A few months ago, there was an article in the New York Review of Books about the journals of the infamous Goncourt brothers, a couple of writers who were associating with famous authors of 19th century France. In the journals, which were (partly?) published during their lifetime, celebrities were slandared with an armoury of nasty stories. The Goncourt brothers themselves were a pair of mischieveous writers, whose talent was mainly dedicated to miscrediting the talent of other contemporary writers. According to Proust's narrator: "Goncourt knew how to listen, just as he knew how to see." The impression I have from having read about the journals, it seems as if they have a lot with common with Proust and the style of Proust. This is one reason why I am so eager to find the book, which I have not read yet myself. Parts from the journal were recently published by New York review of books classics. Here is one article from the Guardian about the Goncourt journal:
Here are the Goncourt's comment on the takeover of Napoleon III:
In swept our cousin Blamount... full of asthma and peevishness.
"By God," he panted; "It's done!"
"What? What's done?"
"The coup d'etat!"
"The Devil you say! And they're bringing out our novel today!"
Another excerpt from the journals:
no date 1856—These past day a vague melancholy, discouragement, indolence, lethargy of mind and body. Feeling more than ever this despondency of my return [from Italy], which is like some great disappointment. We come back to find out life stagnating just where it was... I am bored by the few monotonous and repeatedly scrutinized ideas that trot back and forth through my head.And other people to whom I looked forward in the expectancy of entertainment, bore me as much as myself....Nothing has happened to them either; they have simply gone on existing... No one has even died amongst the people I know I am not actually unhappy: it is something worse than that.
April 24, 1858—Between the chocolate soufflé and the chartreuse Maria loosened her corsets and began the story of her life.
2 comments:
oh it seems the edition the Guardian refers to has a lot of later commentary by Edmond, which sounds interesting. As I'd mentioned, mine is rather "censored." A lot of the whining and talk of "fornication and venereal disease" seems to have been excised!
Well, I'll see to it, that I find the uncensored version, then :)
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