The Brethren - Brossura

Merle, Robert

Brossura

ISBN 10: 1782270442 ISBN 13: 9781782270447

Casa editrice: Pushkin Pr Ltd, 2014

Riassunto

A poetic evocation of the French diplomat’s encounters and experiences, filtered through the one constant in his life?Venice.

Diplomat, writer and poet, traveller and socialite, friend of Proust, Giraudoux and Malraux, Paul Morand was out of the most original writers of the twentieth century. He was French literature's globe-trotter, and his delightful autobiography is far from being yet another account of a writer's life. Instead it is a poetic evocation of certain scenes among Morand's rich and varied encounters and experience, filtered through the one constant in his life?the one place to which he would always return?Venice.

Admired both by Ezra Pound and by Marcel Proust as a pioneer craftsman of Modernist French prose (...) The sheer shapeliness of his prose recalls Hemingway; the urbanity of his self-destructiveness compares with Fitzgerald's; and his camera eye is as lucidly stroboscopic as that of Dos Passos. He is, like Victor Segalen, Blaise Cendrars, Valery Larbaud, and Saint-John Perse, one of the great nomads of 20th-century French literature, racing through the apocalypse with the haste and glamor of an Orient Express. It is a pity we should have had to wait this long to catch up with him. --The New York Times

Venices is balanced by the sharpness of the imagery. He writes in a melancholy vein of the loves, jealousies and regrets he has experienced in Venice ... Exquisitely translated, Venices is a travel memoir of the highest order. -- IAN THOMSON, Sunday Times

Su questo libro

Recensione:

'Swashbuckling historical fiction... For all its philosophical depth [The Brethren] is a hugely entertaining romp... The comparisons with Dumas seem both natural and deserved and the next 12 instalments [are] a thrilling prospect' Christobel Kent, Guardian

'A vivid novel by France's modern Dumas... [there is] plenty of evidence in the rich characterisation and vivid historical detail that a reader's long-term commitment will be amply rewarded' Sunday Times

'The mainstay of the novel is swashbuckling action... What stands out is Merle's eye for detail' Spectator

'We're swept away by triumph, tragedy, action and adventure... It's a novel like this that makes reviewing one of the best jobs in the world.' Bookbag, Five Star Review

'Cleverly depicts France's epic religious wars through the intimate prism of one family's experience. It's beautifully written too. Metro.

'Historical fiction at its very best... This fast paced and heady brew is colourfully leavened with love and sex and a great deal of humour and wit. The second instalment cannot be published too soon' We Love This Book

'This is old-fashioned story-telling. It has swagger and, vibrancy with big characters... A gripping story with humour and strength and real attention to historical detail" Mature Times

'A master of the historical novel' Guardian

'The spectacular 13-volume evocation of 16th-17th-century France' Independent

'Merle's novel offers a sympathetic and highly imaginative view of a fraught time in French history... filled with originality, humanity, and insight'New Welsh Review

'The Brethren very quickly wins one over' Glasgow Herald

'The Dumas of the twentieth century' Neues Deutschland

'A wonderful, colourful, breathlessly narrated historical panorama' Zeitpunkt

'Robert Merle is one of the very few French writers who has attained both popular success and the admiration of critics. The doyen of our novelists is a happy man'

--Le Figaro

L'autore:

Robert Merle (1908-2004) was born in French Algeria, before moving to mainland France in 1918. Originally an English teacher, Merle served as an interpreter with British Expeditionary Force during the Second World War, and was captured by the German army at Dunkirk, the experience of which served as the basis for his Goncourt-prize-winning Weekend at Zuydocoote. He published the 13 volumes of his hugely popular Fortunes of France series over four decades, from 1977 to 2003, the final volume appearing just a year before his death of a heart attack in 2004.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Pushkin Pr Ltd
• Data di pubblicazione: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1782270442
• ISBN 13: 9781782270447
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 410