book data
257 ratings, 4.12 average rating, 20 reviews
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published
September 5th 2001
(first published 1910)
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
binding
Paperback, 224 pages
isbn
0374528047
(isbn13: 9780374528041)
description
Thirty-three years-old and recently divorced, Renée Néré has begun a new life on her own, supporting herself as a music-hall artist. Maxime, a rich...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 358)
Read in July, 2008
Alexandra can't spell. I just reviewed this book under the wrong spelling of Colette.
I don't understand why this book is not more widely celebrated. I read a stand-alone edition of The Vagabond and loved it. Renee's struggle with the difficult choice between the comforts of a conventional marriage and bourgeois life, at the price of her autonomy, and an often painful life of work and solitude is the same one many women go through today. Middle class social structures haven't changed much ...more
I don't understand why this book is not more widely celebrated. I read a stand-alone edition of The Vagabond and loved it. Renee's struggle with the difficult choice between the comforts of a conventional marriage and bourgeois life, at the price of her autonomy, and an often painful life of work and solitude is the same one many women go through today. Middle class social structures haven't changed much ...more
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Read in March, 2008
Sometimes I crave a good book. It's akin to opening the fridge and staring inside wishing for something to suddenly look good.
I was craving something with the smooth mouth feel of a The Thirteenth Stone or the tang of Grotesque and nothing seemed to fit. And then Edd handed me this book in paperback and I sat back and devoured it.
Renee is a divorcee. She's a writer turn...more
I was craving something with the smooth mouth feel of a The Thirteenth Stone or the tang of Grotesque and nothing seemed to fit. And then Edd handed me this book in paperback and I sat back and devoured it.
Renee is a divorcee. She's a writer turn...more
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Read in November, 2008
This is probably the most beautiful piece of writing I've ever found. If there is a more honest exposition, a more sincere appraisal, of the narrative we live when not consumed by mundane distractions, I look forward to your recommendations.
Colette's talent lies in enumerating the sensory details we barely notice and explicating the relationship between the tactile and the emotional. In an existential sense, this is a novel about nature and desire, surrender and choice. But forget the p...more
Colette's talent lies in enumerating the sensory details we barely notice and explicating the relationship between the tactile and the emotional. In an existential sense, this is a novel about nature and desire, surrender and choice. But forget the p...more
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Read in January, 2008
One literary critique claimed this was a story of "a specific rejection of female sphere...for the androgynous world." This is true, but it's mostly about an artist and her early 20th century Parisian life surrounded by quirky, syphilis-ridden other artists, being traumatized by the collapse of her marriage.
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Read in July, 2007
I really like Collette's writing in this book. It has received some negative reviews for an awkward translation, but I like it. It's very evocative of the narrator's personality.
Great book for getting a feel for what life as a woman in the underbelly of Paris was like in the early 20th century.
Great book for getting a feel for what life as a woman in the underbelly of Paris was like in the early 20th century.
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Read in September, 2008
was told to read this as I'm turning 33 this year (the Jesus year) and the cover line of my edition of the paperback book reads: "The Vagabond - At 33, alone in a world of choices..."
Move over Sex & The City; pretty revolutionary for its time.
Move over Sex & The City; pretty revolutionary for its time.
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I read this book at ASU in Dr.Canovas class on Queer Literature and simply put, it is amazing. I especially love the word play in the original French... ma voix, ma voie. We're all on that same search for voice.
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
wacky chicks
Ok, so I didn't get all the way through it this time. It's fuckin' hot out, ok? And this is more of a winter story. But I have read it before and it's a-fucking-mazing.
Read in July, 2006
recommends it for:
feminists
A great "early feminism" book. She's a travelling actress that doesn't want to be tied down by love. She has the opportunities but her spirit longs to be free.
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recommends it for:
Heather
All young, independent women should read this book. It's all about how important it is to stay true to yourself and not let anyone else dictate who you are.
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Read in January, 1985
I first read this in college. It's the best of Colette, I feel. Classic, inspiring. I love an unconventional woman. It's another i keep revisiting.
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a sad tale in the end. but very good.
the question it poses is what is more important? love and a companion or your independence and freedom?
the question it poses is what is more important? love and a companion or your independence and freedom?
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Read in June, 2007
It could be the translation, but the writing feels too superficial to hook into. And the story itself isn't terribly compelling.
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Read in March, 2006
currently reading this... translated from french. sort of fanciful writing that is fun to escape in. more later...
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Read in January, 1979
i fell in love with colette one summer-i read everything that was in the mesa public library that summer.
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currently-reading (on 17 people's shelves)
fiction (on 7 people's shelves)
literature (on 3 people's shelves)
french (on 3 people's shelves)
womens (on 2 people's shelves)
favorites (on 2 people's shelves)
old-friends (on 1 person's shelf)
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quotes from this book
""I have found my voice again and the art of using it...""
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