Reviews

Claudine à l'école by Willy, Colette

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jayraams's review against another edition

4.0

I watched the movie about Colette before reading this book, how anyone thought this was written by a man I have no clue but I amvery much looking forward to reading the rest in the series. Highly recommended this book because it will give you a different perspective and will show you the point of view of the French at the beginning of the 1900.

lezreadalot's review against another edition

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4.0

Elle semble se trouver si bien dans cette chambre chaude et assourdie que je me sens déjà prête à l’aimer tant et tant, avec tout mon cœur déraisonnable. Oui, je sais très bien, depuis longtemps, que j’ai un cœur déraisonnable, mais, de le savoir, ça ne m’arrête pas du tout.

3.5 stars. A slice of life, coming of age following 15 year old Claudine at school, as she plays pranks with her friends, battles the headmistress for the attention of the pretty assistant, lovingly bullies the girl in love with her, reads to her heart's content, and is summarily ignored by her well-meaning father. I adored the style in which this is written; it made the very mundane goings-on really entertaining. And I mean, it's not that mundane; it's amazing (and great!) that the love affairs between women were spoken about so frankly and easily. It doesn't buck conventions that hard (see the ending for Mlles. Sergent and Lanthenay) but in the ways it did, it was remarkable. I loved Claudine, truly. She's such a shitty little teen, with her stubbornness and pranks and sometimes nightmarish behaviour. But her haughtiness and stubbornness and resourcefulness are good things, especially considering some of the people she has to put up with (like the doctor). And she's so passionate about everything, both when she's in love and when she's been spurned; it's difficult not to love her. Poor Luce! I understand you. I was a little less engaged near the end of the book, but for the most part, this was really light and fun.

Listened to the audiobook as read by Barbara McCulloh, who has a lovely, somewhat classic voice. She didn't do any character voices, but I found that I didn't miss it that much. I listened in English while following along with my French copy, which makes for good practice and allowed me to pick up a little of the original nuance, as well as appreciate Colette's writing. I really liked it! Classic French is so decadent and descriptive, and the style really suits the way our main character flings herself into her endeavours. Definitely want to continue Claudine's adventures some time.

Content warnings:

Spoiler

sexual assault/forced kissing

On ne peut pas contenter tout le monde et soi-même. J’aime mieux me contenter d’abord...

witchy_reader's review against another edition

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3.75

as someone who was raised on glorified tales of the past with angelic girls who were close too flawless and pure as snow, this was such a fun perspective on the 19th century, a deidealization if you will. the way claudine and her friends talk to one another, the topics they discuss remind me of the ones teen girls are having way more than for example, anne of green gables. it's also incredibly interesting to see how a queer relationship between two women was treated at that time. overall, definitely an eye-opening book. i am very much looking forward to reading more from colette.