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Philippe Beaussant (1930–2016)

Autor de Rendezvous in Venice

32 Obras 225 Miembros 7 Reseñas

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Obras de Philippe Beaussant

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This beautiful little book tells the story of Pierre, who finds a diary while going through the papers of his late uncle, an old-fashioned art historian who was a confirmed bachelor. Discovering a secret love affair his uncle had in Venice, Pierre finds himself forced to question how much he really knew about his uncle. Filled with some beautiful writing about paintings, by an author who clearly shares his characters' passion for art.
 
Denunciada
TheIdleWoman | 3 reseñas más. | Dec 8, 2017 |
haven’t #named the translator for this delightful French novella, because I read it in French. Le Rendez-vous de Venise by Philippe Beaussant was first published in 2003 and when I read Emma’s billet at Book Around the Corner last year I decided with her encouragement to order the French edition, completely forgetting that I already owned the English Pushkin Press English edition (Rendezvous in Venice, 2014, translated by Paul Buck and Catherine Petit) through my 12-month subscription to Pushkin Press. As it turned out, I was very glad to have both. (And for the ease of readers I have referenced the page numbers of the English translation.)

The novella will appeal to anyone who likes art. Pierre Voisin, the narrator, introduces his Uncle Charles as an erudite art historian whose affectionate patronage and skilful mentoring has guided Pierre’s own career as an art historian too. They had a very close relationship, but it was not until after his uncle’s death that Pierre discovers in some old notebooks that Uncle Charles had once been passionately in love with a woman called Judith. Pierre, who has modelled his own austere life on his uncle’s, is astonished, because he thinks that Uncle Charles thinks of women only as portraits. Poor Pierre, he can’t imagine his uncle kissing a young woman in the streets of Venice.

How can I imagine my austere old uncle with a woman? I only ever saw him with old Mariette dressed in black, with her blue apron and her hair in a bun, herself resolutely old-fashioned, smiling sometimes, yes, smiling, looking up from her work or into the glass of a window she was busy wiping, and who, I knew, reminded my uncle of Françoise in Swann’s Way? How can I imagine Uncle Charles close to a woman?

Yet, of course, women were not absent from his thoughts. He loved them. I know, I’ve seen it. When he started to talk about them, he just couldn’t stop. But they were always painted women. He talked about them like a lover but, unlike a jealous lover, he gave the impression, while talking about his beloved (the beautiful Eleanor of Toledo, painted by Bronzino, or Giovanna Tornabuoni in the fresco of Sante Maria Novella) that he would have wished you to share his passion and that his dearest wish was for you to fall in love with her too. (p. 26-7)


To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2017/02/19/le-rendez-vous-de-venise-rendezvous-in-venic...
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anzlitlovers | 3 reseñas más. | Feb 19, 2017 |
"There was so much melancholy that I spent the entire novel kind of vacillating between feeling the chill of a lack of emotion and being annoyed by the frequent invitations to the self-pity party" read more: http://likeiamfeasting.blogspot.gr/2015/12/rendezvous-in-venice-philippe-beaussa...
½
 
Denunciada
mongoosenamedt | 3 reseñas más. | Dec 7, 2015 |
"Doctor, Doctor, can you hear me?"

In L'archéologue, a short novel by Philippe Beaussant an archaologist tells his life story, which spans most of the Twentieth Century and is sprawled across the globe, connecting cultures and continents across the globe in a feverish narrative. From Egypt, to Bali and Cambodia. The story is told with a passion, bordering on delirium, and increasingly incoherent, as cultural references become mixed, bringing Asian culture together with Western cultural references. There is not much of a story, and the narrative seems a succession of namesdropping and achievements.

French literature is often characterized by a chute an unexpected turn, which makes the reader suddenly see the story in an entirely different light. revealing this chute would be a real spoiler. However, it saved the story for me. The chute at the end of L'archéologue is very original and fuses the story with drama.
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Denunciada
edwinbcn | Aug 30, 2015 |

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Estadísticas

Obras
32
Miembros
225
Popularidad
#99,815
Valoración
½ 3.7
Reseñas
7
ISBNs
51
Idiomas
4

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