Richard Howard's exuberant and definitive rendition of Stendhal's stirring tale has brought about the rediscovery of this classic by modern readers...
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Oct 08, 2007
adam
rated it: 
Standard 19th century French novel? Not even close. This book defies almost every convention of the novel, and it was written before any of those conventions were even recognized! No hero, no heroine, no real plot; no morality lesson; Machiavellian politics for everyone; love doesn't conquer all; love doesn't even exist in this world until the main character gets locked away in prison for a womb-like nine months; a narrator who couldn't care less about the whole thing...this is so modern it hu
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Aug 01, 2011
Bill
rated it: 
Stendhal scrutinizes both the amorous passions and the predilection for court intrigue present in the Italian character with an irony and a political analysis that are indisputably French, and thereby produces not only a great realistic novel but a work which comments on the romantic novels that have gone before. And yet--here is the marvelous part--"The Charterhouse of Parma," for all its realism, is still an incredibly romantic novel containing a battle, a duel, a knife fight, vario
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Nov 28, 2008
Seth
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a thoroughly romantic novel, but up to the point where i've reached (about 350 of 500 pages), it is far more concerned with court intrigue than what we normally consider 'romance.' one thing that is impressive is its treatment of the protagonist, fabrizio del dongo. fabrizio is constantly hidden, in disguise, captive, suffering from mistaken identity, getting blown from one part of the world to another, the subject of (or, literally subjected to) competing and petty nobles who use him in their o
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Jul 14, 2008
Amy
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Finally finished this book. Tried to read it once before, several years ago, and never got through it (which is not like me--usually I stick with a book no matter if I like it or not). Really wanted to like it but just couldn't really get into it.
This is a book written by a French author in the 19th century, but the subject is actually Italy. The book jacket on my edition describes it as "Stendhal's epic tale of romance, adventure, and court intrigue set in early 19th century More...
This is a book written by a French author in the 19th century, but the subject is actually Italy. The book jacket on my edition describes it as "Stendhal's epic tale of romance, adventure, and court intrigue set in early 19th century More...
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Jul 06, 2010
Dan
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Oct 17, 2009
Kelly
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this book is a great old style 'conte.' Written in the style akin to a courtesan's relish for gossip, Stendahl has the flair of a mirthful old queen in his painting of a changing portrait of the life of an aristocratic fool hardy young handsome Fabrizio del Dongo. A guy who rushes off to join Napoleon's cause, has his horse stolen in like five minutes, and arrives just too late to get trounced in Waterloo. Fabrizio goes on like this for the whole novel.
This book echos the twists an More...
This book echos the twists an More...
Jun 30, 2009
Helynne
rated it:
Stendhal (real name: Henri Bayle) was a Romantic-realistic writer in mid-19th-century France, but unlike his contemporaries, George Sand and Honore de Balzac, he did not have an astonishing output of fiction (he wrote only about five novels in his lifetime), nor was his style as readable as Balzac's and Sand's. I have to admit to cheating a little in a graduate course on Stendhal and reading most of The Charterhouse of Parma in English translation. However, after an entire academic quarter
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Jun 24, 2009
Christian
rated it:
I picked this up last month because I'm a huge fan of The Red And The Black, easily one of my top five novels. Stendahl was a nineteenth century French satirist who bascially invented the realistic psychological novel, and The Red And The Black is a wicked black comedy about a cunning young priest who plots to become Pope, and his subsequent adventures in high society. Like I say I loved this book so I had high hopes for Charterhouse.
Unfortunately, in my opinion after a promising start More...
Unfortunately, in my opinion after a promising start More...
Jun 20, 2011
David
rated it:
I read this novel after finishing The Red and the Black, which I thought was the far better novel of the two. The scenes in which Fabrizio joins Napoleon's army at Waterloo really come to life and shine in the narrative of Stendahl, as he had been a soldier in battle for Napoleon during his lifetime. Fabrizio really is a bit too much of a narcissist and after a while, despite his handsome youth and intellect, I found myself tiring of him. He really made a number of knuckleheaded moves with his c
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Nov 12, 2011
Pamela
rated it: 
I admit it. I didn't finish. I read Le rouge et le noir about two years ago, and while not exactly loving it, it was an enjoyable enough book. The final tableau, in particular, is striking and unforgettable. I honestly didn't know what to expect from Charterhouse, so I read a few things about it. Evidently it's very highly regarded by critics (which should have been my first clue--usually critics' picks are the ones I hate the most) and Balzac loved it.
Goodness. This is one of More...
Goodness. This is one of More...
Jan 25, 2012
Guenther
rated it:
STENDAL: „Die Kartause von Parma“, München 2009
Die meisten Romane haben eine Liebesgeschichte zum Thema. So auch dieses 1000 seitige Buch aus dem Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts. Ein französischer Klassiker. Als Handlungsort dient die aristokratische Gesellschaft von Parma. Die Hauptperson ein junger Mann, der ein abwechslungsreiches, wenn nicht abenteuerliches Leben zeigt. Von der Teilnahme an der Schlacht in Waterloo, bei dem Napoleon, den er verehrt, verliert, bis hin zum Gefangenen und Erzb More...
Die meisten Romane haben eine Liebesgeschichte zum Thema. So auch dieses 1000 seitige Buch aus dem Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts. Ein französischer Klassiker. Als Handlungsort dient die aristokratische Gesellschaft von Parma. Die Hauptperson ein junger Mann, der ein abwechslungsreiches, wenn nicht abenteuerliches Leben zeigt. Von der Teilnahme an der Schlacht in Waterloo, bei dem Napoleon, den er verehrt, verliert, bis hin zum Gefangenen und Erzb More...
Jul 17, 2011
Gatsby
rated it:
And so I finally finished this epic of the XIX century French literature, and might I say, I am surprised at the pace I was able to achieve. After skipping a couple of days for reading it, over the whole week and a half I've had budgeted for it, at the end I actually went through it with a total of 4-5 days part-time reading! Of course none of this would have been possible had it not been for the incredibly gripping style of Marie-Henry Baile, popularly known as Stendhal.
The Charterho More...
The Charterho More...
Jan 31, 2012
Bill
rated it:
One of the best books I've read. Politics, action, humanism vs.conservatism, passion vs. lack of passion, lovers, rivals, extreme wealth and the values of aristocracy, all the characters with both good and bad actions and ways of thinking. Set in the autocratic monarchy of Parma in Italy between 1815 and 1830.
A fascinating exploration of what motivates people and how they act. The plot is held together by the stories of a brilliant, activist Duchess and her impetuous nephew, but More...
A fascinating exploration of what motivates people and how they act. The plot is held together by the stories of a brilliant, activist Duchess and her impetuous nephew, but More...
Aug 03, 2011
Un jeune aristocrate italien, Fabrice Del Dongo s'initie a la vie et surtout a l'amour par le biais de rocambolesques peripeties, sous les auspices de sa tante tout aussi grandiloquente (et un peu incestueuse): la belle Gina De l Dongo, Duchesse de Sanseverina a la cour de Parme.
Hormis les multiples references a la riche famile Farnese et la nature de "roman d'apprentissage" , le vrai sujet veritable de la Chartreuse de Parme est l'Italie ( De Naples au Lac de Come, de Parme a la camp More...
Hormis les multiples references a la riche famile Farnese et la nature de "roman d'apprentissage" , le vrai sujet veritable de la Chartreuse de Parme est l'Italie ( De Naples au Lac de Come, de Parme a la camp More...
Dec 12, 2010
Sean
rated it:
An absolutely brilliant, witty, fast-paced, charming and enthralling novel. The young Fabrizio, "our young scatterbrain," as the narrator calls him, tries desperately to live an authentic life, first as a soldier in Napolean's army, then as an Archbishop. The happiest period in his busy life comes when he's imprisoned in the Farnese Tower for the crime of knifing a girlfriend's protector. Is it a tragedy to be locked in a prison tower for the crime of murder? No, it's not so bad. There
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Jan 31, 2012
Kate
rated it:
Yet another rather satirical work of fiction based in the Napoleanic era. Why do I keep reading these? I had no idea what I was in for, but this one, like Tom Jones and Vanity Fair, also deals with the affectations of the times. The twist being that this is a book by a French author who has his fun with 19th-century Italian court life. Oh, the intrigue. Again, we have a sort of boy-man, like Tom Jones--this one named Fabrizio, and the theme of vanity runs through this novel, too. Remarkabl
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Apr 04, 2011
Brian
rated it:
I read “The Red And The Black” a few months ago and decided to follow it up with “The Charterhouse of Parma.” I feel “The Red And The Black” is the better book. Julien Sorel is one of the most interesting and complex characters in literature and the book’s architecture was very well thought out. Nevertheless, both books are well deserving of their high reputations.
Of all the novelists of his era, Stendhal was perhaps the most passionate music lover. He wrote books on Haydn, Mozart, Ro More...
Of all the novelists of his era, Stendhal was perhaps the most passionate music lover. He wrote books on Haydn, Mozart, Ro More...
Jun 18, 2010
Jordan
rated it:
This was not the translation I read of this. I read the Margaret Mauldon one and really loved it. I read "The Read and the Black years ago and was not as into it as I felt I was supposed to be. I had just read "War and Peace" and maybe it just paled in comparison. I will reread that one. As for the Charterhouse it was amazing. So grand and operatic, a common description but so apt. There is so much action and emotion and drama and melodrama on each page. The great line from Balzac
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Oct 25, 2011
Rooney
rated it:
I'll start this review by quoting Balzac, who wrote in a fantastically idolatrous article about The Charterhouse of Parma "I can imagine all the mockery which my admiration for it will provoke. There will be an outcry, of course, at my infatuation, when I am simply still filled with enthusiasm after the point at which enthusiasm should have died." Stendhal wrote the novel in 53 days or so, and so the main criticisms of the book-- that it's rushed, not as polished as The Red and the Bla
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May 05, 2010
bobby
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I tend to at least try to understand why a classic is considered a classic, even if I don't like it. The introduction to my edition calls this book a masterpiece, a miracle, and one of the dozen greatest novels we possess. I get that it marks the beginning of psychological realism, but beyond that this book didn't offer me anything. At 300 pages, I made the painful decision to give up on it, something I personally hate and seldom do. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring myself to care about the c
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Jan 22, 2010
Polina
rated it:
Впечатлението, което книгата остави у мен преди всичко- за чистотата и силата на първичните страсти и душата, на която щастието никога не стига, и този нейн стремеж да притежава всичко я води към разрушението и. В този смисъл смятам за удачен избора на Стендал за Италия като място, където се развива действието, и още повече Парма, даваща тази камерна обстановка, в която се намират човешките стремежи. Полето на Ватерло и всемирните цели- за справедливост и нов световен ред, усещането за кауза, с
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Nov 01, 2011
Katy
rated it:
I had not read anything by Stendahl, and had no idea what to expect, but I ended up really liking this book. Although the plot is somewhat far fetched, and the writing carefully nuanced, I never lost interest and by the end found the story very engaging. It is really a character study, of our hero, the enterprising Fabrizio del Dongo a second son without any chance of inheriting, and his beautiful aunt, the Dutchess of Sanseverina, the social doyenne of the court in Parma, and intriguer
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Feb 11, 2012
Vincent
rated it:
Ce roman nous narre les aventures de Fabrice jeune italien fougueux au sortir de la domination napoléonienne. Nous le suivons en route pour Waterloo d'abord puis ensuite de retour en Italie où il devra faire face à moultes péripéties, sous l'oeil attentif de sa tante bien-aimée.
J'avoue avoir eu du mal à finir ce que je considère comme un mélange de roman d'aventures et de roman sentimental : beaucoup de péripéties, des passages parfois longuets et quelques outrances. Je ne suis pas non More...
J'avoue avoir eu du mal à finir ce que je considère comme un mélange de roman d'aventures et de roman sentimental : beaucoup de péripéties, des passages parfois longuets et quelques outrances. Je ne suis pas non More...
Jul 25, 2011
Sunny
rated it:
Story about a yooung italian who goes off to fight for Napoleon (don quixotey essque start!). then comes back and falls in love a few times. he walks and is associated in high circles. his aunt falls in love with him and he has various mini adventures. he inadvertantly kills somone and gets put into prison. escapes (papillion esque) then gets made a priest due to the hekp he recieves from his aunt who has the prince of parma eating of her palm and a few other characters. the book could equally h
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Jan 13, 2010
kingshearte
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Set in Italy at the time of Waterloo, Stendhal's The Charterhouse of Parma is the imaginary biography of Fabrizio del Dongo. Handsome, aristocratic and charmingly naïve, Fabrizio is a "hero unaware," his destiny shaped by the sensational events going on arund him - at Waterloo, at Lake Como and at Parma, where Fabrizio falls in love with the beautiful Clelia and becomes involved in the almost literal backstabbings of the court.
Stendhal's achievement is to have created a gre More...
Stendhal's achievement is to have created a gre More...
Mar 09, 2011
The Red and the Black is a stunning piece of work. Stendhal's a difficult writer, but the Red and the Black was, at times, this really fun soap opera.
I felt that way about certain parts of the Charterhouse of Parma. I liked the opening, where Fabrizio is joining up with Napoleon, and I loved the whole part where he was in the Farnese Tower and all the aftermath of that. Other than that, I have a lot of trouble with lengthy passages detailing courtly intrigue. Maybe I'm just a dam More...
I felt that way about certain parts of the Charterhouse of Parma. I liked the opening, where Fabrizio is joining up with Napoleon, and I loved the whole part where he was in the Farnese Tower and all the aftermath of that. Other than that, I have a lot of trouble with lengthy passages detailing courtly intrigue. Maybe I'm just a dam More...
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Feb 27, 2009
Anna
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Nov 29, 2008
Fernando
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An impressive novel written in a perfect and unique style, which offers an essential perspective of the spirit of the age. Not only of the age, I would argue, since this book (among a few others from the period) offers the keys to an understanding of modern mankind, and the moral, social, and (un)ethical development its history has taken since the French Revolution. A landscape of morals, values, all torn apart by the incessant wheels of so-called modern thought. Essential, like Stendhal's other
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Sep 13, 2009
Rebecca
rated it:
It was good, dealt more with Stendhal's environment of bourgeois who can afford not to care much. But all in all it was a good read. It's a good insight to the world of Italy of the 19 century. It is also interesting to see how can a French man be so in love of the Italian culture and it's vibrant people. That sort of passionate stereotype transpires in the characters of the book where feelings are enough to make any decision.
Reminds me of how some foreigners describe Lebanon and why they l More...
Reminds me of how some foreigners describe Lebanon and why they l More...
Feb 07, 2012
Kirsten
rated it:
As a writer, what most interested me about Charterhouse of Parma is that Stendhal wrote it in 52 days. This is dashed-off lit, yet it's a better-realized novel than 99% of us could achieve after years of labor. That said, there are a few rough patches -- the kinds of thing I find myself cleaning up when I write, like when a relevant piece of plot occurs as an afterthought instead of falling into place in a more organic way. I found this endearing, however, a relic of a different era; this book w
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