Written in 1938, Chateau D'Argol was Julien Gracq's literary debut and was heralded by Andre Breton as the first truly Surrealist novel. From Gracq's point of view, however, it was a departure from a movement he had never really joined in the first place. Although he maintained his admiration for Breton and the Surrealist project, in Chateau D'Argol he cut away from that style with an idiosyncratic blend of linear storytelling and poetic excursions. The novel is a disturbing love story whose themes -- yearning, the magnetism of mutual attraction, and the impossibility of amorous fulfillment, crystallized in the depiction of a potential lover as an inaccessible "Other" -- are irresistible.
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About the Author
Julien Gracq is the pseudonym used by Louis Poirier, who was born in 1910 and became a teacher of history and geography at a Parisian high school. In 1939 he met Andre Breton and the Surrealists, and although influenced by the movement he established his own distinctive style. Still living in Paris, he has resolutely refused to be part of the French literary scene over which he has had so much influence--a stance that dates back to 1951, when he declined the prestigious Prix Goncourt, causing an unprecedented sensation.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Superb Extended Poem In Prose,
By Carnamagos "Carnamagos" (Northeastern U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Chateau d'Argol (Paperback)
Julien Gracq's *Chateau d'Argol*, the author's first published work, appeared in 1939. In a lecture to Yale University students a few years later, Andre Breton, the leader of the Surrealist movement, cited the work as an example that summarized "the extent of Surrealism's conquest". By this, Breton was no doubt referring to two of Surrealism's great pre-modern sources of inspiration, the Gothic novel and Romanticism. From Breton, this was no scant praise. No doubt, however, that those who, like one reviewer below, have "studied Surrealism for six months" know better than Breton himself!
*Chateau d'Argol* is a tale of three friends, and of a disturbing menage-a-trois turned violent. In good Romantic/Gothic fashion, the changes in the richly described landscapes mirror the turbulent alterations in the characters' inner states. The setting is a lonely castle in an area of Brittany that is simultaneously real and imaginary, in that Gracq unites disparate elements of the Breton landscape and situates them in a locale of his memory-based imaginings. The philosophy of Hegel also figures prominently in this story of doubles and opposites, of dialectical antitheses and syntheses. In addition, the author creates a strange mood of detachment through his use of third-person narrative throughout (there is not a word of dialogue in the book) that contrasts with the rich and opulent descriptive writing. Indeed, for me, the most striking and rewarding aspect of this work is its gorgeous, richly hued language, its superbly evocative and poetic narrative. Of course, there are false notes on occasion, some of which may be the fault of the translator, but, on the whole, Gracq succeeds in sustaining a hypnotically beautiful tapestry of language. In sum, those who appreciate elevated and elegant poetic language, and who find intriguing the idea of a confluence of the Gothic, the Romantic, and the Surreal, will behold here a rare jewel of 20th-Century literature. A note on the edition: Pushkin Press has produced a luxurious little pocket volume. Sewn bindings in paperbound books are almost as rare as the Dodo, these days. Why one of the reviewers, below, was unable to handle his copy without mutilating it, I cannot understand. The sole serious fault of this edition is that it does, indeed, inexplicably omit Gracq's "Notice to the Reader", a brief forward in which Gracq takes an ironic tone toward those who have misread, or who may misread, his book, and affirms the inspiration that he derived from the works of Poe, Radcliffe, and Horace Walpole.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Review,
By
This review is from: Chateau d'Argol (Paperback)
Chateau d'Argol, while having some elements familiar to symbolist or even perhaps surrealist authors, still fits in with German Romanticism. Particularly when you look at the landscape of the book and the story itself. This aside the descriptions of the Chateau that open this book are breathtaking and one of the many reasons why Julien Gracq is considered one of the best prose writers in the French literary canon. Similar to the landscape descriptions in A Dark Stranger or The Peninsula, this is where Julien Gracq shines. While the story may not be innovative, the depth of characterization and prose, make this an important read. Particularly for any fan of either Kleist or Gracq's writing.
4 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why am I the first person to review this book?,
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This review is from: Chateau d'Orgel (Old ISBN) (Paperback)
The only important novelist France has produced since World War Two. Julien Green would be the other one if he weren't an American.
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