Le Colonel Chabert [French English Bilingual Edition] - Paragraph-by-Paragraph Translation (French E

---

While many animals are well-known through local folklore, it is to be hoped that international travel guides soon learn from this publication to warn travellers to the dangers they may unknowingly expose themselves when travelling to Africa, or Bornea, for instance, the dwelling place of the Acromantula. Contrary to The Google Book , Fantastic beasts and where to find them is sparsely illustrated, with occasional BW sketches of some of the less gruesome specimens, with the exception of the red-haired, spider-like Quitaped, a.

Fantastic beasts and where to find them classifies the fantastic animals into five categories of danger to Wizards and Muggles. It is very useful to know that a number of these animals are carnivorous, having sheep, pigs or human beings as their favourite prey. A weakness of Fantastic beasts and where to find them is that it is limited to describing fauna, and neglects flora.

While this edition comes with a lengthy foreword, and footnotes elucidating particulars with regard to the animals, there are no cross-references or explanations to specimens of plants, fungus or lichens. Thus, while well-read Muggles have no difficulty identifying Mandrake , the favourite diet of the Dugbog, the average reader may be hard-pressed for knowledge of Alihotsy, the leaves of which may cause hysteria upon ingestion, to which the Glumbumble produces an antidote in the form of a melancholy-inducing treacle. Undoubtedly, in as much as magic potions contain parts of animals, and animals' excretions, fresh and dried plant parts must surely belong to their ingredients, and one wonders whether a companion volume with special interest in fantastic flora would hit the shelves.

A preliminary survey shows that such a volume could include species such as Alraune, Audrey var. Unfortunately, Fantastic beasts and where to find them is not complete and contains at least one error. To begin with the latter, the paperback edition incorrectly lists the Erkling on page 27, which should obviously be the Erlking. Ashamedly, even a bright student such as Harry Potter, has not seen or noticed this error.

It is to be hoped that this error will be corrected in the next edition. Furthermore, a large number of fantastic beasts are omitted, such as the Blast-Ended Skrewt, the Fire Slug, the Hinkypunk a. Will-o'-the-wisp, the Nargle and the Vampyr Mosp. It would be nice if future editions would include cross references to the Snidget and the Golden Snidget, while the editor could be clearer on the sub-species of Merpeople, viz.

Finally, one would expect some comment, or an appendix with some explanations for animals of lesser known status, such as Banshees, Boggarts, House-elves, Cockatrices, Dwarfs, Dementors, Fluffy, Giants, Mummies and Veela and the status and classification of creatures such as the Bicorns, Blibbering Humdinger, Blood-Sucking Bugbears, Crumple-Horned Snorkack, Gulping Plimpy, Heliopath and Wrackspurt.

On the other hand, it could be argued that inclusion of these latter specimens would fall beyond the scope of a schoolbook, and be more appropriate to a more specialized guide, such as The Monster Book of Monsters. A very interesting and edifying read, indeed. Jan 3, , 9: The Google Book looks absolutely delightful, Edwin.

Hopefully they never make it out of the Hogwarts' grounds ;. Jan 3, , Her poetry is modern, but written in a quiet and pleasant style, with various forms of rhyme; many of her poems have a natural rhythm, and repetition gives some the characteristics of a ballad.

Kay 's poetry is recognizable and accessible to a large audience. The poems in Fiere , published in , is her sixth volume of published poetry. The poems in this collection are inspired by friendship in all variety of relations. There are also some poems written alongside Kay 's memoir Red dust road , which describes her search for her father in Africa.

The title of the collection, Fiere derives from archaic English or Scottish Gaelic: Fere, feare, feer, fiere or pheere archaic noun: One of the two epigraphs to the collection is from Burns: And there's a hand, my trusty fiere And gie's a hand o' thine Robert Burns the other epigraph reads: Wherever someone stands, something else will stand beside it.

The years slipping awa; oot in the weather. Whaur would I hae been weyoot my jo, My fiere, my fiercy, my dearie O? Oot by the roaring Sea, still havin a blether. We who loved sincerely; we who loved sae fiercely. Here are your years stretching ahead, and the rose-gold love of the newly wed. Edwin, I knew you'd be dangerous this year and already I have two more books to look for: The Google Book and Fiere.

Wonderful excerpts from both. Jan 3, , 3: Ooh -- how nice to start out the year with such delightful poetry and gorgeous pictures! Fantastic start to your new thread Edwin. There is really only one tome that you need for fantastic monsters and that is: Jan 3, , 8: Cyberspace in another domain altogether. To carry the discussion over from the thread, yes, I thought you might be interested in the Erasmus biography by Huizinga.

The book was really full of wonderful details. For example, we learn that in Erasmus' time it was customary for travellers to sleep two-to-a-bed. At the opening of Moby Dick Ishmael has to share a bed with Queequeg. We get the feeling that this is normal in that setting, but only because the inn is so full. Nowadays, we wouldn't want to share a room with a stranger, in most cases. Jan 4, , 3: The sleeping two-per bed came up in a Lincoln biography too. When he occasionally wrote or said he slept with so and so, he actually meant they what he said, sans the euphemism.

Your review of Fantastic Beasts was great fun to read. Jan 5, , 9: Superb reviews as always, Edwin. I've added Fiere to my wish list. Jan 8, , 5: Loved both, and the topic of friendship. Jan 16, , 4: All over Finished reading: Kesey is the author of four books, Nanjing: A Cultural and Historical Guide, and two short stories collections: Nothing in the World , and All over , written and published in while living in Beijing, and his latest, Pacazo , a novel published in Kesey now resides in Maryland At a total of pages, this means each story in All over is very short, at an average length of just about eight pages.

All stories are highly charged with a feverish energy and dynamic, and some of them are characterised by a frantic verbosity, which make them somewhat difficult to read, and require attentive reading. The writing can be called experimental, with parts of regular prose interspersed with ultra-short paragraphs, and short-style dialogue, which raises the pace of reading. Formal and informal styles are mixed. The premise of most stories is some form of weirdness, but very close to real-life experience. For instance, the first story, "Invunche y voladora" swirls around the irritations that develop between lovers in long relationships, but this couple is newly-wed.

Thus, the story bears out the tale of many failed marriages on the first day of honeymoon. Cleverly done, and one of the better stories in the collection. The story is told from their pre-natal perspective. The story describes how customers at the Pizza Hut, being restricted to a single serving from the salad bar used to pile their salad incredibly high, to maximize the amount of salad ingredients which could be held on top of one small salad bowl.

Another story that seems inspired by China is "Scroll", the second story in the collection.

It tells the story of an artist who spent 34 years to create a painting that is nine miles long and then fails to find a gallery to show it. This collection of stories will be very interesting to readers seeking out the avant-garde of modern short-story writing, and it will be interesting to follow the further development of Roy Kesey as an emerging author.

That was a clear error I had overlooked. Jan 16, , 8: My wife invariably conducts herself in this fashion where there is a salad bar curiously, even where there is no 'single serving' rule. Jan 16, , Like Schweigeminute , transl. In fact, the story is so accessible that it feels as if you've read it somewhere else. Perhaps, this effect is created by the hyper-realistic setting. At the centre of the story are two prisoners, one, a professor, Clemens, who seduced students in exchange for fraudulent exam results, and his cellmate, Hannes.

Productgegevens

The prison is located near a small town. The mayor of the town promotes a project, aimed at raising the town's profile. To this effect, the prisoners are brought to the town by bus to participate in the cultural activities which are part of the annual Carnation Festival. Throughout the week, the prisoners sleep in the bus, rather than being brought back to the prison. Typically, this inspires some inmates to escape. Clemens, who has completed half of his four-year imprisonment period decides not to flee.

Back in his cell, he finds that Hannes has decided to stay as well. Respect and friendship are the main motives. A bit too easy, perhaps. Other books I have read by Siegfried Lenz: Jan 17, , 7: Jan 17, , 9: However, I sometimes adjust this rating after writing the review, as reviewing makes you look at a book somewhat differently, and writing it all up seems to bear the real value out.

In this case, I was a bit over-enthusiastic, and upgraded the rating to four stars. However, as Barry remarked, four out of five for this books quite mars with my regular rating, so I readjusted the rating back to 1. The style and structure are experimental, and therefore not really comfortable to read. The depth of human experience in somewhat shallow.

At the same time, bearing in mind that this is a new author, the work is interesting, and I will definitely read more by this author. I suppose there will be other readers who can appreciate the stories much more than I do. Feb 1, , The forgotten waltz Finished reading: In The forgotten waltz , the main character, Gina Moynihan is a selfish and egotistical woman, and therefore, readers tend to dislike the character as well as the novel. It is brave of Anne Enright to write a novel in which the narrator is a dislikable character.

As a type, this protagonist is probably universal: She is just that type of person, perhaps quite typical of the s and early decades of the 21 century, that type of go-getter, with a good job, an eye always on stock market and real estate prices, believing social darwinism means cruelty is part of social competitiveness. Naturally, this is not the way she perceives herself.

In her own self-perception, Gina appears a quite normal, emancipated woman. There are some not so subtle hints in the first part of the books that Gina would think of herself as particularly pure, worried of smut and dirt. There are several times references suggesting that other people are abnormal or weak, in her eyes. Gina's character is soon enough clear to the reader, who will realize that Gina should be considered an unreliable narrator. Her analysis of social relations, or morals and of her own motivations is incorrect.

The total randomess of their relationship is emphasised by Gina's characterization of how it came about. She was looking intently at a man who was turned away from her. Had he not turned around, she would have let him go, but as he did turn around and face her, she made her move. From the way Gina has described her husband Conor, mentally undressing him as in her mind she strips his well-built body -- a jacket, and under that a shirt, and under that a T-shirt, and under that a tattoo The time when adultery was a man's thing lies far in the past.

The child is a factor that Gina has not reckoned with, and completely underestimates. Ever since Freud, it is clear that children are no longer just innocent. The novella that first attested to that insight is probably Henry James ' What Masie knew. The forgotten waltz is a modern variation on this theme. Anne Enright 's prose is almost as understated as that of Beryl Bainbridge , but gives the reader more clues.

Likewise, The forgotten waltz is a fairly thin novel. True, The forgotten waltz was not quite an enjoyable read, but then leaves the reader with a lot to ponder. Excellent review of The Forgotten Waltz , Edwin. I saw Enright give a talk on this book and it did not compel me to read it. But I did like The Gathering , which many did not. The book does seem to elicit a knee-jerk response because of its protagonist, which is unfortunate. I have The Gathering , so I'll try that before deciding about this one. Die Kirschen der Freiheit Finished reading: Quite a number of German authors who started their career at the time of the Nazi German Third Reich, and became celebrated authors of the postwar period, are now forgotten or in disrepute.

Especially those writers who did not go into exile are under fire as their integrity is questioned. For many authors whose career was built during the late s to circa mid s no substantial evidence existed except for personal testimonies by eye witnesses or close relations with whom they may have shared the most intimate details of their personal histories.

These personal testimonies are only recently appearing or made known to the public. In some cases, as with Alfred Andersch speculation has proved to be without foundation. Still, any dispute of an author's moral integrity must negatively influence readers' ideas, even though the value of the authors' works are not reevaluated. Die Kirschen der Freiheit is a beautifully written personal account of pre-war Germany and the Nazi period from about to It should definitely be considered on a par with for instance Ernst Toller 's Eine Jugend in Deutschland.

In subsequent years, with a father who is a fanatic Hitler fan, Alfred became a leader the a Communist youth organization, for which he was arrested and locked up in the concentration camp Dachau in This instills so much fear in the young Alfred Andersch that after his release he abandons his political activities and turns to the relatively innocent occupation or art and writing.

He describes how circumstances force him to cheer and welcome Hitler as the new Reichskanzler a few months later, waving a little flag as Hitler's motorcade passes through the streets. Next, the autobiography describes how Andersch, who was conscripted into the German army Wehrmacht since , deserted from his unit while fighting on the last front in Italy in June While his desertion seems frightfully simple, the reader is persuaded to feel the fear of doing so, as recapture would inevitably have meant immediate execution.

Apart from a personal history, Die Kirschen der Freiheit explores the question to what extent personal human freedom can be said to exist. Obviously, none of Andersch actions and life since his arrest in were motivated by even the merest semblance of free will, but more likely the result of a lifelong fear. In addition, Andersch explores the question to what extent an oath is binding in creating loyalty to a loathed master. Andersch conclusion is that people are never really free, and that freedom only exists in rare moments, which may possibly even only occur once in a lifetime.

For who is ever truly free from fear or duty? Other books I have read by Alfred Andersch: Wanderungen im Norden " Ein Tagebuch in Briefen an Hedwig Andersch, bis The Cherries of Freedom , right? My German isn't great, but I still remember a few basics, and some words are quite close to Afrikaans. Sounds incredibly interesting, Edwin. Your high rating is also enticing. Thanks for pointing that out. I usually check whether an English translation is available, but with only 47 copies on LT I had assumed that it had not been translated. I actually didn't even check whether there was a translation, just translated it for myself ; Now I wonder whether to try reading it in German, or to stick with the English That does sound interesting.

And to elicit five stars, as well! I'll keep an eye out for it. I really enjoyed The Forgotten Waltz , but I can see how the personality and actions of the protagonist could be off-putting, I think I liked it in part because of her. I liked diving into the thoughts and motivations of someone so different from myself.

Feb 1, , 5: You might, Alison, especially with your upcoming relocation to Munich, which was politically very much astir during the first half of the Twentieth century. You might also want to have a look at the German expressionist author Ernst Toller. I did not really dislike reading The Forgotten Waltz , although much of my appreciation developed contemplating the novel after I finished reading it.

The low rating is not based on the unsympathetic character of Gina, but more on the understated, sparse prose style. The plot is not very interesting, except if you are very interested in the psychology of the main character.

Feb 1, , 7: A tale of double lives Finished reading: In fact, it is more of a kaleidoscopic travelogue than a biography. The subtitle A tale of double lives refers as much to the double lives led by Gide , as well as the intertwined exploration of the parallels and contrasts between the lives of Gide and the author. Without overmuch emphasis, Dessaix clearly emerges from the narrative as a very seasoned, and openly gay person, whose promiscuity may have been tempered with age.

On the other hand, Dessaix portrays Gide as a very timid and closeted homosxual, who may not even have considered himself gay, and whose adoration of boys and young men verged on Platonic aestheticism. However, it is clear that Dessaix rejects that image. At the same time, the author seems to be at a loss to explain the apparent lifelong devotion of Gide for his cousin Madeleine, whom he married at a very young age, and is said to have truly and deeply loved.

This contrast, the suggestion that Gide came to homosexuality after meeting Oscar Wilde and subsequently lived as a completely repressed homosexual, who may have truly loved his wife, seems to be a construct in the mind of Dessaix which is not really born out by autobiographical facts. An interesting aspect of Arabesques.

A tale of double lives is that it uncovers the history of various Algerian cities as travel destinations of the international demi-monde and gay sub-culture at the end of the Nineteenth and beginning of the Twentieth Century, which included such illustrious travellers as Oscar Wilde and "Bosie", among others. Richly illustrated, including many antiquarian postcards, point at the lost glory of cities such as Algiers and Biskra under French colonial rule. Some of the descriptions are also reminiscent of Albert Camus descriptions of Oran. Especially in the first part of the book, Arabesques.

A tale of double lives is slightly marred by some narrative techniques used by the author. In the first two or three chapters, there are multiple repetitions of the suggestion that Gide's life would all have been very different if, at paying his hotel bill in Blidah he would have "glanced to the left instead of to the right.

Maps at the beginning of the book suggest that the journey, followed tracing Gide's steps will lead through various countries, including Spain, Portugal and Italy, while in fact very little attention is paid to these countries. Other books I have read by Robert Dessaix: Feb 2, , Gide interests me, and this book seems intriguing as well.

Touchstones

Feb 2, , 1: A tale of double lives increased with reading, although the problems described in the last part of my review, occurring in the first few chapters actually irritated me very much. However, on the whole, the book has a very ejoyable poetic quality that is borne out as one reads more. The Picador first edition paperback's paper quality is, unfortunately, not very high, but the rich illustrations, and the fairly large size of the book, make for a really nice reading experience. The high degree of subjectivity make the book quasi intimate.

It is possible that these tricks are used by the author to stimulate the readers' imagination. Without annotation is is hard to make out what is factual about Gide North-African adventures. A tale of double lives substitutes fact with some speculation and quite a lot of suggestiveness. This is a feature that makes the book attractive, although perhaps not to every type of reader. The book is probably somewhat more appealing to gay readership. Another thing I really liked about the book was how, as a travel memoir, it introduced various cities in Algeria and North-African culture, which formed a nice complementary experience to my reading of essays from Noces English tr.

Nuptials by Albert Camus. Feb 2, , 2: I'm very curious about Alfred Andersch's memoirs and the conclusions it gave. I read a very critical essay on him by W. Sebald in On the Natural History of Destruction. Feb 2, , 4: Edwin, you have read some very interesting books lately and made some very fine reviews. I will pass on The Forgotten Waltz because the main character would annoy me too much, Although I am intrigued by your comparison to What Maisie Knew For who is ever truly free from fear or duty Well stated Edwin, I am sure I have rarely been.

That was a fascinating review of The Cherries of Freedom The book that really interests me is Arabesques: A tale of double lives, which goes straight onto my to buy list. Actually, I haven't read What Masie knew and my comparison and suggestions in relation to The forgotten waltz are mainly based on ideas you expressed in your review, which was posted around the same time. I was tempted to read What Masie knew at that time, but have to postpone that to some later date. Feb 2, , 7: Yes, Rise, the essay by W. That essay, "Between the devil and the deep blue sea. Das Verschwinden in der Vorsehung" was first published in It was then included in the German first edition of Luftkrieg und Literatur: Mit einem Essay zu Alfred Andersch , This book was later published in a slightly different form and expanded to include two more essays as On the natural History of Destruction: Sebald's essay marks the beginning of a year controversy around the moral integrity of the German author Alfred Andersch, among others.

This controversy has not been concluded. Anyone interested to read postwar German literature, written by authors who were basically aged 18 before , and may or may not have been active as writers during the period of the Third Reich, while not living in exile, should be aware of possible controversy around their authorship and moral integrity. Similar debates regularly flare up over other German authors belonging to that generation, and many of these controversies started or were refueled by new, recent discoveries in the s or even through to the present, as I showed in my reviews of autobiographical work of Luise Rinser in various reviews last year.

The controversy around Alfred Andersch relates in particular to his representation of the facts around his marriage, and the suggested strategic use of that marriage to his own advantages. These details relate to Andersch position in the Communist youth organization, the duration of his imprisonment in concentration camp Dachau, factual observations in Dachau, his release from the German army, his marriage and anullment thereof and his status as a POW in The main discussion, and the issue or moral integrity, raised by W.

Sebald is about his marriage. Conscripted into the German army Wehrmacht in , Andersch met and fell in love with Gisela Groneuer while he was on leave in the autumn of In March , Andersch was released from the army. Andersch claims that his request for release was based on his imprisonment in Dachau, but such imprisonment could not form a ground for release. In fact, reference to that imprisonment would have made his situation worse. In , it was proved that Andersch requested release on the ground of being married with his half-Jewish wife.

Although his mother-in-law was deported, Angelika and their daughter was apparently and eventually not exposed to any danger. German citizens of mixed ancestry were never persecuted or deported, and were not treated in the way Jewish citizens were. In the course of , Andersch started an affair with Gisela, with whom he had a baby, and lived separately from his wife from onwards. Encouraged in his career as an author by Gisela, Andersch applied for the right to publish his work in Germany in To obtain this right he had to divorce Angelika.

In his application he told the commission that he had already divorced from Angelika, which was factaully not true. The actual divorce came through later in This is supposedly the second case in which Andersch made strategic use of his marriage to Angelika to his own advantage. As a result of the divorce, Andersch was again conscripted into the German army Wehrmacht.

During this imprisonment, Andersch claimed to be married to Angelika. This claim constitutes the third time he made strategic use of the marriage to Angelika Albert, as marriage to a "Jewish mongrel" helped him secure his earlier release and the release of his manuscripts which had been confiscated. After the war, Andersch married Gisela. Throughout the controversy about Alfred Andersch moral integrity, the moral integrity of W. Sebald was equally disputed, as Sebald's claims in were based on very scanty and inconclusive evidence.

Sebald's accusations were later strengthened by new discoveries in Eine Biographie had already suggested that Andersch marriage to Angelika had floundered. To many, Sebald 's position resembles more that of a troublemaker, who did not do sufficient research, and would possibly benefit from the exposure. The Alfred Andersch controversy is not a small matter. The debate has raged for more than 20 years, since the publication of Reinhardt's biography in and Sebald's essay in Several books have been published about it, notably following a conference on the issue in and Alfred Andersch 'revisited'.

The controversy is no longer merely about "proof". In matters of moral integrity over Andersch marriage, it seems the reader must decide which version to believe with Andersch biographer, who believes the marriage was at an end. In Die Kirschen der Freiheit Cherries of Freedom , Alfred Andersch has already convincingly argued that fear limits freedom and makes people make choices and do things they would or might not otherwise.

With regard to Die Kirschen der Freiheit Cherries of Freedom , it needs to be seen to what extent this work is autobiographical. Thanks for the fascinating insight into the Andersch controversy, Edwin. I wasn't aware of it at all, but I'll definitely keep it in mind when I get to Die Kirschen der Freiheit.

The ambiguities make me somewhat uncomfortable, I'll admit. That said, we are dealing with living human beings here, so some ambiguities, even falsehoods, might be expected. Not having lived Andersch's experiences, I won't condemn him solely based on this. That was a comprehensive summary of the literary controversy. I have to admit I was also turned off with Andersch when I read Sebald's essay on him.

Very interesting stuff here, edwin. I'm interested to read Cherries of Freedom as the author is from Germany's post war period which I have a mini-theme read on this year. I know almost nothing of the works of the Gruppe 47, except of Wolfgang Koeppen's which I like very much , so I appreciate learning about this book, including the controversies surrounding it, which means a measure of skepticism is required in its reading.

Feb 3, , Goethe's Briefwechsel mit einem Kinde Finished reading: Goethe's Briefwechsel mit einem Kinde by Bettina von Arnim is an epistolary novel, which includes some of Goethe's poetry and an occasional authentic letter from Goethe. It is, however, a largely fictional work, written in the style of Sturm und Drang Storm and Stress and passed off as authentic. It is written is the same style of over-sentimentality.

It made Goethe an international celebrity, a status he thoroughly resented. In , Goethe received a letter from the young Bettina von Arnim , which he left unanswered, as he felt she idolized him. In that year, Bettina von Arnim had a row with Goethe's wife, which made Goethe decide to break off their correspondence and friendship, or any form of contact, even ignoring von Arnim and her husband Achim von Arnim.

Goethe's Briefwechsel mit einem Kinde was appeared in , three years after the death of Goethe , and was published in three volumes. It appeared in a 2-volume edition in English two years later, in , in a translation made by the author, Bettina von Arnim , herself. Volume 1 consists of a fictional correspondence between Bettina von Arnim and Goethe's mother, followed by the fictional correspondence between von Arnim and Goethe. Volume 2 consists entirely of fictional correspondence with Goethe, and volume 3 is a diary. All three volumes are written are written in the style of "Storm and Stress" giving free expression to individual subjectivity and extremes of emotion.

All three volumes consist of endless idolization of Goethe. As Goethe's fictional replies are sparse and far between, most of the text is composed of Bettina's letters, full of musings on her moods, philosophical fads of the day, and descriptions of natural scenes, bordering over into the style of the early Romantics. Although the poetry by Goethe appearing in the text is genuine, the poems were not addressed to Von Arnim as is suggested.

While descriptions are very beautiful, the overbearing style, typical for the period, makes the reading of well over pages a heavy fare. The one-volume paperback edition by the German publisher DTV is the first to appear unabridged, and restoring characteristics of von Arnim 's orthography. Bettina von Arnim has been criticised for the publication of Goethe's Briefwechsel mit einem Kinde. Some critics blame her for passing of the fictional epistolary novel purporting to be an authentic correspondence. There are also critics who claim that the young von Arnim stole up to celebrities, starting friendships and correspondences with the premeditated aim of using them to further her fame, and use letters in her literary work.

Whether or not the year old Bettina was infatuated with Goethe, or was simply calculating to make use of Goethe's fame, is hard to tell.

Goethe's Briefwechsel mit einem Kinde was her first book. Bettina von Arnim , born Bettina von Bretano, came from an artistic family. The novelist Sophie von La Roche was her grandmother, while her brother Clemens Brentano was a poet in his own right. Bettina married Achim von Arnim , a famous Romantic poet, in , and one of their children, Gisela von Arnim became a writer, too.

Elizabeth von Arnim belongs to the same family of the Von Arnims. Feb 3, , 1: Better living through plastic explosives Finished reading: The prose style is wildly explosive, outragious and incoherent, written as if the author is permanently on crack. Editors of major publishers must be on the look out for this type of trash: In a world already suffering from over-stimulation through the media, psychopaths and lunatics may still be able to catch the attention of the multitasking gaming freak. Together with authors such as George Saunders and Augusten Burroughs , the literary landcsape is further polluted with the appearance of Zsuzsi Gartner.

Feb 3, , 3: This sounds very interesting but, again, I am a bit uncomfortable with the dishonesty. I've read some Goethe well, only the first part of his "Faust" , but I don't really care for the Sturm and Drang type of writing. I think Goethe himself grew a bit tired of Werther 's popularity. That's a strong reaction. I haven't read any of the authors you mention, but George Saunders is receiving a lot of attention with his new collection.

Mengenai Saya

I'll take your caveats on board when I get to him. Feb 3, , 5: True stories , Dry and Running with scissors. All these works, including Gartner 's Better living through plastic explosives are described as being humourous. Saunders ' and Gartner 's work are just quirky; it isn't particularly clear what the stories are about. It is a bit like the virtuosity of a high school kid, with the teacher's praise suggesting them to become a writer. They are only humourous as long as weird means funny. True stories and Dry by Augusten Burroughs were indeed hilarious, nd well-written, but Running with scissors.

A memoir is a freak show. If Running with scissors. A memoir is fiction then Burroughs must have a pretty sick mind or corresponding genius , and if it is indeed autobiography, as it is purported to be, well then he is truly a running freak. As it is, I wouldn't even dare to pick up A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father , which promises to be even more horrendous.

Reading other reviews on all these three authors, you will find opinions differing widely. There are those praising the sky-high, and those condemning their work as postmodern trash. I suppose I belong to the latter category. Thanks for the in-depth response, Edwin. Of all the books you've mentioned, I only have A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father. Well, I won't get to it for years, probably, so I won't worry too much.

Feb 3, , 6: For the relief of unbearable urges Finished reading: Placing the author on an equal footing as Philip Roth or Saul Bellow is really rather premature. Jewish people are not by definition more interesting than other people. A short story must be infused with some inspiration.

It is here where Englander 's stories are wanting. The first two stories are excellent. They are recognizable, very well-written, and deal with some of the major themes in the literature of Jewish writers on the Twentieth century. The first story in the collection "The Twenty-seventh Man" is reminiscent of Kafka, descrbing the fate of Jewish intellectuals under Stalin, while the second story, "The Tumblers" deals with the holocaust.

Both stories are original, and immediately accessible. To some extent that is also true of the title story number eight in the collection , "For the Relief of Unbearable Urges", which end with on a "funny" note. The other stories miss the characteristic accessibility through familiarity with the stories as belonging to the genre of Jewish -American literature. Englander is also receiving a lot of praise these days. I agree that it is premature to group him with Philip Roth and Saul Bellow , though I haven't read enough of these authors' work to comment intelligently.

I do, however, want to read some of Englander's stories. I hope you don't mind me commenting so often on your thread. I'm a bit idle at the moment work begins next week so I'm on the forum most of the time. Feb 3, , 7: Le colonel Chabert Finished reading: The beginning of this short novel is a bit confusing as it starts in media res of clerks in a notary's office having lunch or supper and making fun of an old beggar in the street who apparently wants to see the notary.

The old man, dressed in rags, is admitted and able to tell the notary his gruesome story. He relates how as a general he fought alongside Napoleon in the Battle of Eylau, in Prussia, and was slain so badly that, unconscious, with a gash over his skull, he was left for dead at the battlefield. He managed to escape from the mass grave into which he had been dumped and through the melting snow cry for help. Rescued, he was nursed back to health and after nine years returned to France to discover that his wife had remarried and disappeared and his dominions were sold off.

The notary explains that his case is a difficult one, as officially colonel Chabert is dead, and to regain his possessions he must prove that he is who he claims to be, and not some impostor. The notary lends the colonel some money, to live on, while he agrees to represent him. A meeting with his former wife is arranged.

She immediately recognizes him by his voice, but otherwise the colonel has unrecognizeably changed. The notary visits the colonel in his humble abode and explains that his fortune has dwindled, and that he could only hope to receive a fraction therof, if any at all. Le colonel Chabert is a very pitiable story. As Chabert, the war hero, returns after nine years, he finds himself among the nouveau riche of the new society. Several times there is mention that there is a considerable difference in age between colonel Chabert and the other major players in the drama, notably his ex- wife,her new husband, the notary and the lawyer.

This cold-hearted society, in which money rules, is very reminiscent of our own times. Feb 3, , 8: Le Colonel Chabert certainly seems to be worth reading and I enjoyed your review of Goethe's correspondence with a child. Feb 3, , 9: I was a bit disappointed that you didn't find Englander's stories more compelling, as I am hoping to read one of his collections soon, in advance of an author talk I plan to attend. I agree completely with your assessment of George Saunders. I read an ER copy of Tenth of December and cannot fathom what all the praise is about. I like your comment: I found none of that in Saunders - mainly shallow characters in contrived situations and a writer trying too hard to be edgy and relevant.

Peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise Finished reading: This colossal series of works, with the subtitle Study of mores , aims to describe all aspects of society. Each novel or story focuses on a different layers, genders, social classes, ages, professions and institutions in French society during the Restauration and July Monarch period — , showing the causes and effects in society. They are parables which make the reader reflect on human society through the eyes of animals.

Hetzel was active as an editor as well as writer. He knew and was friends with many French authors who were active during the first half of the nineteenth century, including many great illustrators and artists, whom he asked to contribute to the magazines and collaborative book projects he initiated. Besides his editorial work, Pierre-Jules Hetzel produced a considerable oevre which can appreciated in its own right.

Grandville or Jean-Jacques Grandville. Grandville specialized in zoomorphic pictures, and illustrated books and magazines of various authors during his life time. The books were very successful and were reprinted several times throughout the nineteenth century. Volume one of consists of sixteen episodes. Stahl is the main contributor, writing the Prologue and three episodes. The five episodes or novellas written by Balzac are collected and published as a separate volume.

Knowledge of the broader framework is needed to understand direct references to the framework. In the Prologue the animals form an editorial board for the whole work, so when Balzac opens his second story as follows: Generally, Peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise is difficult to read because of many references to politicians, scientists and other real-life people during the first half of the nineteenth century, and cross references between the episodes, to episodes contributed by other authors.

Therefore, Peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise may not be such a light read, and for full appreciation, the reader without an annotated edition may have to spend some time looking up references. It is an amusing story which can be read without much difficulty. It very clearly portrays Victorian mores about what does and what does not constitute proper behaviour in public. Like all other stories it is completely, cleverly and convincingly, written from the point of animals, in this case cats, and therefore presents humourous descriptions of how cats eat, drink milk or spend the whole night sleeping on the lap of their owner whilst he plays whist.

It is this story which was attributed to George Sand , as Balzac said he did not want to dominate volume 1. As a kind of introduction, the story opens describing the social structure of classes in Paris, or rich and poor sparrows, suggesting that the growing gap between the classes needs to be addressed by finding a more suitable form of government. Subsequently, the sparrow travels to three imaginary realms, the realm of the Ants, the Kingdom of the Bees, with their glorious Queen, clearly a reference to Victorian Britain, and the realm of the Wolves, to descide on the most appropriate form of state.

Superficially, it describes the visit of the Lion, the crown prince, to Paris. The Lion describes contemporary Paris where anything is sold and anything can be bought. The story is written in epistolary from, of letters written home to his father. The story was difficult to understand because many references are not clear.

It is a love story that reads like a fairytale about the love of a Ladybug for a Caterpillar. These three layers are a bit confusing, but do not prevent the reader from an enchanting, magic reading experience. This story, was by far the most beautiful. It reads as follows complete: Et en philosophie, que nos progress sont lents! Wow, that's such an informative review, and beautifully illustrated to boot. Le colonel Chabert sounds superb. Haven't read Englander yet, but you confirmed my suspicions. Gartner used to be a columnist in a Toronto newspaper and sometimes did cultural analysis.

Even then I found her writing annoying, so didn't follow up with her book. Feb 3, , 2: Peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise with some wonderful illustrations and excellent background material. Feb 4, , 8: Le Colonel Chabert is a very pitiable story. This serialized work, later published in book form, consists of novellas, satirical stories, and short plays, each richly illustrated with wood cuts. Generally, Peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise is difficult to read because of many references to politicians, scientists and other real-life people during the first half of the nineteenth century, and cross references between the episodes, and to episodes contributed by other authors, which are not included in this edition.

It is this story which was attributed to George Sand, as Balzac said he did not want to dominate volume 1. Thus this edition brings together two interesting works, somewhat less well-known works. Feb 4, , The children Of Captain Grant Finished reading: The story begins as Lord and Lady Glenarvan, sailing home to Glasgow in with their ship, the Duncan find a bottle with a message.

The message is written identically in three languages, but the papers in the bottle have sustained water damage and the message is barely readable. Nonetheless, it is clear that the message comes from Captain Grant, who was shipwrecked. Research reveals that the message must have been posted by Captain Grant after the supposed shipwreck of his vessel, the Brittania. As the Admiralty refuses to undertake a rescue mission, Lord Glenarvan decides to undertake such a mission himself, bringing along his wife and Captain Grant's children.

A very valuable additional team member will prove to be Paganel, a somewhat muddle-headed geographer who mistakenly boarded the Duncan in the harbour of Glasgow. After the most meticulous interpretation of the three messages from the bottle, compared with the last call in port of the Brittania , it is decided that Captain Grant is most likely to be found in South-America.

Based on details from the message they decide to cross the continent along the 37th parallel south. The Duncan lands them on the continent from where their travels to search inland for Captain Grant, whom they believe to be held captive by native tribes. During their search in Patagonia, they encounter a native who tells them about a white man who was taken, and they follow this lead hoping to find Captain Grant. However, half-way through they realize the story is incorrect. Crossing the continent, they come across the wildest adventures including an earthquake and a flood, while observing all the most typical flora an fauna, such as the condor, for Latin America.

There are also mentions of typical culture of south American indians. After a strenuous journey, they are taken on board the Duncan which awaits them at the agreed point on the other side of the continent. Despairing after their failure in finding Captain Grant, Paganel is inspired to read the message in a different way, explaining that they should pusue their search along the 37th parallel, but should set sail for Australia. Here, they meet a sailor called Ayrton, who was the quarter-master of the Britannia. He promises to lead them across the continent to the place where the Britannia was shipwrecked.

They set out with a caravan of waggons, oxen and horses, to follow the trail and cross over to the east coast. However, in the middle of their journey Ayrton rouses suspicion, as their animals die one after the other, and they are shadowed by a band of crooks. Ayrton leaves them stranded, while getting away with a letter by Lord Glenarvan which he will use to board and direct the Duncan , which he wants to take control of. After a long journey of foot, the rescue party reaches the east coast of Australia, and failing to meet the Duncan at the appointed location, they believe their mission is a complete failure.

They have not found Captain Grant, and have lost the Duncan. They pay passage on a ship to New Zealand, but this ship is wrecked off the coast of New Zealand. The unhappy party falls into the hands of a maori tribe they believe will kill them, but with the help of Robert, who was not captured they manage a spectacular escape, and making use of the Maori's superstitious believes in taboo, the escape being recaptured by the cannibals. Crossing over land, they reach the coast, but here they are again in danger of being captured. They try to escape in a canoe, and as they are about to be overtaken by Maori in pursuit, they are rescued by a European ship, which turns out to be the Duncan.

Back aboard ship they hear how Ayrton's attemp to capture the Duncan was foiled. At his own request, Ayrton is transported to to be left at an uninhabited island, Tabor Island, on which they discover Captain Grant. To modern readers, the features of the geography, flora and fauna, and anthropology of local peoples of South America, Australia and New Zealand may be a bit tedious to read, but most of it is quite entertaining.

It is obvious that the novel is structured in such a way to enable the author to maximize the descriptive potential. Coming from Scotland, in search of a shipwreck in South America the most logical attempt would be to land on the east coast of the continent and cross over to the west coast. Upon failing to find the captain, the most logical thing would then be to cross over to New Zealand, as if the travellers would have followed the 37th parallel they would then have found Captain Grant immediately on Tabor Island.

In the novel, however, the globe is circumvented, sailing from the west to the east. Altogether a very entertaining novel. Other books I have read by Jules Verne: Feb 4, , 7: I had not heard of The Children of Captain Grant. I don't mind Verne's descriptive writing, it didn't slow down the action too much in Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

He does tell a good story. Feb 5, , I read roughly half of them, and I'll read the rest a bit later. I enjoyed your very fair review of The Forgotten Waltz , which I absolutely hated because of Gina; I'm all but certain that it was my least favorite book of Arabesques is a book I'll have to look for in the UK, as it doesn't seem to be available here for a reasonable price, anyway. Die Kirschen der Freiheit sounds very interesting, but it doesn't seem to have been published in English from what I can tell.

Feb 5, , 8: Just catching up with all these fascinating reviews. Especially interested in the Balzac, and love love love those illustrations! Feb 5, , 9: I'm glad you enjoyed Le Colonel Chabert so much. My mother gave me that one last time she went to France and the synopsis sounded great but I was concerned that it wouldn't be able to stand on its own so I wouldn't be able to read it. Now I know that is not the case. Feb 6, , How the world became modern Finished reading: In contrast with Historical Criticism, which only aims to demonstrate how a work rflects the time in which it was created, New Historicism "evaluates how the work is influenced by the time in which the author wrote it.

It also examines the social sphere in which the author moved, the psychological background of the writer, and the books and theories that may have influenced him or her. Beyond that, many critics also look at the impact a work had and consider how it influenced others. The description of the life and ideas of its author, the social circles he may have moved in, particularly describing the history of the Villa of the papyri in Herculaneum make for very interesting reading.

There are descriptions of the history of books, and an extensive biography of the Renaissance notary Poggio Bracciolini and how he rediscovered the single extant manuscript of De Rerum Natura in a German monastery in Subsequent chapters describe the significance of the text and its impact, particularly in terms of the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, suggesting that it was the cornerstone to the development of the modern world. It is at this point that Mr Greenblatt seems to be overplaying his hand.

The conclusion that Lucretius' De Rerum Natura hold the key to the development of the modern man implies that this development could not start until after the discovery of the manuscript in This conclusion in clearly wrong. Common knowledge sees the beginning of the Renaissance in the early s with Petrarca.

Rather than suggesting that De Rerum Natura was a contributing factor, or katalysator of a movement which had already begun, Greenblatt 's book suggests that Petrarca was a precursor of that movement. Other authors of political movements, such as the revolt of the Ciompi in are marginalized and downplayed. The most important omission is the revolt of Cola di Rienzo in , which suggests that Greenblatt is selective in his choice of sources and facts to the extent of distortion or oversimplification.

Long before Poggio Bracciolini expeditions to hunt for ancient texts, Francesco Petrarca and Giovanni Boccacio were contemporaries and friends who collected and studied ancient texts. How the world became modern has many characteristics of a work of popular science. Sources and references are not noted in the text, but listed as end notes, however, without clear reference in the text.

Although not exlicit in the text, the book suggests that a the turn from the Middle Ages to the Rennaisance can be pinpointed to a particular year, and even a particular moment, namely the moment Poggio picked up the book from the shelf. This type of suggestion is very reminiscent of recent history bestsellers such as How the world became modern is a very readable and very interesting book, but should certainly be read critically.

How the World Became Modern certainly sounds intriguing, but I have a dislike for some aspects of New Historicism, as exemplified by the problems you had with the book. I'll certainly keep them in mind, if and when I get to this book. Yes, Dewald, you are probably more familiar with New Historicism. I do not recall that that was part of my curriculum; it took me quite some pondering to write the review of The swerve in terms of historical criticism, when I chanced upon new historicism.

The focus of the book and Greenblatt's relation to De Rerum Natura are all very clear when you read the introduction to the book. While reading The swerve I was mainly focussed on the development of the Renaissance and the biography of Poggio, but then became annoyed with the careless description of the early Renaissance period from the s till s. It was only after reading the book and reflecting that I realized that not the Renaissance is the main focus of the book, but De Rerum Natura , its author and its impact.

Feb 6, , 2: It went through several transformations to produce in one of Balzac's most endearing characters, the "dead" Colonel Chabert. After marrying a prostitute, Colonel Chabert becomes a cavalry officer. During a combat, believed to be dead, he is buried along with others.

He survives, but the recovery is slow. When he returns, he finds out that his wife has remarried, his wealth vanished. He launches a long and unsuccessful attempt at regaining part of his former life. In addition to the interest of the story itself, the novella depicts quick change in values following political and social transformations. Balzac regrets that honor is less valued than money since the Napoleonic era. Depictions of Paris slums are also of great interest. In , he conceived a project of writing a collection of books that would describe all aspects of society.

His characters are complex, and not easy to pigeonhole like real life. Project Bilingual A division of Wolf Pup Books is a continuing project making available great original French writers' texts along with their English translation. This edition, which offers after every original language paragraph its translation, makes both grammar and vocabulary checks as painless as possible.

edwinbcn's 2013 Books

Idiomatic forms that could be overlooked can be easily detected. Furthermore, large paragraphs have been broken down to much smaller units so that the check is as effortless as possible. We do hope that by reading French writers that defined the language itself or whose work permeated the French culture, you will be able to get the maximum benefit from this language series.

Although this edition is not a replacement for traditional methods of learning language, it is a very powerful tool to speed up the process once you have attained the intermediate level and beyond. Meer lezen Minder lezen. Wolf Pup Books 13 april Verkocht door:

• The Shut Mouth Society
• Out for Exposure (Omen 168 Book 3)
• How to install and upgrade your PS3 hard drive
• Programming National Identity
• Shifter Cowboy (Uncommon Cowboys)
• Using Cases in Higher Education: A Guide for Faculty and Administrators