Naked Came I: A Novel of Rodin [Hardcover]

David Weiss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1974

David Weiss 1963

Product Details

• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd; New edition edition (September 1, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340178221
• ISBN-13: 978-0340178225
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #922,183 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best portrait of Rodin; one of best ever 'historical novels', April 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Naked Came I (Hardcover)

"NAKED CAME I" was a bestseller in many languages when it was published in the sixties, and I still expect that someone will have the sense to adapt it for film sooner or later.

Weiss's portrait of Rodin is vivid and moving, and remains one of literature's classic examples of the "historical novel," a format that inexplicably has declined in popularity in recent years. (Weiss, who continues to write well and prolifically, and Gore Vidal, are its principal practitioners at this point.) I recommend NAKED CAME I highly, and you can track it down at almost any good library.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Now that I've got your attention, read this book., June 3, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Naked Came I (Hardcover)

A delectable piece of near-non-fiction about one of the most evocative and emotive artists of the nineteenth century, Auguste Rodin. I came upon this book (original hardback with cover c. 1963) via the shelves of a former paramour just after graduating from art school, a happy coincidence for a dewey-eyed artiste! Not a lover of the biography genre in particular, I devoured this book nonetheless, in part because it is loosely-based fiction, but primarily because David Weiss has molded a remarkable figure in his story of Auguste Rodin.

From his birth in Normandy in 1840 and first crayons at age five, through his tumultuous entree into the world as an artist (he was born to a minor police official), to the development of his work alongside some remarkable contemporaries (Monet, Renoir, Hugo, Zola, Rilke and Shaw) and the tragic affairs with Beuret and Claudel, it's a book you'll find hard pressed to close long after bedtime has come and gone (note: bring home the film _Camille Claudel_ when you have finished the book to add a little color to your perspective).

A minor flaw, which I quickly forgave as the characters emerged, might be the slightly formal tone (hasn't he heard of contractions?) in which Weiss, scholar before bestselling author, constructs his prose. Otherwise as powerful, colorful, and unforgettable a glimpse at the artist as Rodin's own Balzac.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Auguste Rodin's story, January 31, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Naked Came I: A Novel of Rodin (Hardcover)

Auguste Rodin,sculptor;this biography reads with force and energy and somehow gives without the sacrifice of accuracy a wonderful tale of a great artists life. Self directed and dedicated a lover of many women,Rodin's story is both interesting and entertaining. To appreciate great art one must try to know the artist. This book attempts to do just that. A little like a novel,with lots of dialoque but worth your time.