he was rather partial to women.
Well a quick skim through this book to see if I had missed anything sparkling and as there was nothing, well I gave up on reading it....more
I had happened to see Warwick's review of this book in French and I realized that I had never rated it. My book, as you can see, is the English versioI had happened to see Warwick's review of this book in French and I realized that I had never rated it. My book, as you can see, is the English version.
A fabulous, tiny, simple book about a man in France who planted acorns.
The wood engravings by Michael McCurdy are superb and worth getting the book purely for that reason....more
Eric Karpeles’s lavishly illustrated and comprehensive guide offers a feast for the eyes as it celebrates the close relationship between the visualEric Karpeles’s lavishly illustrated and comprehensive guide offers a feast for the eyes as it celebrates the close relationship between the visual and literary arts in Proust’s masterpiece. Karpeles has identified and located all of the paintings to which Proust makes exact reference. Where only a painter’s name is mentioned to indicate a certain mood or appearance, he has chosen a representative work to illustrate the impression that Proust sought to evoke…�..Extensive notes and a comprehensive index of all painters and paintings mentioned in the novel provide an invaluable resource for the reader navigating “In Search of Lost Time� for the first time or the fifth.
This is a visual companion to “In Search of Lost Time� by Marcel Proust. I always thought that the translation was “Remembrance of Things Past�?
This work is absolutely exquisite. I cannot believe that I allowed it to languish on my bookshelves for eighteen months!
I still haven’t read “In Search of Lost Time� in its entirety � I think the length is actually the stumbling block but this book has helped to a certain extent. I had not realized beforehand that Proust's text would be quite as inspiring as it proved to be. Dare I say it? Yes. Sublime is indeed the word.
Out of all the places visited, the trip made by the narrator and his mother to the Arena Chapel in Padua is memorable. The painting and the text match beautifully.
Some of the paintings that remain entrenched in my mind, and I marked the pages with a post-it in case I forgot, are:
The Birth of Venus � Sandro Botticelli, 1482-86 Spring, or the Earthly Paradise, Nicolas Poussin, 1660 (You can actually see “some apparition of the life of the gods� in the clouds on the top right-hand side of the painting). The Creation of the Planets (detail of Sistine Chapel ceiling), Michelangelo, 1511 (Rather saucy but invigorating to behold). A ‘Star of Bethlehem� and Other Plants, Leonardo da Vinci, 1505 Philosopher in Meditation, Rembrandt (Harmensz.) van Rijn, 1632 (I would love to own that). Portrait of a Young Man, Il Bronzino, 1530s St Sebastian, Il Sodoma, 1525 Interior of the Arena Chapel (Padua) facing the Last Judgment, west, Giotto, 1304-6 (Remarkable). Portrait of a Lady, Pierre-Auguste Cot, 1879 (I would love to look like the woman here). Woman Holding a Balance, Jan Vermeer, 1662-63 (Exquisite!)
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It excites all the senses in a magnificent way. I will certainly revisit this book and many times in all likelihood....more
A beautiful classic that everyone loves but not for me.
I loved the "Peau de chagrin" - by Balzac - my best essay at university. A true shame in this rA beautiful classic that everyone loves but not for me.
I loved the "Peau de chagrin" - by Balzac - my best essay at university. A true shame in this respect and I must confess it bothers me. All I can say is that tastes change with time......more
Having rated this book from when I read it years ago, I looked at the book again last night and have rated it upwards. It certainly deserves it.
I was Having rated this book from when I read it years ago, I looked at the book again last night and have rated it upwards. It certainly deserves it.
I was reminded of this book this morning when I saw that Warwick is currently reading it.
I'm looking rather sadly at what was my magnificent Folio Society edition until Jasper, a labrador who loved to chew books unfortunately, decided one day that this was his flavour of the month and ate part of the protective outer covering the Folio Society use. Luckily he didn't manage to destroy the book itself.
This is an excellent witty and social document about life in the late nineteenth century in Paris, beautifully portrayed by Edmond and Jules de Goncourt. The illustrations are delightful depicting individuals such as Alexandre Dumas, father and also son, Alphonse Daudet, Ivan Turgenev, Victor Hugo, George Sands, Emile Zola, Gustave Flaubert, etc.
I was also fascinated to see that the brothers wrote this literary work between them as they were so different in their personalities "Edmond, born at Nancy in May 1822, was slow, serious, phlegmatic, very much the responsible elder brother; while Jules, born in Paris in December 1830, was volatile, quick-witted, mischievous, very much the spoilt younger brother. Yet from the point of view of instinct, taste, and sensibility the two men were one."
I was reminded of this author today by Scribble with regard to one of Robbe-Grillet's other books.
I had to read this in French at university and did II was reminded of this author today by Scribble with regard to one of Robbe-Grillet's other books.
I had to read this in French at university and did I struggle. For a start the literary French was all too much for my brain at the time. And so I went around to the nearby university bookshop and purchased the Twentieth Century Text, which had a "Select Vocabulary" at the back to my delight as some of the vocabulary was lethal. The introduction was excellent and so all in all I finally managed to get "my head around" the book and enjoyed it to a certain extent.
Looking at this book now, Robbe-Grillet is supposedly "one of the leading exponents of the nouveau roman".
Now how would you interpret the following?
"Robbe-Grillet believes that there is a distance between man and objects - an object's sole meaning is that given to it by man. In La Jealousie, for example, the stain of the centipede grows in meaning by its association with A.'s infidelity.
The plot is actually good. There are three characters: the owner of a banana plantation in an unspecified tropical country, his wife who is referred to throughout as A. (why I wondered), and Franck, the wife's presumed lover. It is narrated by the husband and it's all about suspicion with flashbacks, etc. thrown in.
I was reminded of this book today (by Jonathan) in relation to Robert Bolt's screenplay "Ryan's Daughter", directed by David Lean, which was "loosely I was reminded of this book today (by Jonathan) in relation to Robert Bolt's screenplay "Ryan's Daughter", directed by David Lean, which was "loosely based on Madame Bovary".
There's not much point in writing a review as so many excellent ones have already been written but I read this at university and our lecturer was a hoot. A lot of the wording I must confess I didn't understand at the time and looking at my 539 page paperback, there are comments all over the place.
I really should reread this in French and perhaps I'll understand the book better.
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