Casanova in Bohemia : A Novel
by Andrei Codrescu
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Description
An erotic, comedic, and compulsively readable historical novel depicting the beguiling Giacomo Casanova as he looks back on a life of love and ribald adventure In Count Waldstein's far-flung Bohemian castle, an aging Casanova spends his days as a librarian cataloging the count's extensive collection of books. Or at least that's what he's supposed to be doing. Ever the storyteller, Casanova instead dedicates himself to his own writing, for which the young servant Laura Brock serves as an show more endlessly fascinated audience. He recounts to her his greatest escapades--from romances in a Venetian convent to the seduction of an entire harem to the triumphant amassing (and subsequent loss) of a fortune in Paris. Enlivened by the French Revolution and the liberating ideas of the Enlightenment, Casanova's latest exploits prove he still possesses an intellectual vigor and insatiable curiosity. Even old age can't keep this legendary libertine--who corresponded with Voltaire, discussed flight with Benjamin Franklin, and whose life and writings inspired artists as diverse as Mozart, Flaubert, Stendhal, and Hesse--from causing trouble. Rich with eighteenth-century European social, political, and religious history, Casanova in Bohemia is an energetic and erotic portrait of Western literature's most beloved lothario, whose hedonism was matched by his creativity and wit. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Basically describes Casanova as a tired, dirty old man who is finishing out his life as a librarian for an aristocrat in Bohemia. Very interesting as it examines his interactions with aristocracy, particularly as this is set during the French Revoloution.
Given how imaginative & entertaining Codrescu usually is on NPR, I expected more from this book. The premise is that Casanova is an old man living as a librarian on an estate in Bohemia & recalling his past adventures to a beautiful young servant who is repeatedly aroused, intellectually as well as sexually, by his stories. There's lots of sex & lots of name dropping, but it doesn't have a lot else going for it.
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81 works; 17 members
Author Information
Romanian-born poet and essayist Andrei Codrescu, who also utilizes the pen names Betty Laredo and Maria Parfeni, emigrated to the United States in 1966. Codrescu earned a B.A. at the University of Bucharest, and has taught at numerous academic institutions including Johns Hopkins, the University of Baltimore, and Louisiana State University. show more Codrescu worked for National Public Radio as a commentator and has been featured on ABC News' Nightline. Some of Codrescu's short stories and novels include his first poetry collection, License to Carry a Gun and a memoir entitled In America's Shoe. Throughout the years, Codrescu has been awarded many honors including the Big Table Poetry Award, General Electric Foundation Poetry Prize, and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships for poetry, editing, and radio. His titles include The Posthuman Dada Guide: Tzara and Lenin Play Chess, The Poetry Lesson, and Whatever Gets You through the Night: A Story of Sheherezade and the Arabian Entertainments. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Giacomo Casanova
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 99
- Popularity
- 327,079
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.32)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 2
