The above is a quote from Colette. The other day we bought a stack of used paperbacks by same. (It is a sad and sorry day when the only way to get a stack of Colette is to buy used copies, but let that pass.) These paperbacks are not in perfect shape, but there are titles I haven't seen for years. Someone sold her whole collection of Colette, and some titles had simply been read and reread too often and threatened to fall apart in my hands as I took them from the box. These, with regret, I had to return. But even the survivors can't be sold for much.
I've decided that that is a good thing. Think of finding Colette for the first time, of meeting Sido or Claudine for the first time! At only a dollar or two per book, anyone can discover a great writer.
If you don't know, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (January 28, 1873 -- August 3, 1954) was the greatest modern French writer after Proust and one of the greatest writers of the 20th Century(though born in the 19th, with the morals of the 18th.) She is also witty, amusing, warm-hearted and, as the Brits would say, "dead sexy."
So look for these slim volumes, new or used, when next you're in the bookstore.
I'll close with another quote:
"I love my past, I love my present. I am not ashamed of what I have had, and I am not sad because I no longer have it."
Amen.
I've decided that that is a good thing. Think of finding Colette for the first time, of meeting Sido or Claudine for the first time! At only a dollar or two per book, anyone can discover a great writer.
If you don't know, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (January 28, 1873 -- August 3, 1954) was the greatest modern French writer after Proust and one of the greatest writers of the 20th Century(though born in the 19th, with the morals of the 18th.) She is also witty, amusing, warm-hearted and, as the Brits would say, "dead sexy."
So look for these slim volumes, new or used, when next you're in the bookstore.
I'll close with another quote:
"I love my past, I love my present. I am not ashamed of what I have had, and I am not sad because I no longer have it."
Amen.
Posts
Wow!!! Quelle histoire et "blog" magnifique! What you wrote inspires me. Thank you for a fascinating synopsis and commentary. Collette was my mother's hero and became mine (hero/heroine) when I could read. Now I need to go out and read her-- not in translation. I believe my gifted daughter did this while we lived in France --but now we are in exile, since 7 years, in California. I must check out Gallimard, forthwith!
ReplyDelete