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A review by jonfaith
Belle du Seigneur by Albert Cohen
4.0
Indefatigable, nothing like a limp rag but firing all pistons, she strode up and down in her red polka-dot jacket which left her thighs bare, paced feverishly, her words warmed by a sacred flame and strengthened too by the exultation of victory, while her spouse, stunned and left reeling by the power of her avenging eloquence, could only stand by and watch open-mouthed as his unsuspecting sins were clearly marshalled and paraded before him.
It has been lovely here in Beograd. It has been just as lovely reading this in Beograd. I followed Graham Greene's advice to take something to read on holiday which has nothing pertinent to the place or nature of the sojourn. It was GR friend Ilse who noted that my brain might find comfort in something French or Russian; I thank her for that clarity. While it is a thousand page novel it was hardly bulky and I have taken it along on buses, trams and my daily seven to ten mile walks. There was never a regret.
The story is literary, simply so. The capricious wife of a dunderhead diploma falls for the diplomat's superior. It is pure Wodehouse. Everything is rehearsed. Even the rules for seduction are outlined in advance. There is an interiority but it is all somehow outcome oriented. The monologues are often fleeting, scattered but the need to focus-and thus practice is never far from the task. The scenes focusing on the unfortunate cuckold are so human, I did gasp. Cohen outlines the attitudes of Europe in the 1930s as a tacit backdrop until the seducer gives vent to his rage. This is tantamount to the last volume of the Knausgaard. It is impossible to discuss this novel without thinking about Anti-Semitism. I want to also thank GR Friend Mimi for leading me to an article about Simon Schama's appreciation for the novel.
There are a plethora of voices in Cohen's palette and each one contributes to the tapestry. The emotional coloring is also deft. My reduction of a star was due to the fact that the novel chose verisimilitude and I wanted something a bit more nuanced and perhaps sinister. I am not sure what that suggests about me on holiday.
It has been lovely here in Beograd. It has been just as lovely reading this in Beograd. I followed Graham Greene's advice to take something to read on holiday which has nothing pertinent to the place or nature of the sojourn. It was GR friend Ilse who noted that my brain might find comfort in something French or Russian; I thank her for that clarity. While it is a thousand page novel it was hardly bulky and I have taken it along on buses, trams and my daily seven to ten mile walks. There was never a regret.
The story is literary, simply so. The capricious wife of a dunderhead diploma falls for the diplomat's superior. It is pure Wodehouse. Everything is rehearsed. Even the rules for seduction are outlined in advance. There is an interiority but it is all somehow outcome oriented. The monologues are often fleeting, scattered but the need to focus-and thus practice is never far from the task. The scenes focusing on the unfortunate cuckold are so human, I did gasp. Cohen outlines the attitudes of Europe in the 1930s as a tacit backdrop until the seducer gives vent to his rage. This is tantamount to the last volume of the Knausgaard. It is impossible to discuss this novel without thinking about Anti-Semitism. I want to also thank GR Friend Mimi for leading me to an article about Simon Schama's appreciation for the novel.
There are a plethora of voices in Cohen's palette and each one contributes to the tapestry. The emotional coloring is also deft. My reduction of a star was due to the fact that the novel chose verisimilitude and I wanted something a bit more nuanced and perhaps sinister. I am not sure what that suggests about me on holiday.