Klik på en miniature for at gå til Google Books
Indlæser... Balcony in the Forest (original 1958; udgave 1987)af Julien Gracq
Work InformationBalcony in the Forest af Julien Gracq (Author) (1958)
Ingen Indlæser...
Bliv medlem af LibraryThing for at finde ud af, om du vil kunne lide denne bog. Der er ingen diskussionstråde på Snak om denne bog. I can make this quick and (not really) dirty. "Balcony in the Forest" was not Julien Gracq's best book but it is a great book and Gracq was a great writer. His prose is both detailed and beautiful. Some might find his descriptions somewhat overworked but the overall beauty of the work can't be questioned. There isn't a lot of "action" in the novel but Gracq clearly reveals how much of life takes place beyond our actions. Certainly worth investing the the time to read this short work. The prose, mediated though it is through the translator, has a dreamlike quality that I enjoy, but which is also distancing. It's appropriate, because Grange's alienation from himself and from others is central to the book, but it prevents me from fully entering his mind or the world of the novel. It's still very beautiful, though some of the descriptions of women were off-putting. ingen anmeldelser | tilføj en anmeldelse
It is the fall of 1939, and Lieutenant Grange and his men are living in a chalet above a concrete bunker deep in the Ardennes forest, charged with defending the French-Belgian border against the Germans in a war that seems unreal, distant, and unlikely. Far more immediate is the earthy life of the forest itself and the deep sensations of childhood it recalls from Grange's memory. Ostensibly readying for war, Grange instead spends his time observing the change in seasons, falling in love with a young free-spirited widow, and contemplating the absurd stasis of his present condition. This novel of long takes, dream states, and little dramatic action culminates abruptly in battle, an event that is as much the real incursion of the German army into France as it is the sudden intrusion of death into the suspended disbelief of life. Richard Howard's skilled translation captures the fairy-tale otherworldliness and existential dread of this unusual, elusive novel (first published in 1958) by the supreme prose stylist Julien Gracq. No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsIngenPopulære omslag
Google Books — Indlæser... GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)843.914Literature French French fiction Modern Period 20th Century 1945-1999LC-klassificeringVurderingGennemsnit:
Er det dig?Bliv LibraryThing-forfatter. Columbia University PressEen udgave af denne bog er udgivet af Columbia University Press. |
We follow an officer named Grange who commands a small unit somewhere in a forest in the Ardennes. He spends his days walking in the forest, visiting a nearby village, and even meeting a sprite-like lover. His experience is the core of this novel, his thoughts and meditations about life, war and nature. We know very few of the external details for any of the characters and there is a dream-like quality throughout this book.
The language is exquisite and while the book is quite simple in its concept, it is memorable because of the universality of themes it touches so subtly. ( )