Customer Reviews

The Claudine Novels (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For a book written in the Victorian era, it's very modern. Claudine evokes a mood, you can taste and feel Paris in 1900. It's a little racy, Claudine has both male and female lovers. How I wish there were more installments to Claudine!

For novels a century old, the first thing that will take the reader by surprise is just how modern the narrator's voice is. Yes, the setting is in stuffy late Victoriana, with trips to Bayreuth and carriages and endless dinner parties, but sweet Claudine, who tells three of the four tales in this compliation, is aware, hilarious, darling and fiercely, fiercely intelligent.

The first novel is perhaps the best -- Claudine a l'ecole -- while the latter ones occasionally lag, esp. the rather dull "Claudine en menage." "Claudine s'en va" (Claudine and Annie) is a strange experiment, with the narrator we've grown to love over three novels suddenly turned into supporting character, but it's quick and entertaining.

And these books are wonderfully decadent. Let the conservatives wail about how debased our times have become, and then read these products of 1900-1903, with their frank journeys into lesbian sex, adultery, drug use -- and view the rather jaundiced way the characters approach such sacred cows as religion and marriage.

Also, this compliation is not complete, as it is missing "La retraite sentimentale", the final Claudine installment.

Collette would get even better, but this is a fine starting point.

Forget all about English public school boys tales.Forget all about tales of'lost youth flames'(often going hand in hand with the latter,as it turns out..).Let yourself be taken in the land of(early 20th century)French country girl-power and (later on)Paris woman-power by the almighty female writer Colette."The Claudine novels"are witty,fresh,lucid when it comes to the conditions of the heart,and most generally FUN to read!You can see very well what Colette will do in her later ,maturer writing life.A must-read for every and each one soul on earth'Christophe Renaudot.

These novels came about in almost an accidental way; Colette was married to a much older, very unsuitable man who owned a publishing house. His method of putting out books was unscrupulous to say the least. Willy Villiers would gather a group of inpecunious writers and re-label their works as his own and then publish them. One day, he suggested to his young wife that she write a few "juicy tales" of her school days. Colette complied, but the work didn't suit Willy. He threw the manuscript in a drawer and forgot all about it. A few years later, he ran across it, read it, and exclaimed that he must have been a complete dolt. The book was published (under his name) and took Paris by storm.

Colette's somewhat (for those times) racy tale of schoolgirls in a provincial town was followed by the story of Colette's move to Paris and her marriage to a much older man. The books not only capture the flavor of the times but also create a very quirky French character, Claudine, who at all times remains true to herself and opinion be damned.

These books have been accused of being frivolous. That might be true to an extent, but in Claudine at School this frivolity is transcendant. Colette's style has been described as the treasure of France, and Claudine as a teenager is delightful - imperious, arrogant, sensitive, hedonistic, fearless, aggressive, intelligent. Any frivolity in this novel is necessary, because youth is a frivolous time, and Colette captures the emotions and attitudes of youth beautifully. However... the other novels are very disappointing. I never like my youthful, brave heroines to age, especially when their lives and lifestyles seem to contradict their youthful ideals. Colette settles down to Parisian society, and even though she disregards good manners and is still mouthy and free-spirited, it seems somewhat hollow - after all, she is still just going to tea parties all day long, gossipping and going to the spas with other socialites, so does it matter if she sometimes shocks them?

Claudine at School is a brilliant, funny, and brave book, but the other three are tame in comparison, and yes, I might even go so far as to agree with other reviewers that they are "beach reads". Give me Claudine in the countryside any day, legendary among her classmates for the trouble she causes, sadistically tormenting love-struck classmates, seducing tutors, and enraging teachers.

The four novels contained in this book follow Claudine from her schoolgirl years to married life. All in which she keeps her youthfulness, which is the only refreshing aspect. I will admit I did partially enjoy these novels, but you really do not have to think much while you are reading. I enjoy novels that have you thinking or are challenging in their own way. The Claudine Novels sweep you through nearly an entire life without anything to take away. I adore Colette, and her openess...she is thoroughly beautiful, but this is definately not her best.

Forget all about English public school boys tales.Forget all about tales of'lost youth flames'(often going hand in hand with the latter,as it turns out..).Let yourself be taken in the land of(early 20th century)French country girl-power and (later on)Paris woman-power by the almighty female writer Colette."The Claudine novels"are witty,fresh,lucid when it comes to the conditions of the heart,and most generally FUN to read!You can see very well what Colette will do in her later ,maturer writing life.A must-read for every and each one soul on earth'Christophe Renaudot.

These novels mimic the happy ramblings of an airheaded schoolgirl only too well. Colette can turn a nice phrase at will, but it doesn't make up for the insubstantialness of Claudine's thoughts about her experience of life.

I would give this 2.5 stars, were this an option.

First, I should say that this book was an incredibly breezy read; in spite of its over 500 pages, I read it in three days. It's brainless, easy, and more of a "beach read" than a classic.

Admittedly, I am not a fan of "beach reads."

Frankly, I don't understand how this book came to be a classic. I can only figure that Colette's later books, combined with her acting career and essays, made her a classic historical figure, which, in turn, made this book a "classic." On its own, the book is a silly lark. The characters and situations are completely unrealistic, their relationships seem forced, and the hand of Colette's husband, who pushed her to write these books and published them under his name, is painfully evident. Scenes of homosexuality are strained and feel slotted in to drive up the "raciness" of the text, and therefore it's saleability.

I'm glad I read this, if only to know more about the author and to say that I know her work. Would I recommend it? No. Was it a painful read? No. It just wasn't of classic or even literary caliber.

Yes the concept of the book, a Victorian novel of a young girl married to a much older man, an unscrupulous publisher no less, led me to dish out the big bucks and buy this book ....

If they said this book was steamy, it certainly was, but, the steam came from me in having to read this mush. I think they should have announced this book as ANTI VICTORIAN literature since sensuality is hinted at but never touched. Thats why I rate this book with one star since you can't have serious relationships and marriage between people that are decades appart in age without some sort of spice. The fact that the man in the book is a scumbucket is even more reason to delvelop this as a reality...

Well yes theres the word .. reality .. which is what this book does not have.

"Experiences of a young girl growing to maturity" is what the covers says ... what it should say is that this is so boring and meant for readers that think watching grass grow is exciting!