François Mauriac (1885–1970)

Reason Read: tbr takedown, Reading 1001, May 2023
"Vipers' Tangle begins as a man's letter to his estranged wife, explaining his hatred for her and their children, and is transformed under Mauriac's masterful pen into a diary of spiritual and psychological battles against God, family, and self. With remarkable subtlety and sensitivity, Mauriac relates the transformation of the protagonist by the sublime workings of grace. Vipers' Tangle's superb arc and unflinching examination of the human show more heart makes it easily one of the greatest novels - Catholic or otherwise - of all time."
François Mauriac, who was awarded the 1952 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Written as a journal, it is a marital drama of a man who hates his wife and children and spends his time trying to make sure they get nothing from him. It is a novel about transformation. It is also about how we misunderstand others. For a short novel there is a lot here. show less

Mauriac looks at the conflict between Sexual Desire and the Soul as it plays out in the physically and morally battered France of the aftermath of the Great War. Gisèle is a nice young girl of good family, convent-educated and with an older friend, Lucile, who is of impeccable character and acts as a sort of spiritual director to her. What could possibly go wrong? Well, shocking as it must have been to Mauriac's readers at the time, it turns out that Gisèle actually rather likes the show more occasional sexual adventure. Fortunately, there's nothing as devious as the Catholic Church when it comes to rescuing souls in peril, and threads are twitched just in time to save her from perdition.

There were some quite enjoyable passages, but there's a limit to how much jazz-age Catholic moralising most of us are prepared to put up with these days, and this book, short as it is, goes way beyond that limit. Recommended for those who wish there was more Bossuet in F Scott Fitzgerald. show less

Just as soon as I want to feel sorry for Thérèse's husband Bernard, he utters a misogynistic or anti-Semitic remark. Thérèse herself is an immature brat who attempts to kill her husband. There's not one sympathetic figure in the novel yet by the last chapter there is hope after Bernard and Thérèse call an armistice and go their opposite ways. Like the rest of Mauriac's works this book can only be fully appreciated in light of Redemption.
This version includes an introduction by Raymond show more Mackenzie. show less

"I had to have a victim sacrificed for me alone"
By sally tarbox on 29 June 2018
Format: Hardcover
This 1954 novel is set in the early 20s and opens with a young man, Xavier Dartilongue, en route to the seminary, where he intends to study for the priesthood.
Xavier is aware of the "irresistible interest which other people always aroused in him"; his attention is drawn to a couple on the platform - the man coldly indifferent to his wife whom he is departing from. As Xavier and his fellow show more traveller start to converse, we become aware of the latter's hard-bitten, cynical mindset. Yet all the same, and for reasons that are never entirely made clear, the man (Jean de Mirbel) becomes determined to dissuade the youth from his vocation, persuading him to stay with him and his wife, to assist them through their marital discord.

The reader soon becomes aware of Xavier as symbolising Christ. From the first page we know he will lose his life; later de Mirbel recalls "He looked like a lamb brought to the sacrifice, with its feet tied together." In the family home, Xavier comes into contact not only with the peculiar relationship of the couple but with other characters- a foundling boy, taken in to satisfy the wife's maternal feelings, but now ignored and cold-shouldered ; the wife's stepmother - a harsh pillar of the Catholic church - and her secretary, the pretty, pleasant Dominique for whom Xavier soon develops feelings...

This is a very clever, staged work. Every incident in Xavier's time at the house reminds us of Jesus' life - the heavy ladder he has to carry, the thorns that tear his stockinged feet, the cockerels crowing, the scorn heaped upon him by those around him... There is a wealth of material for debate and study. I so wanted clarification as to the protagonists' motivations but it was not forthcoming- is de Meribel attracted to Xavier ? Was the latter murdered, or did he commit suicide...or was he snatched away by a divine hand?
Extremely inventive work if not exactly a satisfying read. show less