Les Enfants Terribles (original 1929; edition 2011)

O jogo deles é quase tão fascinante como a linguagem de Cocteau. ( )

I'd been wanting to read this for some time. I first came to Cocteau as an artist seeing an exhibition of his works in Montreal. This book definitely has a cool factor to it with the black cover and the drawings throughout the book. That's it though. It's not a bad read, just not compelling. It has it's strange moments with the characterization of the brother and sister and the dynamic of the world they build as they draw people in. But, not a great book. Read it if you have nothing else to do or if you're going to a cafe and want to look cool. ( )

ספר קטן מורבידי ומשונה על יחסים מוזרים (גילוי עריו​ת מודחק) בין אח ואחות הגדלים פרא ומספחים לחברתם עו​ד שתי נשמות טועות. בסוף האחות בקנאתה גורמת להרס, ל​
אוירה דחוסה מאוד, לא תמיד מובנת. אבל נדמה לי שגם ​התרגום, ,שהוא מאוד מצועצע, תורם למיסטיפקציה.​ ( )

Very distracting book...it provides for a lot of drifting off into languid, scientifically corrupt philosophising. For such a short book it takes a long time to read, as one gets distracted reflecting on vaguely suggested topics. If it is in your personality to enjoy that kind of thing you will love this book :)

A novella that reads very much like a bad dream, horrible but with a distinct lack of focus. It's the story of a brother and sister, devoted to each other and out of touch with reality, who, due to circumstance and the death of their mother, are left to fend for themselves in the world.

There's not much time to explore their relationship in detail, the author just gives us brief glimpses as to their bizarre interaction - the 'game' they play which excludes others, their own private language, their physical intimacy which borders on the incestuous. It's a meandering, hot house of a story. The emotional crescendo following the introduction of 'outsiders' into the complex central relationship is dramatically handled and the whole thing sweeps to a conclusion only a Frenchman could write.

Surely the inspiration for the 2003 film The Dreamers and both the film and this novel are worth a look in their own right.