Reviews

The Duel by Giacomo Casanova, Tim Parks

gesch's review against another edition

3.0

This novella is a delightful excerpt of Giacomo Casanova’s autobiographic “Story of my Life”. It recounts Casanova’s duel against a Count Branicki, an army colonel, over a perceived slight over a ballerina (a woman which did not interest either the Count or the Venetian), which ends in a duel and ultimately leads to Casanova’s expulsion from Warsaw.

The story is highly entertaining in spite of having an odd tone and pacing for in spite of it being a highly exciting and terrifying anecdote in a persons life it is written in a rather detached and slightly apathetic manner. Never the less it has a good number of dialogues and reflections written by Casanova which allow the reader a glimpse into the wit and psychology of the famous individual whose name would become synonymous with “Don Juan” character and the attributes associated with him.

nylah_danae's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

greeniezona's review against another edition

adventurous challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I think it is well established by now that I trust the Melville House novella series implicitly. I can't imagine that I would have ever gotten around to reading this story otherwise. I think duels are largely dumb and had very little interest in Casanova, but I found this to be surprisingly entertaining and more thoughtful than I expected.

Another score for Melville House. 

whats_margaret_reading's review against another edition

2.0

Lightly fictionalized account of Casanova not being able to keep it in his pants and getting into trouble. Whoops.

eyelit's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

iceangel9's review

3.0

A re-working of the duel Casanova described in his memoir. It tells the tale of his trip to Eastern Europe and the duel he engages in after being insulted after a ballet. The novella is a look at society in the mid 1700s, and Casanova's travels in Europe and the social strata in which he moved.