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A review by casparb
The Red and the Black by Stendhal
4.0
Pleasantly surprised by this. The pre-Flaubert great French novel, which has fallen out of fashion in the past few decades (at least in the English-speaking world. Can't speak for France). The Red and the Black (or indeed, The Scarlet and Black. How romantic is your translator?) is a very impressive novel, that seems to achieve just as much as the 1200-page Count of Monte Cristo did in about 500. Flaubert and Dumas certainly seem to have been heavily influenced by this novel.
It's fair to say that the structure is a little wonky - but not unforgivably so. Something approaching life there. I was very impressed by the psychological depth Stendhal manages to draw, particularly in the more adulterous conversations - layers and layers remarkable for an early novel. Definitely worth a read if you enjoyed Bovary.
It's fair to say that the structure is a little wonky - but not unforgivably so. Something approaching life there. I was very impressed by the psychological depth Stendhal manages to draw, particularly in the more adulterous conversations - layers and layers remarkable for an early novel. Definitely worth a read if you enjoyed Bovary.