615. Belle du Seigneur

Belle du Seigneur
Albert Cohen
1968
Around 1110 pages

It's like what Roger Ebert said about movies: no good film is too long, no bad film is too short. At 1110 pages, you might think even an engaging story may wear out its welcome, but I was into this story from start to finish. I even wanted it to be a bit longer, but that might have been due to the unsatisfying ending.

The story focuses on the romance between Solal, a high ranking official, and Ariane, the wife of one of his employees. Ariane's husband, reminded me of Percy Weasley, and Cohen had a lot of fun at his expense. Actually, Cohen has fun at everybody's expense. I get the feeling he didn't like women very much, but that's a general vibe on this List.

Cohen's social observations were brilliant, if unflattering. He really dives into the dynamics of relationships. Solal is in love with the idea of Ariane, who can't possibly live up to the standard of Romantic Heroine. Ariane commits such cardinal sins as needing a tissue or having stomach noises. Solal also treats Ariane like a child, and disses Proust. So he's not perfect either.

He also makes bold stylistic choices. My favorite was when he started each paragraph with the same sentence, describing Ariane and Solal's miserable life together. He really debunks the idea of the romantic fantasy that we all carry around in our heads. Or I carry around in my head, after watching and reading way too many love stories.

The ending was a little melodramatic, but hey, that's romance for you.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted as an English version in 2013.

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