Caracole
by Edmund White
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Description
In French caracole means "prancing"; in English, "caper." Both words perfectly describe this high-spirited erotic adventure. In Caracole, White invents an entire world where country gentry languish in decaying mansions and foppish intellectuals exchange lovers and gossip in an occupied city that resembles both Paris under the Nazis and 1980s New York. To that city comes Gabriel, an awkward boy from the provinces whose social naïveté and sexual ardor make him endlessly attractive to a show more variety of patrons and paramours. "A seduction through language, a masque without masks, Caracole brings back to startling life a dormant strain in serious American writing: the idea of the romantic."--Cynthia Ozick show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Although White remains one of my all-time favorite authors, "Caracole" has always remained the one book of his that I have found to be inaccessible, annoying, and - in a way - a disappointment. After reading it right after it was first published, I decided that it was a mere aberration, that I should forgive White, continue to read him, and forget that he ever wrote that particular book. Recently, however, in his memoir "City Life," White mentioned the real-life individuals upon whom the characters in Caracole were roughly modeled. Immediately, a key was handed to me, and I read the book for a second time seeing it in a completely different light. Although it will never be my favorite White novel, I am grateful for his revelation show more regarding the inspiration for it. Future generations of readers may find the novel more accessible once they learn of the background and the people who inspired White to write it. show less
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Author Information
68+ Works 13,070 Members
Author Edmund White was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on January 13, 1940. He majored in Chinese at the University of Michigan. Before spending a year in Rome, he worked for Time-Life Books from 1962 until 1970. Upon his return, he became an editor for The Saturday Review and Horizon. He lived in France from 1983 until 1990. His works have chronicled show more gay life with such books as A Boy's Own Story, The Beautiful Room Is Empty, and The Farewell Symphony. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Caracole
- Original publication date
- 1985
- Dedication
- To John Purcell
- First words
- Gabriel's father--a silent, stubborn man, so wary that when asked to go for a walk he would avert his eyes and say, "I'll tell you my answer in a minute"--insisted that in the morning the boy conjugate verbs from the househol... (show all)d's sole book, an unglued and incomplete sheaf of papers stuffed between boards the rain had warped, an animal had chewed, the sun had bleached from pink to red.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)With the simplifying grandeur of destiny, she knelt beside Gabriel and began to explain to him what he must do and who he'd become.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 251
- Popularity
- 128,670
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.36)
- Languages
- English, French, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 8
- ASINs
- 4
