Customer Reviews

Naked Came I: A Novel of Rodin

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"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.

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.

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.

1963 novel, somewhat dated style and a tad melodramatic BUT the insight into Rodin's various sculptures and the overview of his life makes this an interesting read. Living a few blocks from Philadelphia's Rodin Museum and having been to his Paris museum, I am a devotee of the Gates of Hell, the Burghers of Calais, the Hand of God, Adam, Eve, Balzac and The Thinker. To "be there at the creation" was splendid; to learn about the critics' initial reactions was instructional. I can't wait to go back and pore over the figures' details after reading the book.

Great biography of the sculptor, Rodin. Reads like a novel, NOT A TEXT!

Beauty and the Book delivered this out-of-print edition in record time. The book looks brand new.

Hi!

This was my first experience purchasing on Amazon.I live in Australia.

I was surprised to hear that the book would take 2 months to reach me, how ever I
received it in about 10 days. The book was 49 cents US but freight was about $15 US.
The hard cover was a surprise as I was replacing a friends book that I had lost. It
was a great story about The life of Rodin called "Naked Came I", that I then finished reading.

It would be helpful if there was a cheaper option re freight but it was a user
friendly experience.

Thanks