Autumn in Peking

Autumn in Peking

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4.05 of 5 stars 4.05  ·  rating details  ·  792 ratings  ·  34 reviews
Boris Vian was a jack of all trades - although unfortunately his name was Boris and "Boris of all trades" never took off as a turn of phrase. But nevertheless Vian was a great songwriter, playwright, singer, jazz critic and, of course novelist so it should have been Boris instead of Jack. Vian's 1947 novel Autumn in Peking (L'Automne � P�kin) is perhaps Vian's most slapsti...more
Paperback, 265 pages
Published January 1st 2004 by Tam Tam Press (first published 1947)
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Sandra
E' il secondo Vian che leggo.
Appena lette le prime pagine l'atmosfera, il linguaggio, le tematiche "vianesche" sono emerse e mi hanno catturato ancora una volta.
Sembrava che nulla fosse cambiato.
Ci sono i temi cari allo scrittore: l'amore, la morte, la forte critica sociale e religiosa, affrontati nella solita maniera "surreale" di Vian.
Invece, procedendo nella lettura, tutto è diverso rispetto a "la schiuma dei giorni".
Là l'amore tra Chloè e Colin è un amore totalizzante e profondo che riempie...more
Marcus Mennes
Jul 13, 2009 Marcus Mennes rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: sociopaths
Autumn in Peking – Boris Vian

A few years ago I met a thirty something Frenchman in a youth hostel in Bariloche, Argentina and he confessed to me he had read everything by Boris Vian – including many works yet to be translated into English – but had read them a long time ago, during his University years, and that he hasn’t revisited them since. Vian represents a period author for my French friend; specifically young adulthood. Similar to say Kurt Vonnegut, Jack Kerouac, Ayn Rand, or Hermann Hesse...more
Marija Atanasova
ЦЕЛИ И ЗАДАЧИ: Читателот да го почувствува животот од еден поинаков, апсурдно-комичен агол и следствено да го сфаќа помалку сериозно.Не затоа што не носи тешки моменти, напротив, ги има во изобилство; туку затоа што барањето логика во нештата е исто толку бесмислено како градењето железница среде пустина.

ОЧЕКУВАНИ ИСХОДИ: Читателот ќе научи да танцува низ животот со леснотија и ќе ги прифаќа потешкотиите со кои се соочува со доза на црн хумор и цинизам.

НАСТАВНИ СРЕДСТВА И ПОМАГАЛА: Неуспешна вар...more
Frank Dedge
(French version, titled l'Automne à Pékin)

The fact that Boris Vian wrote this book the same year he wrote l'Écume de Jours probably didn't help in its promotion. Which is a shame really as it is equally well-written and interesting in its literary madness.

Beginning with its misleading title (nowhere is Peking nor autumn mentioned in the book), the story continue in the spirit of l'Écume (or is it preceding it?), combining apparent naivety or simplicity of the characters with a layer of psycholo...more
Fábio Ventura
Foi com grande curiosidade que peguei numa obra de Boris Vian, um autor francês com um estilo muito próprio e dono de uma criatividade prodigiosa. Um verdadeiro homem dos sete ofícios, morreu precocemente aos 39 anos, em 1959. Mesmo assim, as suas obras foram um grande contributo para a literatura mundial. “Outono em Pequim” é uma dessas obras e, curiosamente, não fala nem do Outono nem de Pequim. E aí começa a nossa “relação” com este livro.
A obra conta-nos a história de um grupo de pessoas qu...more
Nathaniel
Boris Vian is not a predictable author. I loved “Heartsnatcher,” barely tolerated “Foam of the Daze” and “I Spit on Your Graves” was not intended to be a vehicle for his talents. For the first sixty odd pages of “Autumn in Peking” (a title with absolutely no bearing on the contents of the book), I was fairly convinced that I’d embarked on another nonsense festival that probably holds together better when all of the (supposedly brilliant) wordplay of the author has not been killed or made wooden...more
Ioana
"Ah, spuse abatele, cu totii omoram pe cineva in fiecare zi. Nu inteleg de ce a refuzat un loc de sihastru. Religia a fost plasata pt a-i plasa pe criminali."

"Oricum ar fi fost sa fie, tot urma sa fim dezamagiti, spuse Petitjean. Se dovedeste ca suntem dezamagiti in adancul carnii. E mai greu de suportat, dar va trece cu bine."

"Sa iubesti o femeie inteligenta e o placere de pederast"
Baudelaire, Fusees
Rodrigo Soares
O absurdo em toda a sua plenitude! É preciso uma grande abertura de espírito para conseguir aceitar todas as situações que vão caindo na narrativa, além de que é preciso estar muito atento a tudo o que vai acontecendo para não se perder o fio à meada!
Guillermo  Grebe-Lira
Lo compré por casualidad sin conocer al autor, su agudeza, su inteligencia y el sentido de lo absurdo me cautivaron, y una vez terminado este libro afanosamente busqué otros libros de boris vian y saber quien había sido, su vida, etc.
Natalia
This books starts weird. And then it gets even weirder. If you like surreal and witty kind of humor, and if you are not afraid of a little challenge, I think there's a pretty good chance you will love this novel.
Inna
The most strange book that I have ever read. However if you think out of the box about it, we all live in this desert... Interesting way to describe crazy world and even love.
Raúl
Fantástico. Hay que poseer mucha imaginación para crear un mundo como el descrito en esta obra.
Escrito con lenguaje culto, pero con gran espontaneidad, lleva lo absurdo, más allá que cualquier predecesor.
Me ha hecho gracia las citas absolutamente fuera de lugar, que encabezan los capítulos...
Eric
Papa, c'est encore loin l'Exopotamie? Tais toi et creuse !

Et puis, tout de meme, quelle leçon de comptabilité :

"-On va construire un chemin de fer (?)
-Mais il n'y a pas de voyageurs, dit Athanagore
-Vous trouvez que ça arrange les chemins de fer, vous, les voyageurs ?
-Non, dit Athanagore. Evidemment non.
-Donc il ne s'usera pas, dit Amadis. Ainsi, dans les calculs des frais d'exploitation, on n'aura jamais à tenir compte de l'amortissement du matériel. Vous vous rendez compte ?
-Mais ce n'est qu'u...more
moceanu
I'm a big fan of Vian, which is why I didn't expect this to be so boring and unfunny.
Sónia
completamente surreal!...gostei, talvez nao tanto como estava à espera...mas vale muito a pena
Oto
complètement fou comme livre, mais un vrai plaisir
Alberta
George Herms helped me pick this book from the TamTam Books table. I'm looking forward to reading it. Thanks, Tosh for publishing it!

p. 179:

"I'm not looking to be precise," said Angel, "because I truly detest trying to express something that i feel so clearly. What's more, I don't give a damn about being able or not being able to convey my point of view to others."

Somehow this book seemed dated, but not in a bad way. More like Waiting for Godot or something from that time. Too bad Vian will not...more
Dolmar
Aug 07, 2012 Dolmar rated it 5 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: Lahierbaroja
Shelves: francia
He empezado la obra como si, a la velocidad de la luz, sorteara miles de obstáculos en una carrera muy divertida. Ese desquicio se frenó poco a poco, dando paso a una risa más tranquila y apreciando cierta crítica social, detrás de esas escenas tan estrafalarias. No hay detalle que a Vian se le haya escapado. La he encontrado perfecta, 5 estrellas.
Sara Hajdu
Not his best one
Lena Spoz
I've red it 5 times, it's great book!
Jessica
I really wanted to like this book it started out so hilarious and absurd with such vibrant descriptions.

In the end it seemed like a writing exercise that started well but went nowhere.

"A second 975 came and stopped smack-dab in front of Amadis. The exhausted vehicle huffed and puffed and was jam packed full of riders. A fat lady got off, followed by a cake knife that was being carried by tiny half-dead old man.
Tosh
Although I am the publisher of this masterpiece, I still feel I can write about it - because I came upon it as a reader. I think Vian's "Autumn in Peking" is one of the great novels of French literature. it's hysterical for one thing, and on the other I find it moving in how Vian portrays his characters struggling to get the train tracks down... For what purpose?
Quigui
Feb 17, 2010 Quigui marked it as to-read
O outono em Pequim by Boris Vian
Anton Baranchuk
Jul 09, 2011 Anton Baranchuk is currently reading it
Romantic and sarcastic at the same time but wildly beautiful with exotic word play. Something like "electricity was dripping from the wire". Somewhat overloaded text, which makes it hard to read.
Andrew
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Netts
Deeply profound nonsense and the one you should learn French for, because I cannot see how a translation could possibly capture half its wicked elegance.
Willie the Coyote
Niente da capire. Da leggere con un sorriso disincantato, senza lasciarsi prendere dallo sconforto...
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L'Automne à Pékin (Paperback)
O Outono em Pequim (Colecção Mil Folhas, #73)
O Outono em Pequim (Paperback)
O Outono em Pequim (Biblioteca Universal Unibolso #109)
El otoño en Pekín (Broché)

15959
Boris Vian was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer. He is best remembered for novels such as L’Écume des jours and L'Arrache-cœur (translated into English as Froth on the Daydream and Heartsnatcher, respectively). He is also known for highly controversial "criminal" fiction released under the pseudonym Vernon Sullivan and some of his...more
More about Boris Vian...
L'Écume des jours I Spit on Your Graves Heartsnatcher L'Herbe Rouge Et on tuera tous les affreux

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“- Je l'ai tué, dit Angel.
- Non, dit Petitjean. Vous l'avez poussé et il est mort en arrivant sur les cailloux. C'est un hasard.”
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