Posted by Rizwan on 25/10/2009, 2:11:49, in reply to "Re: my nominations"
72.165.85.63
Yep, I think you're right, Joffre. Gide and Proust did become friends, though in his journals I recall that after Proust's death, Gide chided him for not being more open about his sexuality--e.g., casting his real life male lover Alfred as the famous female Albertine in the novel.
I, too, am interested in reading the journals of great writers, but Gide's in particular are exceptional. Many consider them his greatest work, even ahead of his novels. To me, only Flaubert's letters and Virginia Woolf's diaries compare. I certainly enjoy reading the journals more than the one novel of Gide's I have read--"The Immoralist," which I thought was just ok. But I will definitely read "The Counterfeiters" since you recommend them, Joffre.
--Previous Message--
:
: I believe they were friends afterward, Lale. Gide
: rejected the manuscript without having read it. He
: considered Proust a social butterfly and didn't
: imagine him capable of writing anything worthwhile. He
: apologized, and Proust understood. Still, it probably
: is the biggest blunder in literary history. I imagine
: Gide endured as many questions as the coach who cut
: Michael Jordan from his highschool basketball team.
:
: I suppose I should look into Gide's journals. I'd be
: very interested in any great author's reading
: journals, or at least selections from their reading
: journals. The Counterfeiters was the first Gide I
: read. I read it in Paris. I thought it was fantastic.
: I was much less impressed by The Immoralist . I've
: read his two autobiographical works, Madeleine and
: Si le grain ne meurt . I like the first of those quite
: well. I've long wanted to read Vatican Cellars , but
: it's long been out of print. This past year, I've been
: getting used copies of some of those out-of-print
: books that I want to read.
:
:
:
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