Set in the Baltic provinces in the aftermath of World War I, Coup de Grace tells the story of an intimacy that grows between three young people hemmed in by civil war: Erick, a Prussian fighting with the White Russians against the Bolsheviks; Conrad, his best friend from childhood; and Sophie, whose unrequited love for Conrad becomes an unbearable burden.
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"The eerie effect of [Yourcenar's] prose . . . is all the more extraordinary in that she was not present in Lithuania in the years immediately following World War I. Her accomplishment is like that of Stephen Crane in The Red Badge of Courage or Stendahl's in the Waterloo chapters of The Charterhouse of Parma." --Louis Auchincloss, The New York Times Book Review
About the Author
Marguerite Yourcenar (1903-87) wrote plays, stories, poems, and novels, notable Memoirs of Hadrian. She was the first woman to be elected to the Academie Francaise.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
a slanted orientation,
By
This review is from: Coup de Grace (Paperback)
This novella which takes place during the national and ethnic conflicts in Eastern Europe at the time of WW1 explores life through the eyes of a soldier and his two best friends. The soldier however has a code by which he lives and he conducts himself with utmost respect to this code and this code only. Tragedy follows. This may remind a few readers of some of Conrads short works that deal withthe same theme. Yourcenar's working of this material is stretched to novella length though and will try some readers patience as the character is not all that fascinating, what is fascinating is how the writing never wavers(not too much anyway)or tells too much. She lets the character live the consequences of his chosen code. There is a wonderful scene toward the end where the main character seems baffled by his own existence. Not a masterpiece of a novella but to readers who like fiction of this length this is an exercise in the possibilities of the form. Yourcenars introductory essay is very interesting on this point.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masterpiece,
By Petronius (Washington DC USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Coup de Grace (Paperback)
Yourcenar's "Coup de Grace" is a masterpiece of economy of language. It is incredible what she says by suggestion. This style well epitomizes the social mores of the time setting of the story, in which so much was barely acknowledged or left unsaid. The work should be especially interesting for writers to see how much can be said by leaving a conclusion left unsaid, or left as an inference. Readers will love all of Yeorcenar's works, but especially this short read.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intense Unrequited Love set against the Civil Conflict in the Baltics circa 1918-19,
By Kiwifunlad (London, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Coup de Grace (Paperback)
Erick von Lhomond twenty years later reflects on the events during the time of the Russian Civil War when he was a young man. This relatively short novel focuses on Erick's relationship with a brother and sister, Conrad and Sophie. Set in the Baltics, at Conrad and Sophie's aristocratic home which has been converted into an army barracks, Yourcenar beautifully draws out Sophie's unrequited love for Erick against Erick's indifference and strong comradeship for Conrad. There is an undertone of Erick's lack of interest in women having a gay aspect although Yourcenar never brings this to the surface. This harrowingly tragic novel is vividly and authentically written and based on a true event.
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Inside This Book
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Citations (learn more)
5
books
cite this book:
- New York Times Film Reviews, 1977- 1978 by Random House Staff on page 166, and Index
- New York Times Theater Reviews, 1977-1978 by Random House Staff on page 166
- Who's Who of Twentieth Century Novelists (Who's Who) (Who's Who (Routledge)) by Tim Woods on page 366
- The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages by Harold Bloom in Back Matter
- Gay and Lesbian Literary Heritage by Claude J. Summers on page 715
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