Author: Sam Christian
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595691561
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 148
Book Description
This book of fictitious poetry is actually two books combined in one to the advantage of the purchaser and reader. Each book was written for a different occasion and completed at a different time from the other. -- The first book comprising Part I of the combined book is a mock epic entitled, "Thank God I'm not a Republican," on the sex scandal of Bill Clinton, the 42nd US President, and Monika Lewinsky, towards the end of the second millennium. -- As for Part II, which comprises Book II of the combined Book, it is entitled, "When Evil Struck the Twin Towers," the title of which speaks for itself and portrays the author's belief and feeling that save the senseless amongst us, no one in the whole world was NOT entirely annoyed, devastated and surprised by the terrorist attacks against the Twin Towers of the WTC, and the Pentagon. -- About Sam Michael Christian (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada): Being a graduate of Linguistics and Education, the Author has mostly worked as a consultant in the areas of Language Teaching, Curriculum Development, Translation, Distant Learning, Editing and Public Relations, which has given him a chance to be involved and work closely with people of different races and cultures, mostly abroad, which has helped shape his life and character and given him the advantage of understanding people. However, for Sam, there is nothing like home, and the verses in his book embody and show where his heart lies and belongs, and how he feels about home.
Thank God I'm Not a Republican. When Evil Struck the Twin Brothers
Author: Sam Christian
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595691561
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 148
Book Description
This book of fictitious poetry is actually two books combined in one to the advantage of the purchaser and reader. Each book was written for a different occasion and completed at a different time from the other. -- The first book comprising Part I of the combined book is a mock epic entitled, "Thank God I'm not a Republican," on the sex scandal of Bill Clinton, the 42nd US President, and Monika Lewinsky, towards the end of the second millennium. -- As for Part II, which comprises Book II of the combined Book, it is entitled, "When Evil Struck the Twin Towers," the title of which speaks for itself and portrays the author's belief and feeling that save the senseless amongst us, no one in the whole world was NOT entirely annoyed, devastated and surprised by the terrorist attacks against the Twin Towers of the WTC, and the Pentagon. -- About Sam Michael Christian (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada): Being a graduate of Linguistics and Education, the Author has mostly worked as a consultant in the areas of Language Teaching, Curriculum Development, Translation, Distant Learning, Editing and Public Relations, which has given him a chance to be involved and work closely with people of different races and cultures, mostly abroad, which has helped shape his life and character and given him the advantage of understanding people. However, for Sam, there is nothing like home, and the verses in his book embody and show where his heart lies and belongs, and how he feels about home.
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595691561
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 148
Book Description
This book of fictitious poetry is actually two books combined in one to the advantage of the purchaser and reader. Each book was written for a different occasion and completed at a different time from the other. -- The first book comprising Part I of the combined book is a mock epic entitled, "Thank God I'm not a Republican," on the sex scandal of Bill Clinton, the 42nd US President, and Monika Lewinsky, towards the end of the second millennium. -- As for Part II, which comprises Book II of the combined Book, it is entitled, "When Evil Struck the Twin Towers," the title of which speaks for itself and portrays the author's belief and feeling that save the senseless amongst us, no one in the whole world was NOT entirely annoyed, devastated and surprised by the terrorist attacks against the Twin Towers of the WTC, and the Pentagon. -- About Sam Michael Christian (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada): Being a graduate of Linguistics and Education, the Author has mostly worked as a consultant in the areas of Language Teaching, Curriculum Development, Translation, Distant Learning, Editing and Public Relations, which has given him a chance to be involved and work closely with people of different races and cultures, mostly abroad, which has helped shape his life and character and given him the advantage of understanding people. However, for Sam, there is nothing like home, and the verses in his book embody and show where his heart lies and belongs, and how he feels about home.
The Honesties of Love
Author: Bruce Kellner
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595692304
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 252
Book Description
In this comedy of bad manners, the ill-matched parents of too-young newly-weds Billy and Ann Richardson politely collide in a series of encounters guaranteed to insure catastrophe, when a wry college professor, a glamorous real estate agent, a randy plumber, and a frustrated housewife politely face off on some social and sexual battlefields. The confrontations may begin politely, but they are guaranteed to end in chaos when a husband and a wife - not each other's - find themselves embroiled in an affair that proves to be equally passionate and ridiculous. What begins as a test between social classes ends in a series of sexual confrontations. Billy and Ann find themselves forced to grow up in a hurry to begin to accept their parents as people who are just as vulnerable as everybody else. -- Far from the pastoral romance of "Winter Ridge" (published by Mon-dial in 2008) and the grim landscape of "The Prettiest Girls in Euphoria, Kansas" (Mondial, 2010), Bruce Kellner's novel "The Honesties of Love" turns a baleful eye on the minefield of marriage.
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595692304
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 252
Book Description
In this comedy of bad manners, the ill-matched parents of too-young newly-weds Billy and Ann Richardson politely collide in a series of encounters guaranteed to insure catastrophe, when a wry college professor, a glamorous real estate agent, a randy plumber, and a frustrated housewife politely face off on some social and sexual battlefields. The confrontations may begin politely, but they are guaranteed to end in chaos when a husband and a wife - not each other's - find themselves embroiled in an affair that proves to be equally passionate and ridiculous. What begins as a test between social classes ends in a series of sexual confrontations. Billy and Ann find themselves forced to grow up in a hurry to begin to accept their parents as people who are just as vulnerable as everybody else. -- Far from the pastoral romance of "Winter Ridge" (published by Mon-dial in 2008) and the grim landscape of "The Prettiest Girls in Euphoria, Kansas" (Mondial, 2010), Bruce Kellner's novel "The Honesties of Love" turns a baleful eye on the minefield of marriage.
The Last Mistress
Author: Andrew Muir
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595691901
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 238
Book Description
"The Last Mistress" is the story of Richard Brown, who leaves an English boarding school at the end of World War II to find his way in the world. Believing that he might have a vocation to take Holy Orders, he decided to travel to Jerusalem and then onto Rome. A brief stay in Paris opens a new world to him. On arrival in Palestine, he gets caught up in the war between Jews and Arabs and is conscripted into the Palestine Police. Posted on the border between Palestine and Lebanon, he gets the opportunity to visit Beirut and enjoy its pleasures before being demobilized and sent back to London. --- His journey through life does not stop there. Graduating from Imperial College, London University, he enters the business world, and as a high-flying investment banker he decides that the sky's the limit. He travels around the world, continuing with his lighthearted erotic romp through life before a tragic event brings him back to earth and allows him to find his true vocation. --- Though by no means an autobiography, much of the background, especially the events in Palestine, are factual and well authenticated. However, as with his previous novels, the author draws on his personal experiences and titillates us with descriptions of gastronomic delights and seductive and sensual pleasures of love.
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595691901
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 238
Book Description
"The Last Mistress" is the story of Richard Brown, who leaves an English boarding school at the end of World War II to find his way in the world. Believing that he might have a vocation to take Holy Orders, he decided to travel to Jerusalem and then onto Rome. A brief stay in Paris opens a new world to him. On arrival in Palestine, he gets caught up in the war between Jews and Arabs and is conscripted into the Palestine Police. Posted on the border between Palestine and Lebanon, he gets the opportunity to visit Beirut and enjoy its pleasures before being demobilized and sent back to London. --- His journey through life does not stop there. Graduating from Imperial College, London University, he enters the business world, and as a high-flying investment banker he decides that the sky's the limit. He travels around the world, continuing with his lighthearted erotic romp through life before a tragic event brings him back to earth and allows him to find his true vocation. --- Though by no means an autobiography, much of the background, especially the events in Palestine, are factual and well authenticated. However, as with his previous novels, the author draws on his personal experiences and titillates us with descriptions of gastronomic delights and seductive and sensual pleasures of love.
The Downfall (La Debacle. The Rougon-Macquart)
Author: Emile Zola
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595691111
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 442
Book Description
In "The Downfall" Zola tells the story of a terrific land-slide which overwhelmed the French Second Empire: It is a story of war, grim and terrible; of a struggle to the death between two great nations. In it the author has put much of his finest work, and the result is one of the masterpieces of literature. The hero is Jean Macquart, son of Antoine Macquart and brother of Gervaise. After the terrible death of his wife, as told in "La Terre" ("The Soil"), Jean enlisted for the second time in the army, and went through the campaign up to the battle of Sedan. After the capitulation he was made prisoner, and in escaping was wounded. When he returned to active service he took part in crushing the excesses of the Commune in Paris... The Downfall has been described as "a prose epic of modern war," and vast though the subject be, it is treated in a manner that is powerful, painful, and pathetic.
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595691111
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 442
Book Description
In "The Downfall" Zola tells the story of a terrific land-slide which overwhelmed the French Second Empire: It is a story of war, grim and terrible; of a struggle to the death between two great nations. In it the author has put much of his finest work, and the result is one of the masterpieces of literature. The hero is Jean Macquart, son of Antoine Macquart and brother of Gervaise. After the terrible death of his wife, as told in "La Terre" ("The Soil"), Jean enlisted for the second time in the army, and went through the campaign up to the battle of Sedan. After the capitulation he was made prisoner, and in escaping was wounded. When he returned to active service he took part in crushing the excesses of the Commune in Paris... The Downfall has been described as "a prose epic of modern war," and vast though the subject be, it is treated in a manner that is powerful, painful, and pathetic.
Little What's-His-Name (Le Petit Chose. French Classics)
Author: Alphonse Daudet
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595691057
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
Little What's-His-Name (Le Petit Chose) - Alphonse Daudet's (1840-1897) first published, though not his first written, novel - appeared in 1868. The first part was composed in that Southern France it describes so charmingly; its first chapters form one of the most touching of autobiographies. In the second part Daudet has to tell of the struggles of an idealistic young poet in the selfish, devouring whirlpool of Paris. The whole book seems to bear the impress of the circumstances under which it was written. It is full of the milk of human kindness. --- When Daudet wrote Le Petit Chose in his early manhood, he succeeded in producing one of the most delightfully idyllic of his works, one that will probably continue to be read as long as any of the more powerful novels of his prime. It is one of the most perfect representations in literature of childhood's hopes and fears and of youth's aspirations and defeats. It is perfect because it is real. --- Enjoy to the full one of the purest and most exquisite stories of youthful experience to be found in French or in any other literature. (W. P. Trent)
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595691057
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
Little What's-His-Name (Le Petit Chose) - Alphonse Daudet's (1840-1897) first published, though not his first written, novel - appeared in 1868. The first part was composed in that Southern France it describes so charmingly; its first chapters form one of the most touching of autobiographies. In the second part Daudet has to tell of the struggles of an idealistic young poet in the selfish, devouring whirlpool of Paris. The whole book seems to bear the impress of the circumstances under which it was written. It is full of the milk of human kindness. --- When Daudet wrote Le Petit Chose in his early manhood, he succeeded in producing one of the most delightfully idyllic of his works, one that will probably continue to be read as long as any of the more powerful novels of his prime. It is one of the most perfect representations in literature of childhood's hopes and fears and of youth's aspirations and defeats. It is perfect because it is real. --- Enjoy to the full one of the purest and most exquisite stories of youthful experience to be found in French or in any other literature. (W. P. Trent)
Pan Tadeusz (Pan Thaddeus. Polish Classics)
Author: Adam Mickiewicz
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595691340
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 238
Book Description
Historical prose translation of the famous Polish verse epic. In the book, Tadeusz tells the story of two feuding noble families; it takes place in a fictional idyllic village, in 1811 and 1812, after the division of Poland-Lithuania between Russia, Prussia, and Austria. --- "No European nation of our day has such an epic as Pan Tadeusz. In it Don Quixote has been fused with the Iliad. ... Pan Tadeusz is a true epic. No more can be said or need be said." (Zygmunt Krasinski) --- "No play of Shakespeare, no long poem of Milton or Wordsworth or Tennyson, is so well known or so well beloved by the English people as is Pan Tadeusz by the Poles. To find a work equally well known one might turn to Defoe's prosaic tale of adventure, Robinson Crusoe; to find a work so beloved would be hardly possible." (George Rapall Noyes)
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595691340
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 238
Book Description
Historical prose translation of the famous Polish verse epic. In the book, Tadeusz tells the story of two feuding noble families; it takes place in a fictional idyllic village, in 1811 and 1812, after the division of Poland-Lithuania between Russia, Prussia, and Austria. --- "No European nation of our day has such an epic as Pan Tadeusz. In it Don Quixote has been fused with the Iliad. ... Pan Tadeusz is a true epic. No more can be said or need be said." (Zygmunt Krasinski) --- "No play of Shakespeare, no long poem of Milton or Wordsworth or Tennyson, is so well known or so well beloved by the English people as is Pan Tadeusz by the Poles. To find a work equally well known one might turn to Defoe's prosaic tale of adventure, Robinson Crusoe; to find a work so beloved would be hardly possible." (George Rapall Noyes)
The Trail of the Hawk
Author: Sinclair Lewis
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595691138
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 250
Book Description
The Trail of the Hawk, by Sinclair Lewis, is the chronicle of an inveterate Rolling Stone… Carl Ericson, a born rebel against conventions, finds himself from boyhood up at war with the combined forces of family, school and society, all three of which unite in trying to mould him into the average colourless human being. Consequently throughout his earlier years he is in perpetual disgrace, at home, at school and at college… Thus it happens that we find Carl in early adolescence a friendless and penniless wanderer, undaunted and thrilling with a sense of freedom and the boundless opportunity of satisfying his unquenchable curiosity about life. … The first of the three parts into which this chronicle is divided, "The Adventure of Youth," … covers the formative years and helps to explain why Carl is what he is, and not otherwise. … Part II, "The Adventure of Adventuring," … is an undiluted joy. It is improbable, to be sure, almost burlesque, yet so joyous, so spontaneous, so kaleidoscopic in its varied scene and shifting action, that one must accept it with indulgent credulity. … Packer in a department store, waiter in a third-class restaurant, mechanic in an automobile factory, chauffeur, professional tramp and candidate for the bread line, porter in a Bowery saloon, facing the problem of saving four dollars out of a weekly salary of eight, in order to gratify a new ambition, namely to see the Panama Canal, — such is a brief epitome of one phase of our Rolling Stone's career, a phase that all unconsciously is shaping him for bigger things. … and the following year finds him in California, a partner in a profitable automobile repair shop. Then the big news reaches him of the first successful flights of Curtis and the Wright Brothers, and Carl recognises by instinct that here is the outlet for his pent-up energies, the one career for which his whole undisciplined nature has been crying out. Much has been written about aviation, both from the technical and the popular standpoint ; but it would be hard to find anywhere else in fiction any description that would give to the inexperienced a kindred thrill of breathless flight, of danger that is a fearful joy, and of confident omnipotence that is superhuman. And then, when this unrivalled "Hawk of the Air-men" is at the zenith of his powers, comes his third adventure, "The Adventure of Love." … Of course, the inevitable happens: the Hawk has his wings clipped, flights are a thing of the past, a onfining, although lucrative office position and a conventional apartment on the Upper West Side begin to prey upon his nerves; and soon the happy couple are quarrelling acrimoniously and often. But … you cannot cage a hawk for long … (Frederic Taber Cooper) --- “The Trail of the Hawk” is a truly lifelike chronicle of the fortunes of 'Widow Ericson's boy Carl,' of Joralemon, Minn., who becomes 'Hawk' Ericson, the daring aviator, and marries a very nice girl indeed. They had promised to find new horizons for each other, and when the resources of a New York flat in the way of horizons are exhausted, they sail for South America… (Atlantic Monthly)
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595691138
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 250
Book Description
The Trail of the Hawk, by Sinclair Lewis, is the chronicle of an inveterate Rolling Stone… Carl Ericson, a born rebel against conventions, finds himself from boyhood up at war with the combined forces of family, school and society, all three of which unite in trying to mould him into the average colourless human being. Consequently throughout his earlier years he is in perpetual disgrace, at home, at school and at college… Thus it happens that we find Carl in early adolescence a friendless and penniless wanderer, undaunted and thrilling with a sense of freedom and the boundless opportunity of satisfying his unquenchable curiosity about life. … The first of the three parts into which this chronicle is divided, "The Adventure of Youth," … covers the formative years and helps to explain why Carl is what he is, and not otherwise. … Part II, "The Adventure of Adventuring," … is an undiluted joy. It is improbable, to be sure, almost burlesque, yet so joyous, so spontaneous, so kaleidoscopic in its varied scene and shifting action, that one must accept it with indulgent credulity. … Packer in a department store, waiter in a third-class restaurant, mechanic in an automobile factory, chauffeur, professional tramp and candidate for the bread line, porter in a Bowery saloon, facing the problem of saving four dollars out of a weekly salary of eight, in order to gratify a new ambition, namely to see the Panama Canal, — such is a brief epitome of one phase of our Rolling Stone's career, a phase that all unconsciously is shaping him for bigger things. … and the following year finds him in California, a partner in a profitable automobile repair shop. Then the big news reaches him of the first successful flights of Curtis and the Wright Brothers, and Carl recognises by instinct that here is the outlet for his pent-up energies, the one career for which his whole undisciplined nature has been crying out. Much has been written about aviation, both from the technical and the popular standpoint ; but it would be hard to find anywhere else in fiction any description that would give to the inexperienced a kindred thrill of breathless flight, of danger that is a fearful joy, and of confident omnipotence that is superhuman. And then, when this unrivalled "Hawk of the Air-men" is at the zenith of his powers, comes his third adventure, "The Adventure of Love." … Of course, the inevitable happens: the Hawk has his wings clipped, flights are a thing of the past, a onfining, although lucrative office position and a conventional apartment on the Upper West Side begin to prey upon his nerves; and soon the happy couple are quarrelling acrimoniously and often. But … you cannot cage a hawk for long … (Frederic Taber Cooper) --- “The Trail of the Hawk” is a truly lifelike chronicle of the fortunes of 'Widow Ericson's boy Carl,' of Joralemon, Minn., who becomes 'Hawk' Ericson, the daring aviator, and marries a very nice girl indeed. They had promised to find new horizons for each other, and when the resources of a New York flat in the way of horizons are exhausted, they sail for South America… (Atlantic Monthly)
Michael Kohlhaas: A Tale from an Old Chronicle (German Classics)
Author: Heinrich Von Kleist
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 159569076X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 106
Book Description
"Michael Kohlhaas" is a novella written by famed writer Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811). The story is based upon the historical figure of Hans Kohlhase, a 16th century merchant who turned violent after being attacked and victimized by the authorities. As a result, he gathered around him a band of criminals and spread terror throughout the whole of Saxony. --- "The novella is a good example of Kleist's excellent narrative art: The action can be summed up in a few words, such as the formula for this story, given expressly on its first page: 'His sense of justice made him a robber and a murderer.' There is no leisurely exposition of time, place, or situation; all the necessary elements are given concisely in the first sentences. The action develops logically, with effective use of retardation and climax, but without disturbing episodes; and the reader is never permitted to forget the central theme. The descriptive element is realistic, with only pertinent details swiftly presented, often in parentheses, while the action moves on. The characterization is skilfully indirect, through unconscious action and speech. The author does not shun the trivial or even the repulsive in detail, nor does he fear the most tragic catastrophes ... The whole work in all its parts is firmly and finely forged by a master workman. --- Kleist has remained a solitary figure in German literature. Owing little to the dominant literary influences of his day, he has also found few imitators. Two generations passed before he began to come into his heritage of legitimate fame. Now ... his place is well assured among the greatest dramatic and narrative authors of Germany." (John S. Nollen)
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 159569076X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 106
Book Description
"Michael Kohlhaas" is a novella written by famed writer Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811). The story is based upon the historical figure of Hans Kohlhase, a 16th century merchant who turned violent after being attacked and victimized by the authorities. As a result, he gathered around him a band of criminals and spread terror throughout the whole of Saxony. --- "The novella is a good example of Kleist's excellent narrative art: The action can be summed up in a few words, such as the formula for this story, given expressly on its first page: 'His sense of justice made him a robber and a murderer.' There is no leisurely exposition of time, place, or situation; all the necessary elements are given concisely in the first sentences. The action develops logically, with effective use of retardation and climax, but without disturbing episodes; and the reader is never permitted to forget the central theme. The descriptive element is realistic, with only pertinent details swiftly presented, often in parentheses, while the action moves on. The characterization is skilfully indirect, through unconscious action and speech. The author does not shun the trivial or even the repulsive in detail, nor does he fear the most tragic catastrophes ... The whole work in all its parts is firmly and finely forged by a master workman. --- Kleist has remained a solitary figure in German literature. Owing little to the dominant literary influences of his day, he has also found few imitators. Two generations passed before he began to come into his heritage of legitimate fame. Now ... his place is well assured among the greatest dramatic and narrative authors of Germany." (John S. Nollen)
A Village Romeo and Juliet (Swiss-German Classics)
Author: Gottfried Keller
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595690794
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 114
Book Description
Love is necessarily an important element in all imaginative literature, but with Gottfried Keller it does not overshadow all other aspects of life. Great passion we do not find in his works. In "A Village Romeo and Juliet", it is not ill-consuming love that makes the two young people seek death, but the bitter realization of life's law, as they understood it, which made it impossible for them ever to be united. The story is a fine illustration of what a great artist may make out of his raw material. Keller had read in a newspaper a report of the suicide of two young people, the sort of tragedy that we may read almost daily in newspapers; he seized upon the possibilities of the situation and the result was this story, perhaps the best he ever wrote. --- Gottfried Keller (1819-1890) was one of the foremost Swiss novelists and one of the most original figures of German literature since Goethe, a master of style worthy to be classed with the great names of all ages. (John Albrecht Walz)
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595690794
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 114
Book Description
Love is necessarily an important element in all imaginative literature, but with Gottfried Keller it does not overshadow all other aspects of life. Great passion we do not find in his works. In "A Village Romeo and Juliet", it is not ill-consuming love that makes the two young people seek death, but the bitter realization of life's law, as they understood it, which made it impossible for them ever to be united. The story is a fine illustration of what a great artist may make out of his raw material. Keller had read in a newspaper a report of the suicide of two young people, the sort of tragedy that we may read almost daily in newspapers; he seized upon the possibilities of the situation and the result was this story, perhaps the best he ever wrote. --- Gottfried Keller (1819-1890) was one of the foremost Swiss novelists and one of the most original figures of German literature since Goethe, a master of style worthy to be classed with the great names of all ages. (John Albrecht Walz)
Colas Breugnon (A Burgundian Story; French Classics)
Author: Romain Rolland
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595691332
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
"Colas Breugnon" is a charming romance of life in Burgundy three hundred years ago. It is an "autobiographical" novel, the story being told in the first person by Colas, who reviews his fifty years of life, and describes all its joys and sorrows. The story is gay and humorous, and full of wise observations about life. --- "Colas Breugnon is the jovial Burgundian, the lusty wood-carver, the practical joker always fond of his glass, the droll fellow. Before everything, Colas Breugnon is a free man. He loves his king, but only so long as the king leaves him his liberty; he loves his wife, but follows his own bent; he is on excellent terms with the priest of a neighboring parish, but never goes to church; he idolizes his children, but his vigorous individuality makes him unwilling to live with them. He is friendly with all, but subject to none; he is freer than the king; he has that sense of humor characteristic of the free spirit to whom the whole world belongs. From the artistic point of view, 'Colas Breugnon' may perhaps be regarded as Rolland's most successful work. This is because it is woven in one piece, because it flows with a continuous rhythm, because its progress is never arrested by the discussion of thorny problems. It is written throughout in the same key. The first sentence gives the note like a tuning fork, and thence the entire book takes its pitch. Throughout, the same lively melody is sustained. The writer employs a peculiarly happy form. His style is poetic without being actually versified; it has a melodious measure without being strictly metrical. This work is unlike any of Rolland's other writings. It is not an historic study, a critical appreciation, a philosophic essay, nor yet even, in the strictest sense of the word, a novel. It is rather a volume of reminiscences as told by a man of fifty; and the very aimlessness with which this man talks is in itself a pleasure; for Breugnon is himself the one subject of the book, holding our attention by the display of a wayward, sympathetic, and aggressive personality." (Stefan Zweig)
Publisher: Mondial
ISBN: 1595691332
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
"Colas Breugnon" is a charming romance of life in Burgundy three hundred years ago. It is an "autobiographical" novel, the story being told in the first person by Colas, who reviews his fifty years of life, and describes all its joys and sorrows. The story is gay and humorous, and full of wise observations about life. --- "Colas Breugnon is the jovial Burgundian, the lusty wood-carver, the practical joker always fond of his glass, the droll fellow. Before everything, Colas Breugnon is a free man. He loves his king, but only so long as the king leaves him his liberty; he loves his wife, but follows his own bent; he is on excellent terms with the priest of a neighboring parish, but never goes to church; he idolizes his children, but his vigorous individuality makes him unwilling to live with them. He is friendly with all, but subject to none; he is freer than the king; he has that sense of humor characteristic of the free spirit to whom the whole world belongs. From the artistic point of view, 'Colas Breugnon' may perhaps be regarded as Rolland's most successful work. This is because it is woven in one piece, because it flows with a continuous rhythm, because its progress is never arrested by the discussion of thorny problems. It is written throughout in the same key. The first sentence gives the note like a tuning fork, and thence the entire book takes its pitch. Throughout, the same lively melody is sustained. The writer employs a peculiarly happy form. His style is poetic without being actually versified; it has a melodious measure without being strictly metrical. This work is unlike any of Rolland's other writings. It is not an historic study, a critical appreciation, a philosophic essay, nor yet even, in the strictest sense of the word, a novel. It is rather a volume of reminiscences as told by a man of fifty; and the very aimlessness with which this man talks is in itself a pleasure; for Breugnon is himself the one subject of the book, holding our attention by the display of a wayward, sympathetic, and aggressive personality." (Stefan Zweig)