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A review by irreverentreader
Gigi / The Cat by Colette
2.0
Yet another book that deserves to be shelved under back-copy that makes it sound more interesting than it is. What was promised was a young girl's rebellion against her uptight and ambitious family and what I got was...a fifteen year old girl who read more like a twelve year old who gets solicited to by a thirty-something man, denies him, and then suddenly realizes she's in love with him and they marry. What.
There's just not enough room in 68 pages to make me care about these characters and their relationships to each other. We learn barely anything about Gigi or why Lachaille could possibly be attracted to her when she is nothing but a child (yuck). What could have been made interesting in her revolting against her grandma and aunt's stranglehold over her life was merely glossed over. Colette is often praised for her wit and her highly stylized writing, but that was not apparent to me in this translation.
For me, I just don't see the point in it. There is really no story being told, no characters developed, no fascinating ideas or emotions to dissect, and certainly no interesting ending. So I suppose in that way, it's brevity was a blessing, and having read it all in one sitting, the likelihood of me remembering anything about this book will likely fade away within a year's time.
There's just not enough room in 68 pages to make me care about these characters and their relationships to each other. We learn barely anything about Gigi or why Lachaille could possibly be attracted to her when she is nothing but a child (yuck). What could have been made interesting in her revolting against her grandma and aunt's stranglehold over her life was merely glossed over. Colette is often praised for her wit and her highly stylized writing, but that was not apparent to me in this translation.
For me, I just don't see the point in it. There is really no story being told, no characters developed, no fascinating ideas or emotions to dissect, and certainly no interesting ending. So I suppose in that way, it's brevity was a blessing, and having read it all in one sitting, the likelihood of me remembering anything about this book will likely fade away within a year's time.