Cheri (Vintage classics)
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Book Description
'A perpetual feast to the reader.her prose is rich, flawless, intricate, audacious and utterly beautiful' Raymond Mortimer
Product Description
Cheri, first published in 1920, is considered Colette's finest novel. Exquisitely handsome, spoilt and sardonic, Chéri is the only son of a wealthy courtesan, a contemporary of Léa, the magnificent and talented woman who for six years has devoted herself to his amorous education. When a rich marriage is arranged for Chéri, Léa reluctantly decides their relationship must end. Chéri, despite his apparent detachment, is haunted by memories of Léa; alienated from his wife, his family and his surroundings, he retreats into a fantasy world made up of dreams and the past, a world from which there is only one route of escape.In her portrait of the fated love affair between a very young man and a middle-aged woman, Colette achieved a peak in her earthy, sensuous and utterly individual art. Chéri caused considerable controversy both in its choice of setting - the fabulous demi-monde of the Parisian courtesans - and in its portrayal of Chéri.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Colette, very French,
By
This review is from: Cheri (Vintage classics) (Paperback)
Lea is a courtesan in the Parisian demi-monde before the first world war. Seven years ago she agreed to take Cheri, the beautiful son of another courtesan, as her lover to 'supervise' his amorous education. But she is now in her late 40s and his mother decides that it is time that Cheri were married. But the relationship between the still-beautiful but ageing Lea and the petulant, arrogant Cheri, is one that is less easily controlled than any of them think.This is absolute classic Colette: sensuous, beautifully-written, very French. The evocation of a lost world of boudoirs, silk and satin, pearls and servants is precise and wonderful. But Colette is ultimately concerned with the human heart and the transgressive emotions it might shelter. Lea and Cheri know what they ought to do, what is the sensible and 'right' thing to do, and yet they don't do it. This is not at all a sentimental 'romance' novel: it's far earthier and truer than that. And romantic love is deeply entangled with maternal love in this book, in a way that sometimes feels almost shocking to a modern reader. The Penguin edition Cheri (Twentieth Century Classics) also contains the sequel The Last of Cheri. These are both short novellas but contain more lush, sensuous writing and true emotion than many books three times their length. If you love this, do try the Claudine novels by Colette (The Complete Claudine: Claudine at School/Claudine in Paris/Claudine Married/Claudine and Annie) which are utterly sublime.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
French decadence with a twist of melancholy,
By Mrs. K. A. Wheatley "katywheatley" (Leicester, UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Cheri (Vintage classics) (Paperback)
A worthy successor to Zola's Nana, also about a Parisienne courtesan, this is set in the early years of the 20th Century. Cheri is the pampered young son of a courtesan, at turns neglected and pampered by his mother and her friends. He develops a passionate affair with an older courtesan, Lea, which lasts for five years until his marriage to a young innocent.Cheri cannot shake out of his passionate feelings for Lea and tries to return to the love of his youth with disastrous results for both of them. Lea is wonderfully drawn, a pragmatic business woman, acutely aware of her age and what it means for her both as a woman and a business asset, she fights her burgeoning love for Cheri. Her mix of tenderness and passion mixed with the sad realisation of a love that is too late for her is beautifully rendered. With Cheri as the spoiled young man, denied nothing and used to ruling the roost as a vapid and perfect foil.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not quite unrequited love!,
By
This review is from: Cheri (Vintage classics) (Paperback)
The love story of an older woman and a young man told with such realism and passion and yet understandably tragic. A great story, a great love story but not an epic story. Nevertheless, I would whole heartedly recommend this!
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