Customer Reviews (5)

A razor-cutting literary analysis that gets to the heart of the matter.
The day-to-day struggles of human existence are quite difficult for many people, and for others, they are a marvelling pleasure, and why is that? What sets one group of humanity apart from the other whereby their only connection is the gossamer thread of humanism? It is faith in Jesus Christ and how that faith is utilized in the molding and or sculpting ofhumanism to hopeful, healthy perfection. Yet, too, what are the molding tools that are used in the vast dichotomy of that living? The universal tool is love and sacrifice, and that is a no-holds-bar truth which is ardently championed by the Holy Catholic Church. But there are many impediments and or blockages of our own making, because we either fail or simply choose not to see the universality of that global truth, for in the acknowledging of that, it means giving up an element of one's vital self to it, and that is where we are constantly at odds; it is frightening; it requires too much; it is overwhelming; it is too good to be true, et cetera, et cetera. Sometimes we learn that lesson early in life, and sometimes we learn in the very end. It does not matter at what age one accepts that truth, as long as one does, and in the novel Viber's Tangle, the character Louis accepts it before he meets his Father, a gift from the Mysterious, a humble yet grateful yes in return. There are so many stumbling blocks that prevent people from being genuine religious carriers of faith, and for Monsieur Louis, it is greed and the evolution of it from being one of a good, practical necessity into a self-serving tactical weapon by which to negatively dominate over the lives of others; he could not see beyond his own creation and perception-the viper's tangle that surrounded his heart and soul-skewering the reality of the more careful loving domination that had easy attention on him all the while but which he chose to coldly mock and ignore, and as such, his evolvement through career and family was nothing more but an appendage to a miserable life of his own free will and making. And Love, who is Christ Jesus, is not a word or simply an experience. He is a fact. And Louis's conversion to that truth where he sees that the Word and the Man are not separated but are in actuality one-in-the-same, is a moving reading experience. In the excellent introduction by Robert Coles, he makes mention that the author wanted the reader to feel pity and be moved by the character's predicament, which is not so easy, because his deplorableness is easier to latch on to. Francois Mauriac makes it very easy for his literary creation to be despised. But upon reading the concise language and deft plotting, there is an evolution that takes place from dislike, to pity, to hope, to change, to cheering, to Love. And in the end, is that not all to whom we desire to return to?

memorable, if rare, work
I read Viper's Tangle (I believe my translation was "Nest of Vipers") in high school and became fascinated with Francois Mauriac. I went on to read some of his other works, including "The Desert ofLove." This work is psychological and personal in nature. If you enjoystories which probe characters' minds, this is an excellent choice. Aninvalid man lies in bed, dying, remembering his life and coming to termswith it, and himself. An unknown classic. Also great if you like to collectobscure literature!

A Lost Masterpiece
Few Americans realize that Mauriac was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, or that in his time he was considered to be one of France's greatest men of letters."Catholic" writers have not been invogue for some time, and in many of Mauriac's other works, the charactersstruggle with moral dilemmas that would be considered quaint andold-fashioned by many modern readers.The Viper's Tangle, however, revealsa dying patriarch's attempt to come to terms with alienation from hisfamily and his consuming personal greed, issues that are more universal inscope.The moribund Louis leaves as an inheritance for his forbears notthe vast fortunes they expect, but his "meditations" upon hislife and the lives of his family.As death and the end of the accountapproach, Louis undergoes a moral and spiritual transformation, deftly andsubtley handled by Mauriac.The crystalline writing survives translationwell, and the reader is rewarded with a detailed picture of bourgeois lifein 19th century France as well as a stunning psychological portrayal of afascinating individual.

Incredible!
A brilliant and sucessful lawyer lays dying.He ruminates over his discovery twenty years earlier that his wife had been passionately in love with another man and had married him for more practical reasons.Duringthese twenty years, he has become more and more detached from and bittertoward his family and he spends his convalescence listening intently to thewhispers of his family reaching him from downstairs.They discuss hiswealth and his difficult ways.

His only consolation is the contemplationof his final triumph - when, after his death, his family rushes to the safeand instead of the stocks and bonds they are looking for, they find only aletter.The brilliant letter that makes up this incredible book.

A quite realistic portrait of a bitter man`s life
This book depicts the evil of a sad and lonely childhood and the omniscient existence of a strong mother, money, hatred and negligence.

We follow the lifeline of the main protagonist Louis with his wife Isa and thechildren. He is rich, they are after his money... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

who's the best 20th Century novelist no one reads anymore?
Setting aside for a moment Mauriac's religious beliefs (and it is fully possible to enjoy his work without sharing his Catholicism) Francois Mauriac was an amazingly skillful writer.His short novels are stylistically conservative-- a straightforward realism rules--and, as far as I know, always comparatively short.But within those formal limits, his ability to offer believable and thoughtful moral dramas without ever lapsing into tendentiousness is remarkable.They have their own sort of gravity, a seriousness that reminds me, oddly enough, of George Eliot, though one of Eliot's works is about as long as 8 or 9 of Mauriac's.Technically what I most admire is Mauriac's ability to represent the passing of time. Even "represent" is too distant a word really; it's as if he captures the sensation of passing time. This edition is a great bargain.It offers a large selection of the complete texts of several important works at a reasonable price. If people 100 years from now are still reading novels they're going to wonder what sort of moronswe were to allow such accomplished works to fall into such relative obscurity.

Great Introduction to 1952 Nobel Prize-winner
Mauriac's writings are beautiful, Christian, and highly charged emotionally, without succumbing to sentimentalism. The French countryside,the bougoise, are both transformed by Mauriac into celestial images ofpiercing love. This work contains four of his best novels, including theabsolutely brilliant "Woman of the Pharisees" and tragically dark"Genetrix." Francois Mauriac is one of the greatest Christianauthors of the 20th or any century, and The Mauriac Reader a superbintroduction to his craft. In short, if you love literature, get this one. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

ambivalance unveiled
firm founded catholic that he was, mauriac was horrified that many readers find therese a sympathetic character; mauriac insisted he intended her to be "a monster," the embodiment of evil. this is one of those books (it has an odd affinity w/madame bovary, another heroine of confused intentions and behaviors)that readers will turn to again and again out of a difficult-to-satisfy desire to decode therese and/or themselves.therese's crimes are arguably commited by the third hand, the one we all generally keep behind our backs. this is a book that opens ones eyes to oneself: assuming one has periods of dispising ones spouse and/or child and/or friends and relatives; assuming that the people we are when things are going well and happily are frequently not the people we become when we are thwarted, disappointed, seemingly incapable of flight OR fight.

I DON'T READ FRENCH! THE BOOK IS WRITTEN IN FRENCH!
THERE WAS NOT ONE WORD ABOUT THE BOOK BEING IN FRENCH! I FEEL LIKE I'VE BEEN RIPPED OFF!

wonderful
This is the best French literary work ever! You must read it!

Psychological portrait of a wife, friend, and criminal.
Mauriac's psychological portrait of Therese Desqueyroux beautifully illustrates the infinite complexity of the human character.Therese goes through so many phases in this book, so many explanations of possiblemotivation for her strange crime, some of them deeply touching andinnocent, some abhorable.It is impossible to choose one opinion ofTherese and stick to it throughout the novel.At times she deserves onlyhatred, at times pity and love.Her ever-changing state of mind makes thereader question whether or not it is ever possible for a person toobjectively look back on their lives.Depending on her state of mind,Therese creates very different interpretations of her past. Mauriacengages the reader in trying to figure out what has brough Therese to thelevel of a criminal.Is it the fact that she grea up without a mother? That her husband does not love her?That she was born into the wrongatmosphere?That some people are simply born evil?And what makes thisbook so fascinating is that no single answer can satisfy Therese.Mauriactakes the reader through Therese's unhappy life, as well as her ownanalysis of why she has become a woman who loves to suffer and to watchothers suffer, as she tries to convince herself that happiness does notexist. ... Read more

Product Description
First American Printing Hearts Corp ppbd Rembrandt's Head of Christ painting cover Nobel Prize for Literature ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Interesting but not uplifting
Mauriac is a famous writer, after all he won the Nobel Prize in Literature. And yet, this book was rather a disappointment. Perhaps the translation missed some of the poetic literary flow that is a feature of the French original. Other than for the writing style, the plot seemed a bit "thin" to me, and also less than believable.

The part that was perhaps the most difficult to swallow was in the latter half of the book, when Therese is portrayed as so aged, as if she were 70 years old...and yet, she is only 45!Must be because the times have changed, but 45 is definitely not that old today, so I have a hard time seeing how this woman could have been so transformed into an elderly "granny" of 45...and I also have a hard time seeing how a boy of 20 would be instantly infatuated with such a woman.

Moreover, the inner turmoil of Therese is a bit overblown, rather typical"nineteenth century novel"...it gets a bit boring to mull over her one act over and over. The only really good point I take out of this book is that, as Therese remarks, crimes are comitted every day by people - they are just not the kind of crimes that are punishable by law, as her own was.

One of the great tragic novels
Mauriac, who won the 1952 Nobel Prize for literature, later said of Therese that what she needed was a priest-confessor who truly representedChrist. Since he (at the time of writing the novel) knew of no such person,he could only write of a woman who's passion cried out in futility forfulfillment. The novel takes place in three (maybe four?) vignettes, withTherese first being accused of poisoning her husband, then moving to Parisand becoming a lover of many men, and finally her one truest act of lovetoward a young man who is drawn to both her and to God. The novel mayoffend Christians (since there's no cute or easy ending), offendprotestants (since Mauriac sees Christanity and Catholicism as synonyms),and offend non-believers (Mauriac, for all his literary brilliance, is aJesus freak at heart). I recommend Therese (and Mauriac's other works,incl. the non-listed on Amazon "River of Fire,") most highly.

A BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN BOOK
THIS IS THE STORY OF A WOMAN WHO ATTEMPTS TO POISON HER HUSBAND AND IS ACQUITTED OF THE CRIME, AS THE ATTEMPT FAILS. HER HUSBAND'S TESTIMONY AIDS IN HER ACQUITTAL. THE BOOK DEALS WITH THERESE'S PUNISHMENT BY HER HUSBANDAND DAUGHTER AND HER SUFFERING THROUGHOUT THE REST OF HER LIFE AS SHEATTEMPTS TO LIVE WITH THE VIVID MEMORY OF HER CRIME. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Study of Love
Mauriac demonstrates his masterful powers of observing humanity at its best and its worst.In this story he explores the dynamics of human love within the horizon of Christian faith.He creates characters which embody the ethic of Christian love both in its best form and at its worst incarnations.And in so doing, he gives us a glimpse into the glories and the agonies in risking to love in an authentic way.A great read.And a fine examine for any and all who are serious about Love.

Who is the Pharisee?
Mauriac, winner of the 1952 Nobel Prize for Literature, is one of the great underrated writers of the 20th century. His highly emotional approachto writing has been criticized (unjustly, I beleive) as sentimentalist. Butthe suffering of his characters, their humanity and loveability even in themidst of their personal failings and darknesses, make Mauriac's worldincredibly compelling. "Woman of the Pharisees" is, on itssurface, the story of a cold and cruel woman viewed through the eyes of herown son, a child. In the name of Christian love, she destroys all shetouches, whether a couple in love or a priest who is truly Christ-like. Yetin the end one begins to realize that the pharisee may not be her, butrather... (read and see). An agonizing, beautiful book, as are nearly allof his novels (with the exception of the horrific but still great"Genetrix"). I cannot recommend this work highly enough. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

great CLASSIC book -- disregard first reviewer
MILDLY Catholic? How about TOTALLY FREAKING CATHOLIC, because -- guess what -- MAURIAC WAS A TOTALLY DEVOUT FREAKING CATHOLIC. "Slant"? What is this, subterfuge? "Humanize"? JESUS WAS TRULY MAN (AND truly GOD).That's why it's a MYSTERY.What, are we Coptic Monophysite Jansenists, here? Grow up, Gethsemaneboy.Jesus WAS a man (SON OF GOD, SON OF MAN?).Comprehende, compadre? You're about to make me turn into a Nestorian if you keep it up!

Devout, perceptive, moving and helpful!
I picked up a somewhat battered old paperback copy of this in a used book store years ago, and it's been on my shelf ever since.Lately, I've been on a quest to know Jesus better, and to love Him more -- so I thought this would be helpful.Indeed it was.So insightful and beautifully written, so rich and knowing, that I'll have to sit down and read the whole thing over again.Mauriac simply recounts the stories of Christ from the four NT gospels, without adding any significant episodes; he merely wants to bring more depth to what's there, and sometimes attempts to explain why this or that happened or got said.Many of his insights are quite profound, esp. when he ties together passages or makes connections that seem like they should have been obvious.There are many phrases and passages here that I'll commit to memory, like these:"'Lord, I thank Thee that I am like the publican.' Thus prays the pharisee of today!"and his description of sanctification as a restoration of childhood purity, "virgin ground won step by step against a tide of lust and untiring desire."Mauriac, a French novelist and winner of the Nobel Prize, brings a mild Catholic slant to some passages, and occasionally oversteps his bounds in attempting to humanize Christ.But these few pitfalls are easily overlooked in what certainly qualifies as a modern-day devotional masterpiece.How on earth did it go out of print? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Spiritual and Carnal Love
This early work by Francois Mauriac, the noted 20th-century French Catholic writer, foreshadows his later writings that deal with the conflict of spirit and flesh. The novel's "young man in chains" is a French student caught in a dilemma between his idealism, his longing for love, and his inability to break out of his self-imposed isolation and risk real involvement with other people. Written in the 1910s, this work to some extent reflects the young Mauriac who was attracted to Le Sillon, a vibrant social democratic Catholic youth movement that was eventually condemned by the Vatican for its efforts to root French Catholicism in the libertarian soil of the French Revolution. The character of the religious youth leader in the novel is modeled on Marc Sangnier, the leader of Sillon whose charismatic personality drew many young Catholics to his cause. Mauriac admired Sillon's idealism but experienced disillusionment with the movement's growing "cult of personality" around Sangnier. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Pretty good
I thought this book was very good.It's the story of a father and son who shared a passion for a beautiful, amoral woman.Although not filled with a lot of action or dialogue, Mauriac performs a surgical deconstruction ofthe psyche of Raymond, Paul, and Maria Cross, the three main characters,that is fabulous and frightfully revealing.This novel is generallyregarded as the best book of the Nobel Prize winning Mauriac. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Modern Language Review, published by Modern Humanities Research Association on April 1, 2001. The length of the article is 439 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Francois Mauriac: Critique 1961-1974.(Review)(Brief Article)
Author: John Flower
Publication: The Modern Language Review (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 2001
Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association
Volume: 96Issue: 2Page: 520(2)

Article Type: Book Review, Brief Article

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