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jake_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
3.75
This gargantuan epic was always going to be a bit of a slog, but it was laugh-out-loud funny at times, and learned and allusive throughout. There's no doubt that it is a masterpiece of satire, bridging the gap between the Graeco-Roman tradition and more recent modernist, experimental and maximalist texts.
blueyorkie's review against another edition
5.0
It was perhaps my lucky day when chance put in my hands this volume, which contains two works by the man who is perhaps considered the first great novelist in literature history.
Gargantua and Pantagruel are part of these complete works which alone embrace several literary sources: the novel of chivalry, the fantastic tale, parody and satire…; as well as several themes and sources of inspiration: war, education, burlesque dialogues, fantastic journeys, verisimilitude and improbability, fantasy ... This heterogeneous mixture is based on great freedom and improvisation; a pleasant and surprising style that we find in the first great fictional works like Don Quixote by Cervantes, Jacques Le Fataliste by Diderot or perhaps even Tristam Shandy by Sterne. These works that have made novelists dream and which still fascinate readers.
This could repel some fans of the classic nineteenth-century novel. But you should know that we are in front of two masterful works where the imagination had this magic of the tales of the Thousand and One Nights. This kind of series of stories can insert other stories in the same vein, another fantastic night without the text losing its general unity. We find images in the masters of magical realism in whom humour goes hand in hand with depth. In Gargantua and Pantagruel, Rabelais used his erudition and his sense of observation to create this universe with its unforgettable characters (among them this famous Panurge).
For the modern reader that we are, Rabelais and his two works link with the 16th century, where so many changes have taken place, especially in terms of language. Rabelais makes us relive this bygone century with its customs, its conflicts, its great ideas, its quarrels, this spirit of humanism as well as this thirst for knowledge worthy of the Renaissance; all this expressed with great relief and picturesque especially with humour and erudition. Rabelais tells us about these two good giants' itinerary since their birth, describing their education and their exploits and prowess.
Gargantua and Pantagruel are part of these complete works which alone embrace several literary sources: the novel of chivalry, the fantastic tale, parody and satire…; as well as several themes and sources of inspiration: war, education, burlesque dialogues, fantastic journeys, verisimilitude and improbability, fantasy ... This heterogeneous mixture is based on great freedom and improvisation; a pleasant and surprising style that we find in the first great fictional works like Don Quixote by Cervantes, Jacques Le Fataliste by Diderot or perhaps even Tristam Shandy by Sterne. These works that have made novelists dream and which still fascinate readers.
This could repel some fans of the classic nineteenth-century novel. But you should know that we are in front of two masterful works where the imagination had this magic of the tales of the Thousand and One Nights. This kind of series of stories can insert other stories in the same vein, another fantastic night without the text losing its general unity. We find images in the masters of magical realism in whom humour goes hand in hand with depth. In Gargantua and Pantagruel, Rabelais used his erudition and his sense of observation to create this universe with its unforgettable characters (among them this famous Panurge).
For the modern reader that we are, Rabelais and his two works link with the 16th century, where so many changes have taken place, especially in terms of language. Rabelais makes us relive this bygone century with its customs, its conflicts, its great ideas, its quarrels, this spirit of humanism as well as this thirst for knowledge worthy of the Renaissance; all this expressed with great relief and picturesque especially with humour and erudition. Rabelais tells us about these two good giants' itinerary since their birth, describing their education and their exploits and prowess.
ellenannmary's review against another edition
dnf'd after 500 pages so I'm counting it as read- die mad. Was assigned Pantagruel, Gargantua and Third Book of Pantagruel for class.
deanjean_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Gargantua And Pantagruel, spread across 5 books, depicts the lives of two giants seeking true knowledge of themselves, and of the world. They encounter and befriend memorable acquaintances, fight wars and journey to mystical lands. It's hilariously deranged and absurd, but yet very serious and encompassing of life and of society itself in some aspects. This makes Gargantua and Pantagruel relatable till today, despite its age.
There's allusions to Greek myths, laws, medical definitions, to his multilingual talents employed in punning and in the naming of the characters, and also to the philosophers and writers of his time. In addition, coarse, bawdy jokes and satire are woven into these tales, which may be distasteful for those who prefer their reading to be more refined. These range from bodily excrescences, laws, his intense dislike for some of the ruling Catholic authorities, superstition, the sexual organs and the upper classes, to name a few.
This was a painfully hefty read, owing to the medieval origins of the books - but still hugely enjoyable to the end.
There's allusions to Greek myths, laws, medical definitions, to his multilingual talents employed in punning and in the naming of the characters, and also to the philosophers and writers of his time. In addition, coarse, bawdy jokes and satire are woven into these tales, which may be distasteful for those who prefer their reading to be more refined. These range from bodily excrescences, laws, his intense dislike for some of the ruling Catholic authorities, superstition, the sexual organs and the upper classes, to name a few.
This was a painfully hefty read, owing to the medieval origins of the books - but still hugely enjoyable to the end.
dorthepedersen_reads's review against another edition
2.0
Altså, som udgangspunkt er denne serie af bøger fantastisk blot ved at have overlevet siden udgivelsen i 1500-tallet - og man får afgjort mest ud af læsningen, hvis man hele tiden har det historiske udgangspunkt in mente. Bøgerne er spækket med finurligheder og hylemorsomme fabler, historier og beskrivelser. Men side efter side og bog efter bog... det bliver for tyndt.
screen_memory's review against another edition
4.0
The world of Gargantua and Pantagruel is one of utter farce. Both men are giants who, upon their birth, kill their mother owing to their sheer size, and the world Alcofribas Nasier (an anagram and obvious self-insert of Francois Rabelais) details is similarly ridiculous.
Gargantua gives his father an extensive account of what environmental and structural features he has wiped his ass with; both Gargantua and Pantagruel defeat advancing armies by drowning them in a stream of piss; Alcofribas, having been accidentally swallowed by Pantagruel, discovers an entirely new world complete with its own sun in the firmament within his mouth; Pantagruel's companion, Panurge, spends an entire book lapsing between deciding to marry and deciding against marriage so he can't be made a cuckold; and lists of ingredients, animals, nicknames for a particular character, and other minutiae are columnized and span multiple pages.
The prose is energetic and lively, and, despite the archaic language from having been written in the 16th century, it is almost never a dull read (as long as one tends to quickly skim over the lists spanning multiple pages, or disregards them altogether).
Gargantua gives his father an extensive account of what environmental and structural features he has wiped his ass with; both Gargantua and Pantagruel defeat advancing armies by drowning them in a stream of piss; Alcofribas, having been accidentally swallowed by Pantagruel, discovers an entirely new world complete with its own sun in the firmament within his mouth; Pantagruel's companion, Panurge, spends an entire book lapsing between deciding to marry and deciding against marriage so he can't be made a cuckold; and lists of ingredients, animals, nicknames for a particular character, and other minutiae are columnized and span multiple pages.
The prose is energetic and lively, and, despite the archaic language from having been written in the 16th century, it is almost never a dull read (as long as one tends to quickly skim over the lists spanning multiple pages, or disregards them altogether).
emnaread2's review against another edition
1.0
idc if it's a satire, idc if it's a critique of the religious state in the 16th century, idc if its purpose consists in describing a humanistic and evangelical utopia, this book is shit.
booktrotting's review against another edition
dnf'd after 500 pages so I'm counting it as read- die mad. Was assigned Pantagruel, Gargantua and Third Book of Pantagruel for class.