The Counterfeiters - Gide

[George P.]

Put reviews for The Counterfeiters here. This comment is to create an entry .

[Amanda]

Read read for botm- I gave this one 3 stars. It was good but not my favorite Gide work. It’s kind of a perfect title really , because it follows both literal gold counterfeiters in one subplot the book, and then otherwise follows a broad social set playing games of pretense and presenting themselves as things they are not. I also liked how a book from this era based on the idea of pretense and a societal face featured so many queer characters- very layered.

It's a complex story about all the lies and secrets that make up a social network. I feel it was at least in part about how people often pass as things they are not, and what differentiates the authentic from the look alike- if anything. Like did it really matter that Bernard was a bastard if his ‘father’ still raised him? Would Eduard’s fictional book (also The Counterfeiters) not still get across some truths even if some names and events are changed?

The writing was sufficiently interesting, but the book didn't blow me away on the excitement front. Although, there is a notable part here of a nephew sleeping with his uncle. So...that's a thing that happens.

[Gail]

André Gide's The Counterfeiters is a story about deception and authenticity played out in a ensemble of characters, many of them young men coming of age. The timeframe of the book is left vague and therefore appears to be contemporary at times and historical at others. History does not overwhelm the book, which is difficult for novels that take place around the first world war. If you really tease apart mentions of real people and real places you can deduce it is happening in the late 1890's or early 1900's but for a book written and published after the first world war it is remarkable in the way it floats in time.
The primary characters are Bernard, a young man who discovers he is not his father's son, Olivier, Bernard's friend and Edouard, a slightly older gentleman and the uncle of Olivier who loves Olivier. Love in this context is not a uncle's love of a nephew but a lustful overwhelming love. The devil is in full display in a character named The Comte de Passavant who is a hunter of young, innocent boys and who is capable of entangling a good number of the characters in the book in deep acts of deception either to others or to their true selves.
The book covers the themes of how societal mores program people so they are unable to act their true selves. There are many "conversations" in the book where the characters are unable to express themselves except by blushing, but the reader is shown what they are thinking and feeling through the narrator. There is also the use of notebooks to tell parts of the story as Edouard is a writer who is writing a book titled "The Counterfeiters". In this way Edouard is a stand in for the author himself.
I thought the structure of the book interesting and felt that it served the story well and I was delightfully surprised at how contemporary the writing and the characters were. I gave it four stars.

[Pip]

The Counterfeiters is a fascinating tale of coming-of-age in Fin de Siecle Paris. The theme is that very few people reveal their authentic selves, but instead project a counterfeit image of who they aspire to be. Several young men make interesting choices about their individuality, under the influence of older men. The milieu is literary, educated Paris, but as Gail so cleverly points out, the story is not anchored strongly in any time period and the theme is as relevant today as it was when Gide wrote it in the 1920's.

[Kristel]

BOTM September 2021. This is a French novel by Andre Gide, a new to me author and part of the 1001 Books You Must Read Before you die. I enjoyed this one which is something since I tend not to like French authors. This is a story of several characters and also about one character who is writing a book The Counterfeiters and therefore it is considered an early example of postmodern metafiction. But the story just reads well so the structure doesn't get in the way of the story. The story is about relationships, about morality, about real versus counterfeit and then there is the gold fake coins. It also is supposedly an early exploration of homosexuality. I found it only suggestive and as someone said, "just assume they're gay until proven otherwise.". This book does not flant sexual acts in your face which is never necessary to tell a good story. The characters were many and quite a tangled mess. I did find a graphic on line to use to keep them straight. The main characters were interesting but the few that were distantly and only briefly connected would be hard to recall. Gide uses alternating narrators, the author interjects at time and one character's journal is used to inform the reader. I rated it 3.6 stars

[Diane]

Rating: 3.5 stars


This is a book about writing a book, which may be why it made the list. It also explores themes that weren't typically explored during the early 1900's. There were also some interesting liberties taken in the narration of the book, which made the book somewhat unique. I give Gide high points for creativity and literary value. As far as enjoyability goes, maybe not so much.

[[deleted user]]

This was my first book by Gide and I am not sure if I like it or not.

The Counterfeiters is a clever title as it refers to a central event in the book as well as telling the reader not to put any faith in any of the characters as they are all pretending to one extent of another.

While the characters felt realistic, especially the way the children gang up against one boy, there were so many of them all interrelated that I found my mind drifting and forgetting who was who.

I liked the idea of the writer struggling to write his own book also called “The Counterfeiters” which is found inside the book and it was interesting when Gide inserted himself to give some extra information, however this book felt like it didn’t actually go anywhere by the time we got to the end I found it hard to point to a character and say yes they developed over the course of the story.

At the time it was published the subtle hints about gay relationships may have been revelatory but reading today it was tame, that is not the author’s fault it is just how society has moved on, the people behaving badly is also tame by today’s standard but did highlight the issue of morality at the time and to a certain degree the decadence and devil may care attitude of those with money.

3 stars