Ulysse’s review of Alcools > Likes and Comments
44 likes · Like
Loved the memories associated with this book. Such, such were the days! (as someone famous once said).
You’ve achieved the ecstatic with this provenance confession! I’m grateful.
Things were simpler. Who today would agree to receiving a book a month they had no choice over!
Ken wrote: "Loved the memories associated with this book. Such, such were the days! (as someone famous once said)."
They were great days, in retrospect, but they had to be lived, commingling joy and pain. I'm glad I lived them, Ken, but I wouldn't go back. Today's the thing!
Jonfaith wrote: "You’ve achieved the ecstatic with this provenance confession! I’m grateful."
I went on a bike ride through the Norman countryside this morning and I could feel the ecstasy bubbling inside me. Couldn't pedal home fast enough to get it down on paper, so to speak. Thanks for the kind comment, Jon :-)
Nick wrote: "Who today would agree to receiving a book a month they had no choice over!"
People who don't know what to read next?
Not sure my wife's late grandmother read all of these books. Some of them look suspiciously pristine for books printed in the 50s.
Lucky you. Two gifts - one from your wife's late grandmother. The other from Apollinaire.
Paul wrote: "Lucky you. Two gifts - one from your wife's late grandmother. The other from Apollinaire."
I feel very lucky, Paul, thanks for reminding me how lucky I am :-)
I love the nostalgia in this Ulysse....and good times with Dan is what we all need in our youth !
Thanks Jaidee! So you had a Dan-the-ladies-man friend in your youth too?
The third of your songs I've read this morning, Ulysse! Je suis comblée!
Your grandmother-in-law must have been very wise. You are the perfect person to receive the gift of such precious paper and fonts! Not to mention the words.
And I agree, the words in those lines you quoted are beyond transformation. They are themselves alone and always.
Fionnuala wrote: "The third of your songs I've read this morning, Ulysse! Je suis comblée!"
Gavée is what you must be by now, Fionnuala ;-) Thanks for reading and commenting thrice this morning, you've made my day.
Your grandmother-in-law must have been very wise.
She was actually kind of mean and miserly. These books were kept in boxes in a dank cellar for years and years. It's her daughter, my mother in law, who is the wise woman for she gave them to yours truly after clearing out the old house. God bless Armelle!
Madeleine Bourdouxhe took the title of her Sous le Pont Mirabeau from Apollinaire's poem and this marvellous tribute shows that justice does exist, making that fabulous collection of 300 volumes fall into your hands, Ulysse.
ps Trying to help you out with that precise and precious edition, I found 417 editions on GR but sadly not the right one, isn't that astounding?
Thanks Ilse, I’ve never heard of Madeleine Bourdouxhe before. Is this a book you’d recommend?
There are indeed a lot of editions of Alcools on GR already and I was hoping someone would add a 418th one for me 😉
I've never written this sentence before: I'm so envious of your wife's late grandmother's library!
What a legacy--something to remember--leaving behind a library!! This only encourages more book hoarding for me.
"Holy and profane?" Amen!
Are these inherited books in multiple languages?
Julie wrote: "I've never written this sentence before: I'm so envious of your wife's late grandmother's library!
What a legacy--something to remember--leaving behind a library!! This only encourages more book ho..."
Isn't it nice to write sentences for the first time, Julie? She and her husband were book-hoarders for sure. It's funny because Raymond, my wife's maternal grandfather, was this really well-respected member of society, some sort of orthodontist hot shot, but what always impressed me the most about him was his collection of rare editions of Apollinaire, Marcelline Desborde-Valmore, Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, Raymond Queneau, Colette, j'en passe. When he died in 2005, the collection mysteriously disappeared, nobody knew (or cared) what happened to it. Turns out they'd all been packed in boxes and sent down to the cellar only to be discovered last January when my wife's grandmother died aged 94. My mother-in-law, who knows I'm obsessed with books, thought: I think we'll give these to Ulysse, for he will actually read them! And oh yes he will indeed!
Julie wrote: "Are these inherited books in multiple languages?"
They're all in French!
Fionnuala wrote: "I think I've done it, Ulysse..."
Done what, dear Fionnuala?
Eaten a whole chicken?
Written a sestina?
Given up on reading, writing about reading?
Committed a heinous crime?
Joined a crazy cult?
Cheated on your partner?
Spilled wine all over your books?
Discovered a cure for cancer?
Beaten AI at chess?
Do tell me, I want to know!
Fionnuala wrote: "I think I've done it, Ulysse..."
I just got it, Fionnuala! You are the best, thank you so much :-)
I didn't find the precise edition, Ulysse. I just cropped your photo and inserted it in the GR info on Alcools:-)
Justly deserved. Feast on them, Ulysse.
Oh my goodness. Okay--tell me: which are the greatest treasures for you? Some of them must be very old, but it sounds like they've been well-preserved.
Any poetry?
You have first editions of Queneau! Would you sell me Zazie? Or better still, Sally Mara? She definitely belongs in Ireland;-)
Georgia wrote: "Justly deserved. Feast on them, Ulysse."
I haven't been holding back, Georgia. Delicious!
Julie wrote: "Oh my goodness. Okay--tell me: which are the greatest treasures for you? Some of them must be very old, but it sounds like they've been well-preserved.
Any poetry?"
Oh yes lots of poetry, mostly French: Aragon, Eluard, Breton, Léon-Paul Fargues, Queneau, Georges Fourest, Marcelline Desbordes-Valmore, Lautréamont, Chrétien de Troye, Villon, Baudelaire, Apollinaire, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Mallarmé, etc. There is also some Rilke and an anthology of Mexican poetry.
There are also all the French classics, everything from Roman de Renart to Stendhal, from Laclos to Jean-Paul Sartre. All in pristine, clothbound, illustrated editions that are simply a pleasure to hold in your hand!
Fionnuala wrote: "You have first editions of Queneau! Would you sell me Zazie? Or better still, Sally Mara? She definitely belongs in Ireland;-)"
I have a 1956 Club des Libraires de France edition of Exercises de Style (one of my all-time favourites) and it's mine, all mine!
Écoute, Ulysse, je suis contente pour toi. Et cette collection incroyable, c'est la récompense parfaite après tes longs mois d'études ennuyantes.
Fionnuala wrote: "Écoute, Ulysse, je suis contente pour toi. Et cette collection incroyable, c'est la récompense parfaite après tes longs mois d'études ennuyantes."
Merci, chère Fionnuala. Tu sais, je te les aurais données, Zazie et Sally Marra, mais malheureusement elles ne font pas partie de la collection.
back to top
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Ken
(new)
Jul 24, 2026 04:10AM
Loved the memories associated with this book. Such, such were the days! (as someone famous once said).
reply
|
flag
You’ve achieved the ecstatic with this provenance confession! I’m grateful.
Things were simpler. Who today would agree to receiving a book a month they had no choice over!
Ken wrote: "Loved the memories associated with this book. Such, such were the days! (as someone famous once said)."They were great days, in retrospect, but they had to be lived, commingling joy and pain. I'm glad I lived them, Ken, but I wouldn't go back. Today's the thing!
Jonfaith wrote: "You’ve achieved the ecstatic with this provenance confession! I’m grateful."I went on a bike ride through the Norman countryside this morning and I could feel the ecstasy bubbling inside me. Couldn't pedal home fast enough to get it down on paper, so to speak. Thanks for the kind comment, Jon :-)
Nick wrote: "Who today would agree to receiving a book a month they had no choice over!"People who don't know what to read next?
Not sure my wife's late grandmother read all of these books. Some of them look suspiciously pristine for books printed in the 50s.
Lucky you. Two gifts - one from your wife's late grandmother. The other from Apollinaire.
Paul wrote: "Lucky you. Two gifts - one from your wife's late grandmother. The other from Apollinaire."I feel very lucky, Paul, thanks for reminding me how lucky I am :-)
I love the nostalgia in this Ulysse....and good times with Dan is what we all need in our youth !
Thanks Jaidee! So you had a Dan-the-ladies-man friend in your youth too?
The third of your songs I've read this morning, Ulysse! Je suis comblée!Your grandmother-in-law must have been very wise. You are the perfect person to receive the gift of such precious paper and fonts! Not to mention the words.
And I agree, the words in those lines you quoted are beyond transformation. They are themselves alone and always.
Fionnuala wrote: "The third of your songs I've read this morning, Ulysse! Je suis comblée!"Gavée is what you must be by now, Fionnuala ;-) Thanks for reading and commenting thrice this morning, you've made my day.
Your grandmother-in-law must have been very wise.
She was actually kind of mean and miserly. These books were kept in boxes in a dank cellar for years and years. It's her daughter, my mother in law, who is the wise woman for she gave them to yours truly after clearing out the old house. God bless Armelle!
Madeleine Bourdouxhe took the title of her Sous le Pont Mirabeau from Apollinaire's poem and this marvellous tribute shows that justice does exist, making that fabulous collection of 300 volumes fall into your hands, Ulysse.ps Trying to help you out with that precise and precious edition, I found 417 editions on GR but sadly not the right one, isn't that astounding?
Thanks Ilse, I’ve never heard of Madeleine Bourdouxhe before. Is this a book you’d recommend? There are indeed a lot of editions of Alcools on GR already and I was hoping someone would add a 418th one for me 😉
I've never written this sentence before: I'm so envious of your wife's late grandmother's library!What a legacy--something to remember--leaving behind a library!! This only encourages more book hoarding for me.
"Holy and profane?" Amen!Are these inherited books in multiple languages?
Julie wrote: "I've never written this sentence before: I'm so envious of your wife's late grandmother's library!What a legacy--something to remember--leaving behind a library!! This only encourages more book ho..."
Isn't it nice to write sentences for the first time, Julie? She and her husband were book-hoarders for sure. It's funny because Raymond, my wife's maternal grandfather, was this really well-respected member of society, some sort of orthodontist hot shot, but what always impressed me the most about him was his collection of rare editions of Apollinaire, Marcelline Desborde-Valmore, Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, Raymond Queneau, Colette, j'en passe. When he died in 2005, the collection mysteriously disappeared, nobody knew (or cared) what happened to it. Turns out they'd all been packed in boxes and sent down to the cellar only to be discovered last January when my wife's grandmother died aged 94. My mother-in-law, who knows I'm obsessed with books, thought: I think we'll give these to Ulysse, for he will actually read them! And oh yes he will indeed!
Julie wrote: "Are these inherited books in multiple languages?"They're all in French!
Fionnuala wrote: "I think I've done it, Ulysse..."Done what, dear Fionnuala?
Eaten a whole chicken?
Written a sestina?
Given up on reading, writing about reading?
Committed a heinous crime?
Joined a crazy cult?
Cheated on your partner?
Spilled wine all over your books?
Discovered a cure for cancer?
Beaten AI at chess?
Do tell me, I want to know!
Fionnuala wrote: "I think I've done it, Ulysse..."I just got it, Fionnuala! You are the best, thank you so much :-)
I didn't find the precise edition, Ulysse. I just cropped your photo and inserted it in the GR info on Alcools:-)
Justly deserved. Feast on them, Ulysse.
Oh my goodness. Okay--tell me: which are the greatest treasures for you? Some of them must be very old, but it sounds like they've been well-preserved.Any poetry?
You have first editions of Queneau! Would you sell me Zazie? Or better still, Sally Mara? She definitely belongs in Ireland;-)
Georgia wrote: "Justly deserved. Feast on them, Ulysse."I haven't been holding back, Georgia. Delicious!
Julie wrote: "Oh my goodness. Okay--tell me: which are the greatest treasures for you? Some of them must be very old, but it sounds like they've been well-preserved.Any poetry?"
Oh yes lots of poetry, mostly French: Aragon, Eluard, Breton, Léon-Paul Fargues, Queneau, Georges Fourest, Marcelline Desbordes-Valmore, Lautréamont, Chrétien de Troye, Villon, Baudelaire, Apollinaire, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Mallarmé, etc. There is also some Rilke and an anthology of Mexican poetry.
There are also all the French classics, everything from Roman de Renart to Stendhal, from Laclos to Jean-Paul Sartre. All in pristine, clothbound, illustrated editions that are simply a pleasure to hold in your hand!
Fionnuala wrote: "You have first editions of Queneau! Would you sell me Zazie? Or better still, Sally Mara? She definitely belongs in Ireland;-)"I have a 1956 Club des Libraires de France edition of Exercises de Style (one of my all-time favourites) and it's mine, all mine!
Écoute, Ulysse, je suis contente pour toi. Et cette collection incroyable, c'est la récompense parfaite après tes longs mois d'études ennuyantes.
Fionnuala wrote: "Écoute, Ulysse, je suis contente pour toi. Et cette collection incroyable, c'est la récompense parfaite après tes longs mois d'études ennuyantes."Merci, chère Fionnuala. Tu sais, je te les aurais données, Zazie et Sally Marra, mais malheureusement elles ne font pas partie de la collection.