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Product Description
Product Description
'The man who wears the uniform of a sailor is in no way pledged or bound to obey the rules of prudence.'
First published in 1953, Querelle, a young sailor is at large in the port of Brest. His abrupt superior officer, Lt. Seblon, records in an elegant diary his longing for the young man. The policeman, who frames his mates for stealing from the Monoprix, covets him. Mario, the brothel keeper's husband, feels entitled to possess him. The murderer in hiding, whom he nourishes, embraces him. Even the madame herself, despite her disapproval of his kind, becomes Querelle's mistress. Only Genet - the 'poet of evil of our times' (Cyril Connolly) - could make magic out of the creature of the stinking port; and Querelle of Brest may be perhaps the most inventive, because it is the least autobiographical, of Genet's prose work.
About the Author
Jean Genet was born in Paris in 1910. An illegitimate child who never knew his parents, he was abandoned to the Public Assistance Authorities. He was ten when he was sent to a reformatory for stealing; thereafter he spent time in the prisons of nearly every country he visited in thirty years of prowling through the European underworld. With ten convictions for theft in France to his credit he was, the eleventh time, condemned to life imprisonment. Eventually he was granted a pardon by President Auriol as a result of appeals from France's leading artists and writers led by Jean Cocteau.$$$His first novel, Our Lady of the Flowers, was written while he was in prison, followed by Miracle of the Rose, the autobiographical The Thief's Journal, Querelle of Brest and Funeral Rites. He wrote six plays: The Balcony, The Blacks, The Screens, The Maids, Deathwatch and Splendid's (the manuscript of which was rediscovered only in 1993). Jean Genet died in 1986.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of the finest novels I have ever read, many have criticised it for its lack of plot (same goes for the Fassbinder film) but they have missed the point. Genet's exploration of a number of subjects - ego, sexuality (in terms of desire and narcisism), self-doubt, morality - is rarely surpassed.
The book has enough ideas to fill 20 novels, Genet moves from brilliant idea to brilliant idea sometimes spending only half a page on ideas that are jaw dropping in their insight into human behaviour.
The characters seem to be partly related to reality and partly sprung from Genet's fantasies. Although the book mainly deals with homosexuality Genet's utter understanding of his characters most private thoughts and the way people recognise and try to cope with desire makes it of interest to all. The immorality /amorality of the murderous aspects of the novel is based in an almost unbearable sense of isolation, sexual neuroses and social ineptity than any sense of true evil. Surely any person with a sense of self awareness will regard this as a work of genius.
The book has enough ideas to fill 20 novels, Genet moves from brilliant idea to brilliant idea sometimes spending only half a page on ideas that are jaw dropping in their insight into human behaviour.
The characters seem to be partly related to reality and partly sprung from Genet's fantasies. Although the book mainly deals with homosexuality Genet's utter understanding of his characters most private thoughts and the way people recognise and try to cope with desire makes it of interest to all. The immorality /amorality of the murderous aspects of the novel is based in an almost unbearable sense of isolation, sexual neuroses and social ineptity than any sense of true evil. Surely any person with a sense of self awareness will regard this as a work of genius.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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1 review
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Type is very small -- warning
26 Jun 2007
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The type is exceedingly small in the edition I received -- I don't wear reading glasses, and I am using a magnifying glass. You might want to try another edition, although Streatham's translation is fine.
The content is explicit, but Genet was an important influence, and it is very well written. No great book is for everyone.
The content is explicit, but Genet was an important influence, and it is very well written. No great book is for everyone.
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