Immoralist? I mean I guess if you define immorality as an rejoicing in ones descent into declasse from the petite bourgeois and its trappings of ennui. ( )

4/26/22

The story of a man who prefers the company of beautiful Arab boys and strapping peasant youth to that of his pious, tubercular wife was probably quite shocking when The Immoralist appeared in 1902. (The title allowed Gide to be provocative and to shield himself from public contempt at the same time). When a character tells the protagonist that most people are afraid to live their own authentic lives, we know he has hit upon one of the poignant truths of modernity. This is the kind of book that makes people think that literature has special powers. ( )

Bellíssima novel·la, però, sobretot, extraordinària traducció de Marta Bes i Oliva. En cap moment no teniu la impressió que vos perdeu res pel fet de no poder llegir l'original en francès. La traducció de Bes té una riquesa de lèxic i una sintaxi tan genuïna que avui ja no es troben, ja no hi estam acostumats. Mentre la llegiu, teniu la sensació que Bes ha fet la traducció pel pur plaer de traduir, més que per un encàrrec. N'hi ha molts que seguim escriptors. Hauríem de seguir aquesta traductora. ( )

Largely due to the passage of time and the evolution of public morals, this book is no longer the boundary breaking work it was on its publication in 1902. Still well written and interesting it no longer has the power to make it a memorable read. ( )