[.ca] Signet Classics Red And The Black (ISBN 0451517938)

It's all there in black and white.:
The Red and the Black is a profound and witty book about the rise of a poor, handsome and intellectually gifted, young provincial into the salons of High Society in Paris. This novel is also a portrait of an era in 19th century France after the exile of Napoleon to St. Helena. The powerful, witty epigrams that appear in page after page of gorgeous prose left me almost as intrigued by the talent of the author as by the unexpected twists in the exhausting love life and fascinating careers in church and state of Julian Sorel. The language of the Gard translation was truly a joy to read -- it was lyrical and rich. Stendhal's novel is an astonishing but lesser read masterpiece from the salons of Paris, which produced Moliere, Balzac and Proust to name only a few. I can't recommend highly enough this worthy and rapturous novel by Stendhal. If this is Al Gore's favorite novel, then my respect for him has gone up a notch.

Excellence:
Yes, this is an excellent book. I will recommend reading it together with Lermontov`s "Hero of our Times" (ru: "geroj nashego vremeni"). Enjoy !

Al Gore's favorite book???:
I have a hard time believing this is anyone's favorite book. No one else has said it, so I will: This is one boring read. Stendhal wasn't the greatest at narrative delights like scene-setting, action, and pacing; there's a lot of, "This happened and then this and this, and some of that." I liked it a little nonetheless, but mainly because I thought the whole thing was funny. Watch the creative ways in which Julien shoots himself in the foot. Definite parallels to "An American Tragedy," in terms of both story and quality. (The prose style actually wasn't that bad here, but I didn't read it in French; maybe the translator cleaned it up.) Most annoying moment? When Madame de Renal, after having been shot, forgives the shooter: Julien. He's just that great. How do you say "Mary Sue" in French?

A colourful tale...:
Stendhal's 'Le Rouge et le Noir' (The Red and the Black) is a classic novel that was very important to me in early formation of directions in life. I found I could identify quite strongly with Julien Sorel, who wanted a better life, a life of meaning and importance, and was torn about which direction in which to go. The Red (symbolising the church, the scarlet of cardinal's robes) and the Black (symbolising the military, the uniform, etc.) were both options held out to me early; in fact, I rejected both for a while, but have found myself drawn back in the red direction. The story is one of coming of age as a bookish fellow in a working-class family, then ambition (but not overpowering ambition; in fact, Julien's father wishes he had more), then shifting careers (rare in an era and country where one's path is usually set for life early; however, this was the post-revolution era in France, in which some things were giving way, some more than others, it seems). Julien is pulled by events rather than being the director and creator of realities; Julien finds he loves the affect of various roles in life (more than the substance and responsibilities that come with such roles) -- for instance, he loves the swagger and the horsey-ness of being a soldier, but doesn't particularly like to get dirty or have to fight. He likes the trappings of religious office, but isn't inclined so much to spirituality, and Julien ran up against this in seminary: The seminary director said to Julien: 'Truth is austere, sir. But our task in this world is austere, too, is it not? You must take care to guard your conscience carefully from this weakness: Excess of feeling for vain exterior charm.' There is love, a love triangle in fact, romance and thwarted desires, and loves fulfilled, if not completely. It ends with a dramatic homicidal act, trial, an execution, and a most bizarre funeral. The melodramatic performance of Mathilde (re-enacting an earlier story with which she was familiar in which the heroine carried the severed head of her lover to his grave) provided the most animated conversation among ministers and psychologists I have ever witnessed. Stendhal often built a character's name out of words that were descriptive, which is sometimes lost in translation as the names often don't get translated in the same way, or may have lost the immediacy of their meanings over time. Julien may be a play on Julian the Apostate, enemy of Christianity; Abbe Castanede is decidedly Spanish and inquisitional; Noiroud and Moirod come from words meaning swarthy and mottled; many other examples abound. This is a very hard book to encapsulate in such a small space. It is not easy reading, but it is rewarding reading. And again, an interior dialogue of Julien in seminary helps inform me, and keeps me thinking (both for and against in many ways): 'In the seminary, there's a way of eating a boiled egg which declares how far one has progressed down the saintly path....What will I be doing all my life? he asked himself; I'll be selling the faithful a seat in heaven. How will that seat be made visible to them? by the difference between my exterior and that of a layman.' Choose your path wisely.

A Masterpiece:
This book operates on two levels. First, it is a stunning psychological portrayal of Julien Sorel, a peasant who, despite his revolt against society, ends up succumbing to it through hypocrisy. Second, this is a biting satire of 19th century France, its elitism, its hypocrisy, its pretention. Sociologist Pablo Serrato said it best: "Stendahl believed that bourgeois society rules dominate, and all one can do is try to succeed within it, and do what one must in order to move up..." And we see that manifested directly with Julien. He hates the world that has created him, yet he has no other choice but to act according to its rules. Serrato opines that "social mobility hinges on flattery and calculation." Why must Julien abide to these rules? Love. His love for women of high society chains him to the dictums of these very patricians. Ironically, this love is reflective of his values. Yet, in the end, he must sacrifice the values that have made his love possible. As we see, Julien hates himself because he must sacrifice his principles for the sake of love, which becomes in the process essentially meaningless. This is a tale replete with splendid imagery, charming dialogue, and quick wit. It's a sad state of our times when books like "Catcher in the Rye" are conferred with the status of speaking for our generation. Books like "Red and Black" hit home harder, although roughly 200 years old. This book is truly timeless. I agree with the reviewers who claim that this book must be read twice in order to be appreciated. A veritable masterpiece!