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The Collected Stories
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The Collected Stories of Colette beings together in one volume for the first time in any language the comprehensive collection of short stories by the novelist known worldwide as Colette, and now acknowledged, with Proust, as the most original French narrative writer of the first half of our century. of the one hundred stories gathered here, thirty-one appear for the first
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Paperback, 624 pages
Published
September 1st 1984
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
(first published January 1st 1958)
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We're blinded to the beauty in our own lives,
But I was taking all that I could get,
For five or six hours in the month of July,
......The summer I read Colette.
Rosanne Cash
My "summer of Colette" occurred in 2003 and 2004 when I read Gigi and Julie de Carneilhan and My Mother's House & Sido. (No, I'm not sure why her books are packaged as twofers. . .) In these exceptionally casual times, it's easy to forget how important it once was to behave in a proper and mannerly fashion, and how many rul ...more
But I was taking all that I could get,
For five or six hours in the month of July,
......The summer I read Colette.
Rosanne Cash
My "summer of Colette" occurred in 2003 and 2004 when I read Gigi and Julie de Carneilhan and My Mother's House & Sido. (No, I'm not sure why her books are packaged as twofers. . .) In these exceptionally casual times, it's easy to forget how important it once was to behave in a proper and mannerly fashion, and how many rul ...more
I've spent all of April with Colette and the one hundred stories in this collection.
And I have loved every minute!
The book is divided into sections: Early Stories (I especially enjoyed the seven 'Dialogues For One Person' there), Backstage At The Music Hall, Varieties Of Human Nature, and Love.
The Sick Child will stay with me a long time, as will many others, too many to list!
Any good writer will notice details in life that other people overlook, then add imagination to create a mini-world for ...more
And I have loved every minute!
The book is divided into sections: Early Stories (I especially enjoyed the seven 'Dialogues For One Person' there), Backstage At The Music Hall, Varieties Of Human Nature, and Love.
The Sick Child will stay with me a long time, as will many others, too many to list!
Any good writer will notice details in life that other people overlook, then add imagination to create a mini-world for ...more
How did I go this long without reading Colette? Why didn't anyone tell me how amazing she is?
I am still reading this collection but there are so many stories that I won't be able to read all -- or even most -- of them before it goes back to the library, so now is as good a time as any to jot down some thoughts.
I wanted an introduction to Colette's writing and these stories have done much more than whet my appetite. I wish I'd read these years ago but it is a fine treat to discover such wonderful ...more
I had a hard time getting through these 600 pages of sheer lyricism and character sketches.
I was expecting more substance. The stories are flimsy, held up only by poetic description and the characters are so very shallow. Her themes are mostly based on her pessimistic view of relationship and that is just about all she has to say. I get it but it is depressing that she really seemed to live her life based on this belief. I did like 2 stories out of the 100--"Dawn" and "April." "The Kepi" is her ...more
I was expecting more substance. The stories are flimsy, held up only by poetic description and the characters are so very shallow. Her themes are mostly based on her pessimistic view of relationship and that is just about all she has to say. I get it but it is depressing that she really seemed to live her life based on this belief. I did like 2 stories out of the 100--"Dawn" and "April." "The Kepi" is her ...more
I have been looking forward to Colette's Collected Stories for such a long time. Translated by Antonia White, an author whom I enjoy, I expected that these tales would be immersive, beautifully written, and memorable. I normally find Colette's work immediately absorbing and transporting, so I was surprised when I did not find myself becoming immersed in this early on. These are largely really more like sketches and monologues than short stories, and as most of them feature Colette, or a facsimil
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Years ago, I read a short story by Colette (AKA Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette)in Freshman English - it was about a woman dressed in a pieroette costume who felt very liberated because she was wearing a mask and could behave in a very sensual manner. It was written in the early part of the 20th century. I found a copy of her collected stories last week at my local (wonderful) bookshop, the Raconteur in Metuchen, and am digging in and really enjoying it. But to enjoy, you must read s-l-o-w-l-y.
I esp ...more
I esp ...more
Nov 14, 2010
Courtney
marked it as to-read
1) The Other Table
2) The Screen
3) Clouk Alone
4) Clouk's Fling
5) Cheri
6) The Return
7) The Pearls
8) Literature
9) My Goddaughter
10) A Hairdresser
11) A Masseuse
12) My Corset Maker
13) The Saleswoman
14) An Interview
15) A Letter
16) The Semiramis Bar
17) "If I Had a Daughter..."
18) Rites
19) Newly Shorn
20) Grape Harvest
21) In the Boudoir
22) The "Master"
23) Morning Glories
24) What Must We Look Like?
25) The Cure
26) Sleepless Nights
27) Gray Days
28) The Last Fire
29) A Fable: The Tendrils of the Vine
30) The Ha ...more
2) The Screen
3) Clouk Alone
4) Clouk's Fling
5) Cheri
6) The Return
7) The Pearls
8) Literature
9) My Goddaughter
10) A Hairdresser
11) A Masseuse
12) My Corset Maker
13) The Saleswoman
14) An Interview
15) A Letter
16) The Semiramis Bar
17) "If I Had a Daughter..."
18) Rites
19) Newly Shorn
20) Grape Harvest
21) In the Boudoir
22) The "Master"
23) Morning Glories
24) What Must We Look Like?
25) The Cure
26) Sleepless Nights
27) Gray Days
28) The Last Fire
29) A Fable: The Tendrils of the Vine
30) The Ha ...more
I almost didn't want to review this book. I want to keep this as my secret source of joy and inspiration, much in a way I might keep a secret lover. Or maybe I'd give it 4-stars so that no one would really take notice.
This is a collection of short stories, some no more than a page or two; they are more like sketches of a scene or a character. And if you've been following my reviews, you know I emphasize the importance of strong plot. So what is going on? Well, there is always an exception to th ...more
This is a collection of short stories, some no more than a page or two; they are more like sketches of a scene or a character. And if you've been following my reviews, you know I emphasize the importance of strong plot. So what is going on? Well, there is always an exception to th ...more
I'm dipping into this book for the umpteenth time. Not one to read cover to cover, but I love Colette's steely-eyed view of the world - underneath all the love of nature and intense sensory detail is a hard-headed cynic. I've just reread The rainy moon, a haunting story about a woman's obsessive hatred for her ex-husband, set against the narrator Colette's memories of an unhappy but less bitter love affair that took place in the same flat years before.
What a fabulous introduction to this clever writer. Sugar coating disguises sometimes bitter, sometimes sharp observations of people and their motivations. This is a great book to take on holiday or dip into when you have a few minutes over a coffee.
I am struck at how contemporary her voice is particularly the series of vignettes with a one-sided conversation.
Very enjoyable, but best read in small doses. Binge reading makes it possible to get a tad tired of the author's irrepressible ego.
Reading Collette can be like watching an utterly transfixing French film; her descriptive powers are so strong that the French homes, gardens and cafes surround you, as you eavesdrop on the people who inhabit them. She can justify a long paragraph detailing a staircase and nothing else; she can tell an entire story in two sentences.
The gone-in-a-flash short short stories included in this volume were new to me, and some of them I thought wonderful; but my favourites, off the top of my head, were ...more
The gone-in-a-flash short short stories included in this volume were new to me, and some of them I thought wonderful; but my favourites, off the top of my head, were ...more
I read this collection from cover to cover one summer c.1990 and I think this is the best way to introduce someone to the works of Colette.
One reason I love her writing is because she puts you THERE in France during the turn of the 20th century and up to the jazz age.
Colette's life as a stage performer, and more or less, starving artist coupled with her divorced status at a time when divorce was considered damning gives her a unique perspective of the world that is far from the genteel image th ...more
One reason I love her writing is because she puts you THERE in France during the turn of the 20th century and up to the jazz age.
Colette's life as a stage performer, and more or less, starving artist coupled with her divorced status at a time when divorce was considered damning gives her a unique perspective of the world that is far from the genteel image th ...more
This deserves, at the very least, a four star rating, as Colette is an incredibly gifted and insightful writer. I adore the sensual style and subtlety of her writing; unfortunately, I did not care for the way the editor attempted to beat me over the head with it. 600+ pages? Really? The editor really should have trimmed some of the fat here and done away with about a third of the stories included in this collection. The weaker, the repetitive, and the boring could have been scrapped without miss
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This large book was indeed amazing! Beautiful even, she writes so well that is envious. I am even convinced that she writes like a female Oscar Wilde. Some stories are more glorious than others...but it isn't easy to find favourites. I enjoyed most were: My Goddaughter, Grape Harvest, The Fox, The Half-Crazy, The Watchman, Bella-Vista and April. I got this from the library and would in fact like to own a copy. Despite her years as 1873-1954 she is still a modern writer, one I feel won't age. Wel
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In selecting this book, I thought that perhaps there would be some of Colette's stories that I hadn't read before, but after sampling several of them they all seemed so familiar that I decided not to read any more. She writes well, but I think they were better for me when I was first discovering the world.
This is a reread, and I reread it one-and-a-half times through this time as prep/research for one of my own stories. Her longer, later works are a little to detail heavy and involved, but the middle ones are excellent! Especially the Valentine ones. Light, beautiful, flashes of deepness, spare. Would that I could--perhaps I can.
I finally finished this 600 page book after putting it down and picking it up over the last year. Collette's writing is magnificent. She is very obviously adept at observing human relationships and small banal moments and turns them into beautiful and intriguing stories. I felt like I was privy to her personal memories. I plan to hold on to this book and reread it multiple times.
My first encounter with Colette and it was one well-worth the time. She captures Paris at that time in history perfectly and with such fervor it makes you want to travel back in time. She is a very human writer, depicting humanity with passion, feeling, and sensuality.
Colette would disapprove, but this is my in-betweener book. I don't typically tend to be drawn to short stories, but I'll read pretty much anything Colette has written. Whenever I do pick up a story here and there, I'm reminded of just how fabulous she truly is.
not nearly as good as her other stuff. for a completist only, methinks. but not terrible either. just meh.
in particular, "the judge"
the first colette i've read, and some of the most intriguing, wonderful short stories ever. they are clever and bright--always surprising and intuitive.
"The Rainy Moon" is pure pleasure from start to finish.
Colette is another must read if you are a fan of erotica and all things mystical/womanly.
My first reading of Colette and still a favourite.
Reading again...just love this book. I should probably look into getting others by Colette I know she has many more to offer
perfect prose, even in translation, and clever stories.
Wonderful writing, witty, world-wise - if Mae West had been literary.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| A woman way ahead of her time | 2 | 18 | Apr 28, 2011 10:15AM |
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Colette was the pen name of the French novelist and actress Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette. She is best known, at least in the English-speaking world, for her novella Gigi, which provided the plot for a famous Lerner & Loewe musical film and stage musical. She started her writing career penning the influential Claudine novels of books. The novel Chéri is often cited as her masterpiece.
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