The Pure and the Impure (New York Review Books Classics)

by Colette
The Pure and the Impure (New York Review Books Classics)
book data
125 ratings, 3.72 average rating, 19 reviews (more data...)
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published
September 30th 2000 by New York Review Books

binding
Paperback, 208 pages

isbn
094032248X   (isbn13: 9780940322486)

description
Colette herself considered The Pure and the Impure her best book, "the nearest I shall ever come to writing an autobiography." This g...more






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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 196)



Chris
Chris rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
06/17/08

Read in January, 2007
My boss' wife adores Colette, cannot say enough about her greatness. In part, I am not easily engaged by her sort of dreamy post nineteenth century female style. I expected to be drawn in by the sexually liberated woman I think she was. I was somewhat intrigued by elements of the world she creates with her writing, an autobiographical portrayal of the bohemian Paris of the early 20th century. But the style didn't do it for me, I think I like a rawer more contemporary style. Lots of people l...more
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Elie
Elie rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
10/03/08

bookshelves: fiction
This collection of reminiscings by Colette reminded me of an out-of-print collection of erotic stories by Anais Nin, but without the erotic charge that runs through almost all of Nin's writing. Colette has the 'grande-dame' voice of a woman who believes she has seen much, and just like the title, the narrative voice becomes heavy and somewhat tiring. When compared to her earlier books - in particular, the 'Claudine' series - 'The Pure and Impure' is disappointing.
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Travis
Travis rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
07/16/07

Read in July, 2007
this book is probably better than my experience reading it. at less than 200 pages, it took me about 3 weeks to read it. i dunno, i just couldn't get into it. the episodic nature of colette's storytelling didn't really lend itself to edge of your seat reading, and the subject matter (the various permutations of erotic, sensual relationships) wasn't something i really wanted to ponder deeply. not bad, but something i could (should?) have passed on.
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Alexa.elam
Alexa.elam rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
01/08/08

Read in January, 2008
I just re-read this book after reading Judith Thurman's wonderful biography of Colette. It was great to read it in that context and I feel like I got a lot more out of it on this second reading than I did the first time around. I knew more about Colette's personal histories with the subjects she examines, and I also realized how very ahead of its time this book is.
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Nathaniel
Nathaniel rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
05/04/07

bookshelves: semifiction
Read in April, 2007
A melancholy examination of transgressive sexuality in late 19th/early 20th-century France. Frustratingly oblique in places. Most interesting for its musings on gender roles; Collete's ideas about gender are far from those of either her more conservative contemporaries or her feminist/queer-theory heirs.
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Emily
Emily rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/11/08

Read in April, 2003
dear french colette. certainly a 'radical' woman writer. i think parts of this she offered as being autobiographical. it opens in a dark opium den. there is variety, experience, and it has been dubbed a 'journey into an erotic netherworld.'
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Friend the Girl
Friend the Girl rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
10/29/08

Read in October, 2008
Maybe I should have read Colette before Anais Nin, but I'm in the mood for more erotica and this isn't it! I do love Colette, though, so I'm finishing this one.
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Jenny
Jenny rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
03/19/08

Colette was pretty ambivalent about lesbians, in spite of her androgyny. It shows. But it's interesting to hang out in her world a while.
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Cynthia
Cynthia rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
02/25/08

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in November, 2007
Colette deemed this her favorite of all the books she wrote--a series of essays on unusual love affairs between improbably characters.
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Kristien
Read in July, 2008
Mijn review staat hier:

http://kristien.filosofie.be/i...
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kirsten
kirsten rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/12/08

there were obvious things i disagreed with in the book. but i do like the idea of living back in the day.
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rishi
rishi rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
05/14/07

Read in January, 2003
fine prose for those who nurse opiate fantasies. perfect pairing: read book, then watch mccabe and mrs miller.
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Jessica
Jessica rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
11/06/08

I read this book for a class. It wasn't bad, really. Sometimes it's hard to follow, thought.
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Eunji
Eunji rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
05/22/07

bookshelves: currently-reading
SPICY, SAUCY.....salacious...with shades of sapphic...i'm only in chapter 5!
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Ellen
Ellen rated it: 1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars
12/04/07

Read in January, 2008
It was a chore to finish this book. The words just didn't grab me.
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Tangobaby
Tangobaby rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
03/05/08

My first introduction to Colette and her Paris.
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Sarah
Sarah rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
02/07/08

bookshelves: newer---
Read in March, 2008
Almost little intimate essays...lovely
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Laura
05/12/08

Il faut le lire plus d'une fois.
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Kelly
Kelly marked it as to-read
05/23/08

bookshelves: to-read
Oh my, yes.
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Katharine
Katharine rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
12/02/08



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Le Pur et l'Impur (Mass Market Paperback)
Le Pur Et L'Impur (Mass Market Paperback)
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