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Chéri suivi de La fin de Chéri (1920)

par Colette

Autres auteurs: Voir la section autres auteur(e)s.

Séries: Cheri (omnibus)

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1,0021420,551 (3.92)34
"Cheri" is one of the most honest, sensual, and poignant breakup stories ever written. First published in 1920, it was instantly greeted by Marcel Proust and Andre Gide as a masterpiece and today remains Colette's most admired work. Lea de Lonval is an aging courtesan, a once famous beauty facing the end of her sexual career. She is also facing the end of her most intense love affair, with Fred Peloux--known as Cheri--a playboy half her age. But neither lover under-stands how deeply they are attached, or how much life they will give up by parting ways. A classic portrait of French manners before World War I, "Cheri "also captures a lasting truth about the connections between sex, love, and feelings of mortality. This new edition includes "The Last of Cheri," an epilogue in which Colette depicts Paris reeling in the aftermath of war, at the start of the Roaring Twenties.… (plus d'informations)
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Affichage de 1-5 de 13 (suivant | tout afficher)
No shame in Decadence.

The next book on my shelf was Cheri and the last of Cheri which was translated from the French by Roger Senhouse in 1951. The two novelettes were originally published in 1920 and 1926 respectively by Colette. It is a simple story of a decadent lifestyle set either side of the first world war: a war that hardly intrudes on the lives of Cheri (real name Fred) and his lover Léa.

Cheri is16 years old when he is seduced by his mother's best friend Léa who is an ex courtesan; 43 years old and now wealthy in her own write. Cheri also is very rich and spends his days in luxurious living spending his money on motorcars, but keeping careful note of the money that he spends on his servants. We pick up the story six years later when Cheri's mother has found him a marriage partner. Edmée is a quiet sixteen year old girl from a wealthy family and Cheri is drifting towards his upcoming marriage. The story starts with a truculent Cheri just gotten out of Léa's bed and wanting to play with her pearls. They both realise that their relationship is coming to an end. Léa and Cheri are both obsessive about how they look, Cheri is described as a beautiful handsome youth and Léa is fighting a battle with her age. The weather in Paris is hot and their languorous lifestyle is brilliantly captured by Colette, the couple hardly ever seem to leave Léa's boudoir: their mornings are spent arguing, then kissing and making up. There are flashbacks of their six years together: a stay in Normandy when Léa tries to interest Cheri in boxing under the tutelage of Patron, and Cheri develops a body to go with his good looks. Cheri and Edmée are married, but after three months Cheri is still thinking about Léa and leaves home.

The last of Cheri picks up his story when he is 30 years old. He has fought in the war and is now back with Edmée, who has become a business woman and manager of a hospital. Cheri is still drifting through life, still thinking about Léa who has gone abroad, but is rumoured to be coming back to Paris. He is drifting inevitably to his own destruction, losing his good looks and not taking care of his health.

Colette captures the decadent lifestyle of a small circle of rich people living in luxury not far from the Bois de Boulogne. They seem unaffected by world events although the women are keenly interested in making money. Cheri survives in this hot-house lifestyle through his good looks and wealth, but his relationship with Léa has meant that while he has become skilled as a lover he has hardly grown up as a man. The champagne flows and the luxurious breakfasts and lunches keep on coming. Cheri says of his bride to be Edmée

Let her kiss the sacred ground that I tread on and thank her lucky stars for the privilege.

Léa thinks about old age:

She had a foretaste of the sinful pleasures of the old - little else than a concealed aggressiveness, daydreams of murder and the keen recurrent hope for catastrophes that will spare only one living creature and one corner of the globe.

The characters are not particularly nasty, but they are not very nice either and Colette does a good job in providing an interesting, well written, atmospheric story that holds the interest. Cheri is little more than a very rich and very spoilt brat, but we continue to follow his progress through a life that appears to be sliding away. The Last of Cheri is best read while suffering from eating or drinking too much, but don't leave it till the morning after. 4 stars. ( )
  baswood | Dec 2, 2023 |
I don’t discount the themes of Chéri and it’s sequel, the End of Chéri. They’re present and interesting: the role of women in post-war France as it interplays with the waywardness of young men sent to war during their formative years only to return to an interwar society that seems to not need them anymore.

Indeed, Chéri’s story is something worth probing on. He’s the plaything of a much older woman in a way that stunts his maturity and leaves him vapid and self obsessed. The constant talk of his looks by women much his senior fuels his Dorian Gray-esque obsession with beauty.

When he returns from war, it seems everyone has moved on from the vapid obsession with beauty to the vapid obsession with money and status. His former lover has grown old and out of shape and worst of all to Chéri she’s happy and unbothered by her transformation.

All of that is interesting, but it doesn’t really come together until the final fourth of the book(s). Before then it’s a slog through Parisian bourgeois predilections. It may be the translation but the writing was overly clunky. Colette is moving far too quickly through dialogue and internal monologues in a way that doesn’t lend itself to story or themes. It didn’t leave me with a feeling of free flowing consciousness moving between thoughts and words, instead I was left lost and struggling to connect with what was written on the page. ( )
  Alexander_McEvoy | Aug 23, 2023 |
[This review is only for Chéri.]

Plot:
Léa has lived a full life as the lover of various rich men. Now that she has grown older herself, she has instead taken a young lover herself, Chéri. Chéri is the son of her friend Charlotte and almost 25 years younger than her. He is a petulant, aimless but beautiful man and Léa never expected to be with him for as long as they have. When he tells her that he will get married soon, Léa is surprised at how hard the news hits her. And Chéri, too, finds that life without Léa isn't quite what he expected.

Chéri is a beautiful written, insightful character study that I very much enjoyed to read. I am definitely looking forward to reading its sequel.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2021/11/05/cheri-colette/ ( )
  kalafudra | Nov 12, 2021 |
This was probably one of the most brilliant books I have ever read. Age; it is the most hauntingly beautiful theme within this novel. From the pearl necklace to the dress--the shade of white, the absence of color symbolizes the idea of youth. This novel certainly wells up emotion as you witness this tragic romance through a jeweled lens. ( )
  connorshirs | Aug 11, 2021 |
I wasn't disappointed by this novel. After reading a biography of [ai:Colette|51575|Colette|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1206665516p2/51575.jpg], I wanted to read her novels. This one, containing two short novels, is considered one of her best. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys good literature. ( )
  ZelmerWilson | Oct 31, 2019 |
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» Ajouter d'autres auteur(e)s (31 possibles)

Nom de l'auteurRôleType d'auteurŒuvre ?Statut
Coletteauteur principaltoutes les éditionscalculé
Arborio Mella, GiuliaTraducteurauteur secondairequelques éditionsconfirmé
Bassan Levi, AnnaTraducteurauteur secondairequelques éditionsconfirmé
Eprile, PaulTraducteurauteur secondairequelques éditionsconfirmé
Gandara, Antonio de laArtiste de la couvertureauteur secondairequelques éditionsconfirmé
Schultz, DavidArtiste de la couvertureauteur secondairequelques éditionsconfirmé
Senhouse, RogerTraducteurauteur secondairequelques éditionsconfirmé
Senhouse, Roger H.P.Traducteurauteur secondairequelques éditionsconfirmé
Thurman, JudithIntroductionauteur secondairequelques éditionsconfirmé
Thurnan, JudithIntroductionauteur secondairequelques éditionsconfirmé

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"Give it to me, Lea, give me your pearl necklace!
Cheri closed the iron gate of the little garden behind him and sniffed the night air: "Ah! it's nice out here!"
Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette may be the most misunderstood of great writers. (Introduction)
"Lea! Let me have your pearl necklace! Can you hear me, Lea? Give me your string of pearls!" (Cheri)
Cheri shut the wrought iron gate of the front garden behind him and sniffed the night air. (The End of Cheri)
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This edition contains both Cheri and its sequel, The Last of Cheri (not to be confused with Cheri). Do not add/combine with editions that exclude either one.
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"Cheri" is one of the most honest, sensual, and poignant breakup stories ever written. First published in 1920, it was instantly greeted by Marcel Proust and Andre Gide as a masterpiece and today remains Colette's most admired work. Lea de Lonval is an aging courtesan, a once famous beauty facing the end of her sexual career. She is also facing the end of her most intense love affair, with Fred Peloux--known as Cheri--a playboy half her age. But neither lover under-stands how deeply they are attached, or how much life they will give up by parting ways. A classic portrait of French manners before World War I, "Cheri "also captures a lasting truth about the connections between sex, love, and feelings of mortality. This new edition includes "The Last of Cheri," an epilogue in which Colette depicts Paris reeling in the aftermath of war, at the start of the Roaring Twenties.

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