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annie_nonnymouse's review
5.0
Ah, Charles... if you had been born in our time, you'd be a blogger extraordinaire! Decadent, passionate, and misogynistic, this poet stole my heart from Edgar Allen Poe and broke it on the cobbled streets of that Eternal City. Don't come looking for a sympathetic heart...Baudelaire is bitter, despondent, and completely adorable. Read this and tell me he's not a man before his time.
olivia2605's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
sarahrlm's review against another edition
3.0
Quelques poèmes qui m’ont vraiment plu, je ne suis jamais déçue avec la poésie de Baudelaire. J’ai beaucoup aimé le fait que ce soit des sortes de petites histoires , j’ai eu l’impression de suivre un homme qui se baladait dans Paris et qu’il lui arrivait plein de choses
ori_gina_lity's review
3.0
Paris Spleen, a wonderful collection of prose poetry by one of the pioneers in modernist literature, Charles Baudelaire. This is a new food for me, I haven’t read anything by Baudelaire, and aside for a course I took last fall on American Poetry I haven’t read that much!
The book, originally published in 1851, depicts modern Paris through vivid and refreshing pieces on morals, time, artistry, freedom etc… with each poem you are drawn into, and quickly brought out of, little scenes that occasionally didn’t float my bout but were bizarrely satisfying to read. I didn’t connect with everything I encountered but what did resonate with me I found highly imaginative and inspiring. It was lovely to soak up the words before going to bed. The Double Room, The Clock, Windows, and The Moon’s Favor were a few of my favorites in the collection.
The book, originally published in 1851, depicts modern Paris through vivid and refreshing pieces on morals, time, artistry, freedom etc… with each poem you are drawn into, and quickly brought out of, little scenes that occasionally didn’t float my bout but were bizarrely satisfying to read. I didn’t connect with everything I encountered but what did resonate with me I found highly imaginative and inspiring. It was lovely to soak up the words before going to bed. The Double Room, The Clock, Windows, and The Moon’s Favor were a few of my favorites in the collection.
beatrixcesana's review
3.0
Cynic, eclectic and intelligent. Loved the social critique, there are not many as pungent as Baudelaire. Some poems are more unequivocal than others, some are a bit cryptic. There is one about humanity being like a dog, who cannot enjoy a smell too exquisite for it is too intense. Just like a dog, the public cannot bear superb content for it is 'too much'; hence, an author can only offer them pre-selected trash. I found this so mordant yet factual. This is a handbook full of truths that not many dare to say.
jakestillwell's review
3.0
Tonally similar to Les fleurs du mal with more structural emphasis on prose, and more thematic emphasis on the depression-fugues of grimy, disenfranchised Parisians.
adrianlarose's review
4.0
A very worthwhile read. I read it in the French and each short, descriptive story carries a message. The mores are less dated, given the time this was written, than one might expect (though modern women, in particular, might disagree).