Reviews

The Magnificent Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier

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kaazi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

emmayu918's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

athenaowl's review against another edition

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5.0

A French classic for a reason. It almost feels like the precursor to dark academia, it takes place mostly in a school setting, there's a charismatic leader who takes a slightly awkward character under his wing, the charismatic character has a mysterious adventure that the awkward character tries to help him untangle, and in the end the slightly awkward character ends up disillusioned. But it's written in an almost dreamlike state where not everything is immediately clear and you really do have to pay attention to follow along, which is something that I actually really like in a novel as long as I'm expecting it. A little like Maurice meets Catcher in the Rye meets Peter Pan. It's not so much a coming of age story as a refusal to come of age story. Like all great classics it stayed with me after I read it and really made me think. Really enjoyed this read!

Read if…
- You liked Catcher in the Rye
- You’re a fan of French classics

Skip if…
- You prefer a straightforward narrative
- You can’t stand purposefully unsatisfactory endings

danik's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

marwahaha's review against another edition

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2.5

I think a lot of it was lost in translation. From the english i could see the potential in so many moments but it wasnt rlly there yk. But bc of that i wasnt that invested in meaulnes’ story. Also he was js a rlly annoying character anyway so whatever. But the epilogue was sad ig 🤷‍♀️. The book is okay.

dina_b's review against another edition

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5.0

Não sei o que estava à espera, mas fiquei surpreendida. Se o início do livro parecia uma história de aventuras de adolescentes, a medida que a história progredia, o tom ia mudando, tornando-se, mas sério e mais dramático. Entre paisagens oníricas que julgamos ser uma alucinação até a realidade da vida adulta, Fournier representa bem a etapa da adolescência para a de jovem adulta com uma escrita que agarra o leitor.
Fournier escreve uma história acerca da amizade, de promessas feitas, de amor, de perdão, num ritmo suave e fluído que me encantou de uma maneira que não estava à espera.
Fico a pensar, que mais teria o autor escrito se tivesse sobrevivido a 1ª GM.