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Fran ois Mauriac's masterpiece and one of the greatest Catholic novels, Th r se Desqueyroux is the haunting story of an unhappily married young woman whose desperation drives her to thoughts of murder. Mauriac paints an unforgettable portrait of spiritual isolation and despair, but he also dramatizes the complex realities of forgiveness, grace, and redemption. Set in the countryside outside Bordeaux, in a region of overwhelming heat and sudden storms, the novel's landscape reflects the inner world of Th r se, a figure who has captured the imaginations of readers for generations. Raymond N. MacKenzie's translation of Th r se Desqueyroux, the first since 1947, captures the poetic lyricism of Mauriac's prose as well as the intensity of his stream-of-consciousness narrative. MacKenzie also provides notes and a biographical and interpretive introduction to help readers better appreciate the mastery of Fran ois Mauriac, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1952. This volume also includes a translation of "Conscience, The Divine Instinct," Mauriac's first draft of the story, never before available in English.… (more)
As with several recent novels I've taken on, started out quite slow but I warmed to it much more as it went on. The dark, abrupt opening starts things off on a right keel but my favourite sections came when Thérèse was finally reunited with Bernard and things become quite desperate. A portrait of a woman suffocated by provincial life, by ennui, by social custom, by her own inability to find herself in her cramped surroundings and ultimately (at least by insinuation) by her inability to realise her own sexuality apart from through her quite abstract and elusive fantasy life. Her bovarysme doesn't even let her taste the same temporary joys as Emma did, and though she ultimately gets "freedom" of a sort here it's one which promises not a great deal more than her previous confinement. ( )
ספר כבד (בנושא, לא בשפה) וגם קצת מוזר על אשה צרפתיה בכפר נידח בלנד במערב צרפת שיוצאת מדעתה מנישואיה, מהשעמום מהבדידות ומחוסר התקווה ומנסה בדרך לרצוח את בעלה. ( )
I really enjoyed this. Following Therese's path through depression and loneliness to a position of self understanding was really absorbing and kind of helpful on my own path to self knowledge. I will be reading this again. ( )
Information from the Italian Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Signore, abbiate pietà dei pazzi, uomini e donne! O Creatore! Possono esistere mostri agli occhi del Solo che sa perché esistono, come si son fatti e come avrebbero potuto non farsi…
Charles Baudelaire
First words
*Thérèse, beaucoup diront que tu n'existe pas. *from the foreword
(THERESE) The barrister opened a door. (THE END OF THE NIGHT) "Are you going out this evening, Anna?"
Quotations
Last words
Elle farda ses joues et ses lèvres, avec minutie; puis, ayant gagné la rue, marcha au hasard.
(THERESE) Very carefully she set about touching up her cheeks and her lips, and then walked casually out into the street. (THE END OF THE NIGHT) "Yes, my dear: the end of life, the end of the night."
Fran ois Mauriac's masterpiece and one of the greatest Catholic novels, Th r se Desqueyroux is the haunting story of an unhappily married young woman whose desperation drives her to thoughts of murder. Mauriac paints an unforgettable portrait of spiritual isolation and despair, but he also dramatizes the complex realities of forgiveness, grace, and redemption. Set in the countryside outside Bordeaux, in a region of overwhelming heat and sudden storms, the novel's landscape reflects the inner world of Th r se, a figure who has captured the imaginations of readers for generations. Raymond N. MacKenzie's translation of Th r se Desqueyroux, the first since 1947, captures the poetic lyricism of Mauriac's prose as well as the intensity of his stream-of-consciousness narrative. MacKenzie also provides notes and a biographical and interpretive introduction to help readers better appreciate the mastery of Fran ois Mauriac, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1952. This volume also includes a translation of "Conscience, The Divine Instinct," Mauriac's first draft of the story, never before available in English.
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Book description
Therese Desqueyroux is probably the most famous of Mauriac''s novels, and the curiosity which this terrible and unforgettable creature aroused led the author to write the story of her last days in La Fin de la Nuit, 8 years later. The 2 short stories are interludes of her life in Paris between the years covered by the 2 novels; thus the complete story of Therese Desqueyroux is presented to the English reader for the first time.
Including 'Therese Desqueyroux', 'La Fin de la Nuit' and 2 short stories about Therese from 'Plongees'.
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Wikipedia in English
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