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poopoopeepeeman's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
motobass4321's review against another edition
4.0
Milan Kundera, in [b:The Art of the Novel|28637|The Art of the Novel|Milan Kundera|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386923659s/28637.jpg|10802241], where Diderot's Jacques the Fatalist is highly esteemed, places this as a book whose theme is adventure and is told in the mode of humor. Diderot drops us of in the middle of a journey, from and to where we do not know, with a servant, Jacques, and his unnamed master. To pass the time on the journey, the master asked Jacques to tell the stories of his love life.
That is the set up. What we find is that often the journey stalls, master and servant roles are reversed, stories are never completed in one go (and the story of the loves of Jacques is left unfinished). The narrator often steps out to talk to the "real" and imagined readers directly. Sometimes the reader has questions, often complaints, and is taken to be more or less patient or eager for the stories to continue.
The fatalism of Jacques is of a form that may be near to determinism. Briefly, fatalism may suggest that if you are injured you are either fated to die from it or not and seeing a doctor or not won't change that; whereas determinism may suggest that if you were injured it would make sense to see a doctor since the healing process is causally determined and a doctor could remove obstacles and provide guidance and medicines to facilitate a better causal chain of events. Now, Jacques does seem to say that if you choose to see a doctor, you were fated to do that, thereby increasing your changes of survival. It seemed to me, when I read this a month ago, that his fatalism was very close to a determinism. In any case, he also plays it for laughs, uses it to predict the future (as when he claimed that his master was fated to never correctly guess the solution to a story/puzzle he was telling), and justifies whatever it is he wants to do by referring to it.
The other interesting and really enjoyable part of the book are the stories that are told. Typically all very funny (of course), but what I found interesting was that each of the stories embedded in this story was itself often called out as being retellings of other peoples stories/novels. The readers will protest, You are just telling us a story someone already wrote - this is not original, I know how it ends... That, and that the whole of it is also a retelling and response to Sterne's [b:The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman|76527|The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman|Laurence Sterne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403402384s/76527.jpg|2280279].
Stories within stories with constant reference to another novel which itself is brought in verbatim at one point, with call outs and narrator's and many other interruptions. Is it right for you? At first it really tried my patience and thought this is like the stories my son wrote (when he was younger) which mostly do not stick with the story, but where the narrator keeps calling out to the reader with a nod and a wink. Then I just relaxed and enjoyed the story-telling and the wonderful sentences and scenes that were tightly packed into this short novel.
As for age appropriateness, it is probably best for a more mature teen or pre-teen given the licentiousness and wickedness of the abbot! (who accomplished much good in the abbey and its practices) and a few other stories.
I read this as part of a Back to the Classics Challenge for 2017 in the category of A classic originally published before 1800.
That is the set up. What we find is that often the journey stalls, master and servant roles are reversed, stories are never completed in one go (and the story of the loves of Jacques is left unfinished). The narrator often steps out to talk to the "real" and imagined readers directly. Sometimes the reader has questions, often complaints, and is taken to be more or less patient or eager for the stories to continue.
The fatalism of Jacques is of a form that may be near to determinism. Briefly, fatalism may suggest that if you are injured you are either fated to die from it or not and seeing a doctor or not won't change that; whereas determinism may suggest that if you were injured it would make sense to see a doctor since the healing process is causally determined and a doctor could remove obstacles and provide guidance and medicines to facilitate a better causal chain of events. Now, Jacques does seem to say that if you choose to see a doctor, you were fated to do that, thereby increasing your changes of survival. It seemed to me, when I read this a month ago, that his fatalism was very close to a determinism. In any case, he also plays it for laughs, uses it to predict the future (as when he claimed that his master was fated to never correctly guess the solution to a story/puzzle he was telling), and justifies whatever it is he wants to do by referring to it.
The other interesting and really enjoyable part of the book are the stories that are told. Typically all very funny (of course), but what I found interesting was that each of the stories embedded in this story was itself often called out as being retellings of other peoples stories/novels. The readers will protest, You are just telling us a story someone already wrote - this is not original, I know how it ends... That, and that the whole of it is also a retelling and response to Sterne's [b:The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman|76527|The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman|Laurence Sterne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403402384s/76527.jpg|2280279].
Stories within stories with constant reference to another novel which itself is brought in verbatim at one point, with call outs and narrator's and many other interruptions. Is it right for you? At first it really tried my patience and thought this is like the stories my son wrote (when he was younger) which mostly do not stick with the story, but where the narrator keeps calling out to the reader with a nod and a wink. Then I just relaxed and enjoyed the story-telling and the wonderful sentences and scenes that were tightly packed into this short novel.
As for age appropriateness, it is probably best for a more mature teen or pre-teen given the licentiousness and wickedness of the abbot! (who accomplished much good in the abbey and its practices) and a few other stories.
I read this as part of a Back to the Classics Challenge for 2017 in the category of A classic originally published before 1800.
bamacpherspn's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
elemandoline's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
Jacques et son maître se racontent, en cours de route, l'histoire de leurs amours.
Le récit est rempli d'humour, d'une part par les péripéties loufoques que rencontrent les personnages, mais aussi par les interventions du narrateur. En effet, le narrateur s'adresse fréquemment au lecteur et répond aux potentielles questions qui pourraient surgir lors de la lecture. Le récit se situe entre fiction et réalité. Le narrateur explique qu'il est le maître des actions de ses personnages, tout en mettant en garde les lecteurs de ne pas s'imaginer qu'il s'agit de pure fiction. Il repousse les critiques avec humour et cela donne lieu à nouveau à des passages très drôles.
La relation entre Jacques et son maître est d'une autre nature que les relations maître-serviteur que l'on peut retrouver dans d'autres romans du genre. Je pense en particulier à Don Quichotte. Dans ce roman, Don Quichotte est le personnage principal, la grande majorité de l'intrigue est centrée sur lui. Cependant, dans ce récit de Diderot, Jacques est au centre du récit et raconte sa vie plus que son maître ne le fait. D'autant plus qu'il n'y a que très peu d'informations sur le passé du maître, jusqu'à ce qu'il raconte ses amours, mais cela n'arrive qu'à la toute fin du roman. Ainsi, cette inversion de la dynamique maître-serviteur et l'inversion des points de vue est très intéressante.
Jacques et son maître se racontent, en cours de route, l'histoire de leurs amours.
Le récit est rempli d'humour, d'une part par les péripéties loufoques que rencontrent les personnages, mais aussi par les interventions du narrateur. En effet, le narrateur s'adresse fréquemment au lecteur et répond aux potentielles questions qui pourraient surgir lors de la lecture. Le récit se situe entre fiction et réalité. Le narrateur explique qu'il est le maître des actions de ses personnages, tout en mettant en garde les lecteurs de ne pas s'imaginer qu'il s'agit de pure fiction. Il repousse les critiques avec humour et cela donne lieu à nouveau à des passages très drôles.
La relation entre Jacques et son maître est d'une autre nature que les relations maître-serviteur que l'on peut retrouver dans d'autres romans du genre. Je pense en particulier à Don Quichotte. Dans ce roman, Don Quichotte est le personnage principal, la grande majorité de l'intrigue est centrée sur lui. Cependant, dans ce récit de Diderot, Jacques est au centre du récit et raconte sa vie plus que son maître ne le fait. D'autant plus qu'il n'y a que très peu d'informations sur le passé du maître, jusqu'à ce qu'il raconte ses amours, mais cela n'arrive qu'à la toute fin du roman. Ainsi, cette inversion de la dynamique maître-serviteur et l'inversion des points de vue est très intéressante.
kitkatkitkatia's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
miiyayukii's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
msgtdameron's review against another edition
4.0
Diderot is writing at a time that the novel is still developing. Jacques is an experiment, an experiment in writing that is quite good. That's why it is still relevant today. Not only as an experiment but also as a full fledged novel.. Are there some interesting quirks, YES. The main quirk is the continual breaking of the fourth wall and Diderot talking to the reader. Diderot continually gives the reader possible options for the end of each veinlet and the beginning of the next. A real fascinating work that is worth the read for any one who likes the history of the novel, French Lit, or just a good read.