Group Read, July 2017: Charterhosue of Parma

Our July group read is Stendhal's Charterhouse of Parma. Please join the read and put any comments on this thread.

I read this with a group read not very long ago so I won't be joining in on this one

My general impression of the book is that it was a gigantic mess, especially as the main protagonist seemed to lack any direction or strength of character - a view that seemed to be shared by those in our group read who manged to finish it.

I'll be following this thread to see what you all make of it.

>2 M1nks: not too encouraging but I've dug out my copy and will be joining in soon.

I forgot this was the July group read! I have another big book started right now (He Knew He Was Right) so I'm not positive I'll get to this right now, but I'll try. It's been on my shelf for a long time.

I don't know anything about it, but I did really like The Red and the Black by the same author.

I was told by a couple of people that they also enjoyed The Red and the Black, which is good because I wasn't looking forward to reading it at one point.

I liked The Red and the Black, too. Just started the book today- rambling is a good word. There is a lot of detail, but the plot isn't really hard driven. I am glad I got stuck in on the bus this morning as I am much more likely to keep on with it. There are road works so it took 15 minutes longer than usual.
Reading this back, it sounds like I don't like it, but that's not the case. I do feel I will need to do some googling of events mentioned in the book to get more out of it.

I've made a start and am finding it quite readable (if not treated as a serious historical novel). The naïve efforts of Fabrice to get himself involved in the Battle of Waterloo put me in mind of our recent group read of The Good Soldier Svejk though in this case Fabrice actually wants to be involved in the fighting. Early days (page 88) but I'm encouraged that it does not seem to be heavy going.

I finished the book this morning, and I'm quite grateful that it is over.

I'm not sure exactly how to take this novel. The principal characters all seem to be a bit ridiculous. Fabrice is wilful, selfish and thoughtless yet his aunt (Countess Gina) and Prime Minister Mosca constantly bend over backwards to get him let off for his stupidity. The whole thing comes across to me as a bit of a parody yet Balzac and others have praised it for its realism and insights. The loose ends (i.e. death of all the principal players) are dealt with in less than a page at the end. I must be missing something but to me this is no better than 2.5/5

I very much agree with >8 puckers: There are memorable scenes and some interesting characters but the book as a whole was a bit disappointing. The very strange ending - you got the feeling that the writer just had had enough of the whole thing and sort of just summed up what might have happened - was an anticlimax.

Still, there were some really enjoyable parts. I loved the failed military adventure at the beginning, the love story in prison and some of the depictions of life at court.