My illustration of the day + book review / Moja ilustracija dana + ogled knjige ( Le Diable au corps)

This morning I read an amazing novel. Le Diable au corps (translated as The Devil In the Flesh) is a novel by Raymond Radiquet. Believe it or not, this was by first book by this French writer. I don't think I even heard of him before, which is odd, but well, it happens.

 In his time, Raymond was quite a celebrity and he is still considered as one of the important French writers of that period. Quite a feat for someone who died so young.

Did I like this novel? Quite frankly, I loved it. I just couldn't put this novel down. I must have read it an hour or so. I got up a bit more earlier this morning so I actually had time to read it with my morning coffee (it is not a very long novel but still it is amazing how easy it was to find one's self glued to those pages). Perhaps I should make it a habit, getting up more early so I can read more. 

This novel is available on wikipedia. 

Jutros sam pročitala divan roman. Đavo u tijelu  (naslov izvornika Le Diable au corps) je roman Raymonda Radiqueta. Vjerovali ili ne, ovo je moj prvi roman ovoga pisca. Mislim da nikad prije nisam čula za njega, što je neobično, ali događa se. 

U svoje vrijeme Raymond je bio zvijezda, a i danas se smatra jednim od važnih francuskih pisaca toga vremena. Veliki uspjeh za nekoga tko je umro tako mlad.

Je li mi se svidio ovaj roman? Veoma. Jednostavno ga nisam mogla odložiti. Sigurno sam ga pročitala u sat ili tako nešto. Jutros sam ustala malo ranije tako da sam ga mogla pročitati uz jutarnju kavu ( to nije dugačak roman, ali opet nevjerovatno je koliko se je lako jednostavno zalijepiti se za stranice). Možda bi mi to trebala biti nova navika, ustajati rano da mogu više čitati. 

LE DIABLE AU CORPS

RAYMOND RADIGUET

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LE DIABLE AU CORPS

ROMAN

PARIS

BERNARD GRASSET, ÉDITEUR

61, RUE DES SAINTS-PÈRES, 61

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MCMXXIII

Je vais encourir bien des reproches. Mais qu’y puis-je ? Est-ce ma faute si j’eus douze ans quelques mois avant la déclaration de la guerre ? Sans doute, les troubles qui me vinrent de cette période extraordinaire furent d’une sorte qu’on n’éprouve jamais à cet âge ; mais comme il n’existe rien d’assez fort pour nous vieillir malgré les apparences, c’est en enfant que je devais me conduire dans une aventure où déjà un homme eût éprouvé de l’embarras. Je ne suis pas le seul. Et mes camarades garderont de cette époque un souvenir qui n’est pas celui de leurs aînés. Que ceux qui déjà m’en veulent se représentent ce que fut la guerre pour tant de très jeunes garçons : quatre ans de grandes vacances.

Nous habitions à F…, au bord de la Marne.

Mes parents condamnaient plutôt la camaraderie mixte. La sensualité, qui naît avec nous et se manifeste encore aveugle, y gagna au lieu d’y perdre.

Je n’ai jamais été un rêveur. Ce qui semble rêve aux autres, plus crédules, me paraissait à moi aussi réel que le fromage au chat, malgré la cloche de verre. Pourtant la cloche existe.

La cloche se cassant, le chat en profite, même si ce sont ses maîtres qui la cassent et s’y coupent les mains.

.......

CITED FROM FRENCH WIKIPEDIA

Le Diable au corps est un roman français de Raymond Radiguet paru en mars 1923 aux éditions Bernard Grasset.

C'est le récit d'une histoire d'amour entre un jeune garçon et une femme tandis que le mari de cette dernière se bat sur le front durant la Première Guerre mondiale. Cette œuvre marque les esprits par le sens de la formule de son auteur, et surtout le mythe qui l'entoure, Raymond Radiguet, âgé alors de 19 ans, devait mourir quelques mois plus tard. L'ouvrage aborde des thèmes tels que l'adolescence, la passion, la trahison, le scandale, la parentalité, l'adultère, les doutes amoureux.

Autour de cette intrigue, l'auteur a voulu peindre le cycle de la vie dans ces bornes que sont l'enfance et la maturité. On peut cependant y voir également l'expression du risque que court la société en se livrant à toutes sortes de calculs à des fins proprement égoïstes. Voilà une adolescence meurtrie par l'ennui provoqué par quatre années de guerre[2]. On assiste à la désorganisation de la cellule familiale, à la déstabilisation des institutions et surtout à la négation de la valeur intrinsèque de l'homme, qui semble désormais être ravalé à l'état de machine dont le fonctionnement reste conditionné par des forces extérieures.

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CITED FROM ENGLISH WIKIPEDIA:

Le Diable au corps (The Devil in the Flesh) is an early 1923 novel by Parisian literary prodigy Raymond Radiguet. In the immediate aftermath of World War I, the story of a young married woman who has an affair with a sixteen-year-old boy while her husband is away fighting at the front provoked a scandal. Though Radiguet denied it, it was established later that the story was in large part autobiographical.^[1] Critics, who initially despised the intense publicity campaign for the book's release (something not normally associated with works of literary merit at the time), were finally won over by the quality of Radiguet's writing and his sober, objective style. 

Raymond was born in 1903 and died in 1923, when he was only 20 years old. It is amazing that he managed to write two successful novels at such a young age. 

However, perhaps his death also aided the book sales, the way a painter's death aids the art sales. I suppose that his premature departure might have had something to do with the high sales of this novel, but if this book is anything to go by, he really was an amazingly talented writer. 

 This novel tells a story about a sixteen year old that falls in love and has an affair with a married woman (who is nineteen herself so in a way she is still a girl too). While she is older than him and he is underaged, she is also a teenager so the age difference isn't that big. 

 The story is set in the time of the first world war and it was published shortly after it. It caused a scandal when it was published, which makes me think of this book by Sagan (which was also considered shocking at its time). However, I doubt that this novel would raise any eyebrows today. Well, maybe some eyebrows that would be raised on any mentioned of any adultery. Generally speaking, the reader public is no longer shocked by adultery. At the time when this novel was published, they were someone shocked it seems. 

  There are no explicit or graphic scenes in the novel  but it does talk about adultery quite openly.  Is it a bit reminiscent of Anna Karenina, a novel everyone associate with adultery? I would say yes, the female protagonist does make me think of Anna for more reasons than one. What about Madame Bovary? Yes, one can surely compare the two novels. While the female character is not the main protagonist here like Madame Bovary was in her novel, the female character is as important as Anna was in Anna Karenina. Anyhow, I do recommend this novel. 

Raymond je rođen 1903. a umro je 1923. godine. kada je imao samo 20 godina. Pretpostavljam da  je njegov prerani odlazak potpomogao prodaju romana, ali sudeći po ovoj knjizi, doista je bio nevjerovatno talentiran pisac. Ovaj roman priča priču šestaestogodišnjega mladića koji se zaljubljuje i ima vezu s udanom ženom (mada se i nju može nazvati djevojkom jer joj je tek devetnaest godina).  Priča je smještena u vrijeme prvoga svjetskoga rata, a  izdana je nedugo nakon rata, izazivajući skandal po objavljivanju (što me podsjeća na ovaj roman). No, mislim da danas ovaj roman i ne bi izazvao čuđenje. Nema nikakvih eksplicitnih ili napadnih scena u njemu. Istina, priča o preljubu na otvoren način. Podsjeća li na Anu Kareninu? Rekla bi da, ženski glavi lik me na više načina podsjeća na nju. U svakom slučaju, preporučila bi ovaj roman. 

“Facing death calmly is praiseworthy only if one faces it alone. Death together is no longer death, even for unbelievers. The source of sorrows lies not in leaving life, but in leaving that which gives it meaning. When love is our whole life, what difference is there between living together and dying together ?”

“Is the selfishness of children really so different from our own? During the summer in the country we curse the rain, while the farmers are crying out for it.”

“The flavour of that first kiss disappointed me, like fruit you taste for the first time. It's not in new things that we experience the greatest pleasure, but in habit.”

“To contemplate death calmly only makes sense if we do it alone. Death as a couple isn’t death, not even for unbelievers. What distresses us is not losing life, but losing what gives it meaning. When a loved one is our life, what difference is there between living together and dying together?”

“My love made everything more complex. Just as I misinterpreted the things that Marthe said, thinking I was giving them deeper meaning, I analysed her silences. Perhaps I’d always been mistaken; a certain impact, which can’t be described, tells us we’ve hit the nail on the head. My joys, my fears were more intense. Lying beside her, a desire to be alone in my own bed at home would unexpectedly seize hold of me, make me see how unbearable life together would be. Yet I couldn’t imagine living without Marthe. I was beginning to undergo the punishment for adultery...."

“Talora succede che questa somiglianza morale si estenda al piano fisico. Sguardo, andatura: più volte degli sconosciuti ci scambiarono per fratello e sorella. Ci sono infatti in noi germi di somiglianza che è poi l’amore a sviluppare. Un gesto, un’inflessione della voce tradiscono prima o poi anche gli amanti più accorti.
Se è vero che il cuore ha ragioni che la ragione non conosce, ciò accade perché quest’ultima è meno ragionevole del nostro cuore. Probabilmente siamo tutti dei Narcisi che amano e detestano la propria immagine, ma a cui qualunque altra è indifferente. È proprio questo istinto della somiglianza a guidarci nella vita, gridandoci “alt!” davanti a un paesaggio, a una donna o a una poesia. Possiamo ammirarne altri, ma non sentiamo la medesima scossa. L’istinto della somiglianza è l’unica linea di condotta che non sia artificiale. Tuttavia in società solo gli spiriti volgari sembreranno non peccare contro la morale, inseguendo sempre lo stesso tipo.”

What does this novel have to do with my painting of the day? Well, nothing really. I just wanted to share this recommendation. I might write a longer review soon. My illustration is actually inspired by an outfit that I wore many Summers ago. Is it a case of Summer Nostalgia? I don't think so. I'm happy that it is Autumn. I even don't mind the cold weather we're been having. Perhaps it will even help us get rid of all those nasty viruses that have been going around. That's me. Always an optimist. At least when it comes to short term plans.

Kakve veze roman ima s mojom ilustracijom dana? Pa zapravo nikakve. Samo sam htjela podijeliti ovu preporuku. Možda napišem i duži ogled uskoro. Moja ilustracija je zapravo nadahnuta odjevnom kombinacijom koju sam nosila prije dosta ljeta. Je li u pitanju nostalgija za ljetom? Mislim da nije. Drago mi je što je jesen. Čak mi ne smeta ni hladnije vrijeme. Možda nam pomogne da se riješimo svih tih ružnih virusa koji se vrte uokolo. To sam ja. Vječni optimist. Barem što se tiče kratkoročnih planova. 

A BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS AUTHOR

His second novel, Le bal du Comte d'Orgel (The Ball of Count Orgel), also dealing with adultery, was only published posthumously in 1924, and also proved controversial.

In addition to his two novels, Radiguet's works include a few poetry volumes and a play.^[2]

He associated himself with the Modernist set, befriending Pablo Picasso, Max Jacob, Jean Hugo, Juan Gris and especially Jean Cocteau, who became his mentor.^[4] 

Radiguet also had several well-documented relationships with women.

 An anecdote told by Ernest Hemingway has an enraged Cocteau charging Radiguet (known in the Parisian literary circles as "Monsieur Bébé" – Mister Baby) with decadence for his tryst with a female model: "Bébé est vicieuse. Il aime les femmes." ("Baby is depraved. He likes women." [Note the use of the feminine adjective.]) 

Radiguet, Hemingway implies, employed his sexuality to advance his career: being a writer "who knew how to make his career not only with his pen but with his pencil."^[5][6]

In 1945, Steadman and Blake write that admirers of his first novel "include the most discriminating of critics." 

Aldous Huxley is quoted as declaring that Radiguet had attained the literary control that others required a long career to reach. 

François Mauriac said that Le Diable au corps is "unretouched and seems shocking, but nothing so resembles cynicism as clairvoyance. No adolescent before Radiguet has delivered to us the secret of that age: we have all falsified it."^[7]

On 12 December 1923, Radiguet died at age 20 in Paris of typhoid fever, which he contracted after a trip he took with Cocteau. Cocteau, in an interview with The Paris Review, stated that Radiguet had told him three days before his death that, "In three days, I am going to be shot by the soldiers of God."^[8] In reaction to this death Francis Poulenc wrote, "For two days I was unable to do anything, I was so stunned".^[9]

In her 1932 memoir, Laughing Torso, British artist Nina Hamnett describes Radiguet's funeral: "The church was crowded with people. In the pew in front of us was the negro band from Le Boeuf sur le Toit. Picasso was there, Brâncuși and so many celebrated people that I cannot remember their names. Radiguet's death was a terrible shock to everyone. 

Coco Chanel, the celebrated dressmaker, arranged the funeral. It was most wonderfully done. Cocteau was too ill to come. [...] 

Bibliography

• Les Joues en feu (1920) – poetry, translated by Alan Stone as Cheeks on Fire: Collected Poems
• Devoirs de vacances (1921) – poetry (English translation Holiday Homework)
• Les Pelican (1921) – drama, translated by Michael Benedikt and George Wellworth as The Pelicans
• Le Diable au corps (1923) – novel, translated by Kay Boyle as The Devil in the Flesh
• Le Bal du comte d'Orgel (1924) – novel, translated by Malcolm Cowley as The Count's Ball
• Oeuvres completes (1952) – translated as Complete Works
• Regle du jeu (1957) – translated as Game Rule
• Vers Libres & Jeux Innocents, Le Livre a Venir (1988) – translated as About Free & Games Innocents, The Book is Coming^[1]