The Vatican Cellars

by André Gide

Book Overview

This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1908313692
• ISBN13: 9781908313690
• Release Date: August 2014
• Publisher: Gallic Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.5" x 1.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Gide is great

This is a wonderful book. It is an elegantly (though not pretentiously) written work whose story is driven not only by an interesting plot but also by very interesting and strange characters. This is one of my favorite books. A classic.

An Examination of an Exceedingly Relevant Question

I came to this after reading, and loving, The Immoralist, and I was not disappointed. In this novel, Gide seems to be continuing the examination of personal responsibility to others and oneself--there's very little logical reason to avoid that which society considers "bad," (murder, stealing) so long as there is a good chance of anonymity. This sort of question has continued relevance to a modern audience, and Gide offers some interesting outcomes. As for the translation, admittedly never having read the French, it seemed a bit wordy compared to the economy of version The Immoralist I'm familiar with. However as I have not compared the styles of the novels in their original tongue I can't say if this discrepancy lies there or with the different translators.

a very funny soap opera book

the writing was wonderful, it flowed beautifully between characters and the plots, you didn;t have to go back 20 pages to remember who was whom, (i think thats correct english) it was funny and the characters were believable,i thoroughly enjoyed the book....

Nobel Prize Winner Andre Gide at his best!

Anything but common place writing ... so original in thinking. I also loved the hop-scotching through all the European cities and meeting all the characters he ran into. Find it interesting that his books at the time became banned by the Vatican, but werent so many. Great read.

Much more here than meets the eye

Gide's _Lafacdio's Adventures_ is much more than a book about a young man who commits a senseless crime. It is also far more than just a couple of mascarading crooks who concoct a story of the kidnapping of a high church official as a means of bilking a naive gentleman of his money. Gide has written a marvelously twisty-even slightly twisted-and often hillariously funny crime novel. What places _Lafcadio's Adventures_ far above that genre is its emphasis on the meaning of friendship, loyalty, genuine caring and a real sense of responsibility for another human being that can and often does transform people. Gide takes an interesting look at a social outsider in a fresh and humane way. The result is a truer and far more complex and sympathetic picture of such an individual. Even if I could not quite make out his motivations there is still much to think about in Gide's brilliant study of saints and sinners.