tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post10071401137842231..comments2024-03-27T16:48:21.039-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: Ah, a priest could have enjoyed himself then - beginning The Crime of Father AmaroAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-73709058695497066182011-11-10T14:29:04.355-06:002011-11-10T14:29:04.355-06:00I am a little too apt to insist on comparing E. de...I am a little too apt to insist on comparing E. de Q. to one French counterpart or another, but I think it is really the author's fault, not mine. What amazes me about <i>The Red and the Black</i> - a book I do not understand well! - is how such an unpromising specimen as Julien acquires such depths. Amaro is hopelessly shallow by comparison, but more dangerous.<br /><br />I, too, am curious about how different the earlier version of the novel really is. If it omits Father Ferrão, it is quite different.<br /><br />ombhurbhuva, you inspired me, and that is just what I wrote about today, the transcendence of the parochial "issue" of the novel. And I want to deal with that final page tomorrow, I think. Maybe something on both "endings," Amaro's and Amélia's.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-55371656775582278262011-11-10T10:21:23.150-06:002011-11-10T10:21:23.150-06:00Though I characterised the novel as anti-clerical ...Though I characterised the novel as anti-clerical also, I think that he transcended the pursuit of an agenda . The conversation at the end between the Canon and Amaro near the statue of Camoes is an ironic juxtaposition. The day of his death is the national day of Portugal (10th.June).ombhurbhuvahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07789523088428270027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-72461445167069058082011-11-10T09:50:33.307-06:002011-11-10T09:50:33.307-06:00"Humanist Zola, or Flaubert with a heart.&quo..."Humanist Zola, or Flaubert with a heart." So true (at least from what little I've read of Flaubert) and yet one of the things that distinguishes Eça for me is the "comedic" sensibility attached to his satire. So over the top in some ways for his day and age. Would be interested in seeing just how drastically he rewrote the early versions of the book given Margaret Jull Costa's claim that the 1880 novel was an entirely different work from its 1875 and 1876 "predecessors in name only" (I paraphrase).Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-82083917058712057112011-11-10T03:23:25.275-06:002011-11-10T03:23:25.275-06:00What an inspired comparison, to think of Amaro in ...What an inspired comparison, to think of Amaro in terms of Julien Sorel. What is prickly pride and integrity in Sorel becomes vainglorious narcissism in Amaro, which is why, I suppose, in the end, Sorel only hurts himself whereas Amaro only damages others. I also like what you say about Amaro being a potential monster, whose tragedy is to be realised as such. That's very true.litlovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10952927245186474480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-76854004273554777682011-11-09T22:18:01.162-06:002011-11-09T22:18:01.162-06:00It is a success. As Borges said, "[E]verythin...It is a success. As Borges said, "[E]verything he wrote was enjoyable," which might even be correct.<br /><br />This novel is more serious in that a couple of real tragedies take place, physical and moral, and the tone is more corrosively comic than the looser and lighter <i>House of Ramires</i>.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-10570981866365204492011-11-09T16:58:49.077-06:002011-11-09T16:58:49.077-06:00I decided just a few hours ago that this would be ...I decided just a few hours ago that this would be my next (and therefore second) EdQ novel. Happy I am to hear that it's a success. It looks a bit more serious than <i>Illustrious House of Ramires</i>, which is fine if that's the case and fine if it's not.scott g.f.baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726743149139510832noreply@blogger.com