ColetteReviews

"She kept her birth date a secret; but she freely admitted, letting fall on Chéri a look of voluptuous condescension, that she was reaching the age where she was due some small pleasures. She loved order, beautiful linens, mature wines, well-thought-out meals."

From this moment, I was hooked. Having never actually read any of Collette's work before I did not know what to expect. What I found in these pages were attitudes and feelings that seemed to address the point I am at in my life. While I cannot directly identify with the actions of Lea in these novels, I can understand reaching a point where being somewhat settled in life is as comfortable as a large bed. In addition, I think that these two novels need to be read together as they definitely bookend the story of Cheri and Lea.

In the edition, that I read there was a prologue that debated the translations of this novel as completed by Roger Senhouse. I think there is potentially an argument to be made that a male translator may not be able to recreate the subtlety of a text written by a woman. I do wonder how this particular translation would compare to his and may take the time at some point to look into that.

In the meantime, I have found a new (to me) author and look forward to exploring more of her writing. The only thing that might be better is if I had continued to study French so that I would not have to rely on translations to read these texts.

I don't suppose I had much idea what (and who) Colette was talking about when I first read this. Now I'm rereading her biography and pausing as I go to reread some of the books discussed there. On its own this book might not be that interesting, but together with the biography I found it interesting. Altogether my self-designed course is helping me get a clearer idea of her life and her work. Which is a good thing for a Colette fan.

Oooo la la!

Totally charming.

When published, many people found this book shocking. I suspect that many people still would. I am not one of those. I didn't much like it because I simply wasn't interested.

It's been a few years since I read this, the first book by Colette that I ever read. And I must say that my reaction to the ending is much different than it was the first or second time. Then I was disappointed. Now I understand.

I wouldn't describe the story as does the synopsis given by Goodreads. This is a lovely book, the last in the Claudine series and one Colette wrote after her separation from Willy. Her love of the country and wonderful descriptions of nature and the animals that surround her there is what makes this book special.

Can we die of love? Or because we realize we threw it away and there will never be another? Colette knows more about love than anyone (and knows it is an art) and much of what she writes about in her novels is really about herself, her lovers, and her friends.

Even though I found her even more charming in the first of the series, Claudine at 17 is still charming (if a little bit raunchy).

I started reading Colette about 30 years ago, starting with The Vagabond and continuing on to just about everything that's been translated into English, several of them twice or more. Why on earth did I never read the Claudine books? Love, hypocrisy, independence, solitude in the midst of a crowd, it's all there in this fourth volume that some say is the final one in the series, but Colette says it isn't. She says Retreat from Love is the final volume in the series and I've read that. Will soon read it again with a new perspective. In fact, every time I reread anything by Colette it is with a new perspective. The books seem to change as I grow older.

This is probably the fourth time I've read this over a period of many years. I always enjoy it. The first volume, Creature Conversations, is very charming. Colette has a feel for animals and portrays them and their thoughts sympathically and beautifully. What I noticed this time that I didn't the others is that there is a lot of her own autobiography in many of these short stories. In fact, that is true in much of her writing.

Colette has long been one of my favorite authors and I have several of her books on my favorites shelf. Every now and then I pull one down for a reread. Having just seen Gigi on TV, I thought it would be a good time to revisit that story and the two others that make up this volume. Gigi is a charming story, although the flyleaf says her family was preparing her to make a good match implying matrimony when in fact they were preparing her to do so as a courtesan. Julie de Carneilhan didn't grab me too much, I think I didn't sympathize with the heroine. I just wanted her to get over it (the it being her second husband). Chance Acquaintances is more typical Colette and I enjoyed that thoroughly.

This was probably one of the most brilliant books I have ever read. Age; it is the most hauntingly beautiful theme within this novel. From the pearl necklace to the dress--the shade of white, the absence of color symbolizes the idea of youth. This novel certainly wells up emotion as you witness this tragic romance through a jeweled lens.

I only read Cheri. It is the story of a woman and her younger paramour. She is approaching middle age and must relinquish her lover to his marriage. It is likely the last such relationship she will have, given her age. Separation is very painful for each of them. This is a very rich depiction of middle-age desire and its complications. I will probably return to the End of Cheri at a later date.

got this at pelican books in anacortes, began and finished on my flight

some beautiful ideas and i appreciate colettes honesty

This is an Editions J'ai lu pocket book, remarkably similar to Livres de Poche. See https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%27ai_lu

3.5 for Cheri & 3 for Last of Cheri.

No shame in Decadence.

The next book on my shelf was Cheri and the last of Cheri which was translated from the French by Roger Senhouse in 1951. The two novelettes were originally published in 1920 and 1926 respectively by Colette. It is a simple story of a decadent lifestyle set either side of the first world war: a war that hardly intrudes on the lives of Cheri (real name Fred) and his lover Léa.

Cheri is16 years old when he is seduced by his mother's best friend Léa who is an ex courtesan; 43 years old and now wealthy in her own write. Cheri also is very rich and spends his days in luxurious living spending his money on motorcars, but keeping careful note of the money that he spends on his servants. We pick up the story six years later when Cheri's mother has found him a marriage partner. Edmée is a quiet sixteen year old girl from a wealthy family and Cheri is drifting towards his upcoming marriage. The story starts with a truculent Cheri just gotten out of Léa's bed and wanting to play with her pearls. They both realise that their relationship is coming to an end. Léa and Cheri are both obsessive about how they look, Cheri is described as a beautiful handsome youth and Léa is fighting a battle with her age. The weather in Paris is hot and their languorous lifestyle is brilliantly captured by Colette, the couple hardly ever seem to leave Léa's boudoir: their mornings are spent arguing, then kissing and making up. There are flashbacks of their six years together: a stay in Normandy when Léa tries to interest Cheri in boxing under the tutelage of Patron, and Cheri develops a body to go with his good looks. Cheri and Edmée are married, but after three months Cheri is still thinking about Léa and leaves home.

The last of Cheri picks up his story when he is 30 years old. He has fought in the war and is now back with Edmée, who has become a business woman and manager of a hospital. Cheri is still drifting through life, still thinking about Léa who has gone abroad, but is rumoured to be coming back to Paris. He is drifting inevitably to his own destruction, losing his good looks and not taking care of his health.

Colette captures the decadent lifestyle of a small circle of rich people living in luxury not far from the Bois de Boulogne. They seem unaffected by world events although the women are keenly interested in making money. Cheri survives in this hot-house lifestyle through his good looks and wealth, but his relationship with Léa has meant that while he has become skilled as a lover he has hardly grown up as a man. The champagne flows and the luxurious breakfasts and lunches keep on coming. Cheri says of his bride to be Edmée

Let her kiss the sacred ground that I tread on and thank her lucky stars for the privilege.

Léa thinks about old age:

She had a foretaste of the sinful pleasures of the old - little else than a concealed aggressiveness, daydreams of murder and the keen recurrent hope for catastrophes that will spare only one living creature and one corner of the globe.

The characters are not particularly nasty, but they are not very nice either and Colette does a good job in providing an interesting, well written, atmospheric story that holds the interest. Cheri is little more than a very rich and very spoilt brat, but we continue to follow his progress through a life that appears to be sliding away. The Last of Cheri is best read while suffering from eating or drinking too much, but don't leave it till the morning after. 4 stars.

Fun to read Gigi after seeing the movie. The grooming of the young Gigi for her life as a courtesan is a bit more heartless here than in the singing version, and it does make you wonder why this play is performed in so many high schools....
The cat is a strange story of a self-absorbed man who loves his cat over anyone else, in a distinctly unhealthy manner. Wonderful but it does give you the feeling you need to wash your hands afterwards.

Fun fun fun and ever so slightly shocking for the time. If you've never read Colette, you really must. These are delightfully wicked stories, subversive in the best ways.

Actual title: Renee, la vagabonde

I don’t discount the themes of Chéri and it’s sequel, the End of Chéri. They’re present and interesting: the role of women in post-war France as it interplays with the waywardness of young men sent to war during their formative years only to return to an interwar society that seems to not need them anymore.

Indeed, Chéri’s story is something worth probing on. He’s the plaything of a much older woman in a way that stunts his maturity and leaves him vapid and self obsessed. The constant talk of his looks by women much his senior fuels his Dorian Gray-esque obsession with beauty.

When he returns from war, it seems everyone has moved on from the vapid obsession with beauty to the vapid obsession with money and status. His former lover has grown old and out of shape and worst of all to Chéri she’s happy and unbothered by her transformation.

All of that is interesting, but it doesn’t really come together until the final fourth of the book(s). Before then it’s a slog through Parisian bourgeois predilections. It may be the translation but the writing was overly clunky. Colette is moving far too quickly through dialogue and internal monologues in a way that doesn’t lend itself to story or themes. It didn’t leave me with a feeling of free flowing consciousness moving between thoughts and words, instead I was left lost and struggling to connect with what was written on the page.

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I think this was the wrong book for me at this time. However, it would never be a favorite as I found the pace too slow. Colette gives beautifully written descriptions so I can understand why some would appreciate her writing more than I did.

As for the plot, I could relate to Léa (as I am also a woman of a certain age) but Chéri struck me as a lout and so I couldn't really understand his appeal.

At first beautiful language, then boring, repetitive, no story to be honest.