A review by charm_spirit
The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendhal

4.0

I must admit I had a hard time going through the first third of the book as Fabrice seemed to me a very annoying character – too young, too stupid, too dependable on other people. Of course, that opinion remained unchanged till the end – if it wasn’t for his women, the Duchess Sanseverina and Clelia, he could’ve not been the hero of the novel, they are the real heroines actually. Really strong female characters and realistic presentation of the court with all its intrigues and schemes. Found Clelia’s decision to sidestep her oath (to never see Fabrice again) very funny and hypocritic, but forgave her for that – I wished she had some happiness after all.
I can’t quite explain to myself the title of the novel – I thought it was because of the translation, but turned out that was the original meaning, is it something hidden or just very distant?
And finally - I think Stendhal’s growing on me and I’m halfway through The Red and the Black :)