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The Lost Estate (Le Grand Meaulnes) (Penguin Classics) (1913)

by Henri Alain-Fournier(Favorite Author)

3.86 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Penguin

review 1: Suspend judgment, discard critical reservations and surrender to this dreamlike, haunting story. It's not just about refusing to become an adult, or the unswerving pursuit of a romantic ideal, but also about social class, the plight of women, the inexorability of Nature. And just when you think, "this is totally over-the-top, absurd," Alain-Fournier stuns you with irony, bitterness and desolation. The fairy tale aura veils an underlying, irredeemable hopelessness. How did Alain-Fournier comprehend this in his early twenties when he wrote Le Grand Meaulnes?
review 2: I read this after reading reviews upon it's 100th anniversary of its publication, and the claim by many that it probably influenced Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby". It is a tale about young, rom... moreantic love, and the loss of innocence. And there is a strong similarity between the narrator and Nick Carraway. The mysterious chateau is also reminiscent of a large mansion that Fitzgerald had visited as a young man. Though the lead, Augustin Meaulnes, is younger than Gatsby, he has the same romantic flair and electric excitement about him. And of course, the yearning for the unattainable young beauty is similar as well. "The Lost Domain" was published in 1913 and was an instant success in France and would certainly still have been a much talked-about novel during the time Fitzgerald was living in Paris. And the first English translation was done by expatriate Harry Crosby, someone who traveled in the same circles as Fitzgerald. It was a pleasure reading this very "French" novel. The early, tragic death of the author is a pity, as I believe he had many more great books in him. less

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