The Red and the Black
One of the great novels of the century, The Red and the Black is a powerful character study of Julien Sorel, a clever and idealistic young opportunist who attempts to rise above his station through a combination of talent, deception, and hypocrisy. He uses his powers of seduction and charm to...
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One of the great novels of the century, The Red and the Black is a powerful character study of Julien Sorel, a clever and idealistic young opportunist who attempts to rise above his station through a combination of talent, deception, and hypocrisy. He uses his powers of seduction and charm to secure advancement, only to find himself betrayed by his own passions and outwitted by the larger political and social intrigues of post-Napoleonic France. His doomed quest for fortune and love is both heroic and satirical, reflecting the inner tensions and outer pretensions that result from desiring what is not ours. Stendhal's complex portrayal of his characters' thoughts and feelings was far ahead of his time, earning The Red and the Black recognition as the first modern psychological novel, with Julien as his most brilliant creation and one of the greatest characters in all of literature.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780451517937 (0451517938)
Publish date: July 1st 1970
Publisher: Signet Classics
Pages no: 536
Edition language: English
Category:
Classics,
Novels,
Literature,
European Literature,
Cultural,
Historical Fiction,
Romance,
Classic Literature,
Literary Fiction,
Drama,
19th Century,
France,
French Literature
I didn't think I'd wind up liking this book much reading the first dozens of pages. The book is centered on Julian Sorel, the brilliant and ambitious son of a peasant in post-Napoleon France. The "red" and the "black" of the title refer to the two routes to power for someone of humble birth in the F...
Brilliant! A must read for all interested in political intrigues. Devlin
This is not at all what I expected. I kind of feared this would a stodgy morality story and in a way it was a morality play but it was far from stodgy. I can't count the number of times it made me genuinely laugh because of the brilliant satire.Our main protagonist Julien seems to be a massive colle...
”Nothing can distinguish a man as a death sentence,” thought Mathilde. “It’s the only thing one can’t buy.”Julien Sorel was a young man with an audacious intellect. Such a gift can be a great resource that can be exploited for financial gain or it can be a burden that keeps a person in perpetual mis...
Ech, "Czerwone i czarne"... No cóż, niestety poddałam się w połowie lektury, po paru początkowych rozdziałach drugiej części książki. Co smutne, najpierw czytanie szło mi dość szybko i przyjemnie. O ile jednak na poczatku styl Stendhala i - zwłaszcza - postać głównego bohatera naprawdę przypadły mi ...
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