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Lemoine Affair (The Art of the Novella)
Their friend Marcel Proust had killed himself after the fall in diamond shares, a collapse that annihilated a part of his fortune.
This is the first-ever translation into English of this startling tour-de-force by one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers.
The Lemoine Affair was inspired by the real-life French scandal involving Henri Lemoine, who claimed he could...more
This is the first-ever translation into English of this startling tour-de-force by one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers.
The Lemoine Affair was inspired by the real-life French scandal involving Henri Lemoine, who claimed he could...more
Paperback, 100 pages
Published
February 1st 2008
by Melville Pub House
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The conceit of style is ridiculed in this book more than anything else. The Mask of the Intellectual, is taken off for literature.
You can read or watch George Will to see a current practitioner; it sounds like he’s saying something; he looks like he knows what he’s talking about; but behind the noise, the elongated linguistics, nothing original, nothing of merit.
As for this novella: a rarity for literature.
You have one of the most noted stylists admitting ...more
You can read or watch George Will to see a current practitioner; it sounds like he’s saying something; he looks like he knows what he’s talking about; but behind the noise, the elongated linguistics, nothing original, nothing of merit.
As for this novella: a rarity for literature.
You have one of the most noted stylists admitting ...more
Here's my problem with this collection and with pastiches in general--no matter how on the mark they are I almost always prefer the author's own voice to those they are dabbling in. I see these pieces as rigorous writing exercises and little more, the kind of thought experiments many writers have a Word Doc for that should never see the light of day. Of course, when they are Marcel Proust's excercises they will find their way to translation and print, even if it did take 100 years or so.
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A curious book for sure. I keep vascilating between 3 and 4 (as if it matters, of course!), as it is a weird book in the way that Proust, a legend, imitates other high literary priests of his age, which, i mean, i have not seen done anywhere before. i realize i'm taking a mixtape approach to describe these books tonight, but it's almost like a rapper taking beats from other rappers then trying to imitate their voice and flows and doing it so well that the reader is lost, at times to a point of s...more
Humorous, sorta. Feel like maybe the translator got it wrong, or maybe it's just a lackluster book. I mean, not everyone always has stellar output. Feel like the imitations of the other authors was okay, but really believe that this may be the kind of book that's meant to be read only in the original. I mean, I guess I'm not entirely sure I trust this translator to not only translate accurately but also to replicate the styles of balzac, flaubert, etc as they are commonly translated in English. ...more
(sigh) getting through this tiny volume was a minor trial. this is atypical proust: shorts, surrounding a real-life scandal, each 'written' by a different person he's satirizing. all tiresome. parody does not age well. it can't help but remain trapped in the time it mocks, what with all of the minor places, events, & public figures that fill it.
but i kept reading because damn if there was a brilliant phrase or sentence hidden among all the courtly frigging chatter every page or two.. just ...more
but i kept reading because damn if there was a brilliant phrase or sentence hidden among all the courtly frigging chatter every page or two.. just ...more
I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. I knew going into this that I would not get most of Proust's references but decided to give it a shot anyway. I definitely enjoyed all the different perspectives and writing styles that added together give a seemingly more complete view of Lemoine's claim and the subsequent fallout and trial.
emily
rated it
Recommends it for:
me, 100 years ago. an also French. so, not me, really. but you know.
Intermittently hilarious, despite my almost-zero knowledge of the literary world of Proust's day.
The last section was mysterious to me (I couldn't figure out the joke, try as I might), but I did find myself using another section to talk about Tea Partiers with John later on.
The last section was mysterious to me (I couldn't figure out the joke, try as I might), but I did find myself using another section to talk about Tea Partiers with John later on.
This is the first and perhaps the last book that I have read entirely on the subway, and it is possible that the venue of its reading may account for Proust's inability to grab my attentions and sustain them. But I doubt it. I don't have a deep enough knowledge of French literature to have been amused by what I am sure are delightful imitations of each writer's style, but this book failed to transcend its own novelty to impart any real interest in terms of its subject matter. It's a bore my d...more
This beautifully packaged series of classic novellas includes the works of Anton Chekhov, Colette, Henry James, Herman Melville, and Leo Tolstoy. These collectible editions are the first single-volume publications of these classic tales, offering a closer look at this underappreciated literary form and providing a fresh take on the world's most celebrated authors.
if you already love proust whole-heartedly like i do, you will want to read this novella of impersonations & you may find a lot to enjoy in it / however if you haven't read IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME, it would be a profound mistake to begin yr discovery of proust here / in other words hunker down & read the masterpiece
proust makes fun of people but the problem is that we don't live in france 100 years ago so we don't know who they are.
It's incredibly well-written and, had I known what and whom Proust was satirizing, I imagine I'd have liked it a lot more.
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French novelist, best known for his 3000 page masterpiece À la recherche du temps perdu (Remembrance of Things Past or In Search of Lost Time), a pseudo-autobiographical novel told mostly in a stream-of-consciousness style. Born in the first year of the Third Republic, the young Marcel, like his narrator, was a delicate child from a bourgeois family. He was active in Parisian high society during t...more
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