La Chamade by Françoise Sagan

La Chamade Reviews

• 
  Natalie

  Αυτό το βιβλίο ήταν μια έκπληξη γιατί ομολογώ το ξεκίνησα κάπως επιφυλακτικά. Τελειώνοντας το όμως, έχω να πω ότι είναι από εκείνα τα βιβλία που με κάνουν να θυμάμαι γιατί αγαπώ το διάβασμα!
  Αυτό το βιβλίο μελετά τον έρωτα. Δε διηγείται, όμως, απλά μια ρομαντική ιστορία, αλλά αναλύει με ένα τρόπο βαθιά "εσωτερικό" τα συναισθήματα και τις αντιδράσεις των άμεσα εμπλεκόμενων σε διάφορες εκφάνσεις μιας ερωτικής σχέσης. Ίσως το πιο εντυπωσιακό σημείο του βιβλίου και ταυτοχρόνως το πιο δύσκολο για τη συγγραφέα είναι ότι δε δίνει βαρύτητα μόνο στα συναισθήματα ενός μέλους της σχέσης αλλά αναπτύσσει το ψυχογράφημα όλων των μελών της, χωρίς διακρίσεις ανάμεσα στα δύο φύλα, με αποτέλεσμα ο αναγνώστης να έχει πλήρη επίγνωση των συναισθημάτων όλων των εμπλεκόμενων μερών, καθ' όλη τη διάρκεια ανάγνωσης του βιβλίου.
• 
  Daniela

  Lucile is a young woman in her late twenties, living with Charles, a middle age man. He is hopelessly in love with her, but disguises it behind a veil of insouciance and paternal concern, so as not to spook her away. She likes him very much, but she is not in love with him. This subtle, courteous relationship showcases Sagan’s talents. It is never creepy or cheapened by opportunism. Lucile could easily be a gold-digger, but even the suggestion seems uncouth and absurd. Charles could be a disturbing codger whose money guarantees him a sense of ownership over Lucile. He is no such thing, however; he is gentle, worldly, and non-judgmental. He is also handsome, which proves that he is with Lucile because he wants to, not because he has no other alternative.
  
  It all comes to a head when Lucile falls in love with the overbearing Antoine, who pressures her to leave Charles. She reluctantly complies. Life with Charles is easy, carefree. He demands almost nothing from her, and is content to let her live the life of a Parisian Flâneur, with the occasional trip to New York or Saint-Tropez. Antoine, a young intellectual, wants her to wake up early, to work, to have children. It is, Lucile soon understands, unendurable.
  
  The invisible lines that tug these characters towards one another and link them together are this novel's greatest strength. The end is very moving. Sagan excels at creating feelings out of the mundane. Simple acts or words are heavy with meaning. If this unbearable lightness of feeling appeals to you, then La Chamade is a book you should read.
• 
  Oana David

  S-a tradus „La Chamade” („Capitularea”, la Polirom) și m-am văzut nevoită s-o recitesc. Pentru mine nu există guilty pleasure literar mai delicios ca Françoise Sagan. Am citit (și-am recitit) tot ce-a scris.
  
  Nimeni nu creionează relațiile de iubire așa cum o face ea, totul este realist, omenesc, neforțat, Paule, Dominique, Josephine, Lucile sunt niște eroine atât de credibile în conflictele lor interioare, iar nimeni – dar absolut nimeni – nu simte Parisul anilor ’50-’60, cu seratele lui elegante și aventurile amoroase, tandru, senzual, scandalos și ușor decadent, așa cum o face Sagan.
  
  Multă lume spune despre cărțile ei c-ar fi plictisitoare și sentimentale, prea multe gânduri, prea multe plimbări pe străzi, prea multe cocktail-uri și galerii de artă, dar eu zic să le citiți. O veți avea mereu pe Ingrid Bergman în minte.
• 
  Sarra

  Paris by night or day actually depends on which stage of the story you are at but the author introduces the typical Parisian lifestyle of the 60’s with its flamboyant dinners exotic cocktails and love affairs.
  
  Each character represents a certain category of the french society ; the aristocrats, the artists, the proletariat, The underprivileged etc ...
  
  Through Lucile’s story, Sagan unleashes her inner demons on Paris’ finest acting scandalous and getting intwined in infidelity, snubbing the working class and refusing to adhere to their routine along with being an advocate of the farniente and getting by with reading books, strolling the streets of the city of lights and endless afternoon drinks at exclusive bars.
• 
  iva°

  na stranu krajnje iritantni likovi: žrtve dokonog i mondenog pariškog života sredinom prošlog stoljeća, bezličnost, krajnja dosada, pomodnost i potpuno odsustvo životnog smisla; françoise sagan podlegla je zamci banalnosti i pomanjkanja stila (da je još samo jednom upotrijebila izraz "oči boje lješnjaka", mislim da bih se ispovraćala) pokušavajući prikazati razvoj jedne "ljubavne veze", od njenog početka slučajnim pogledom na (dosadnoj, dokonoj) večeri, preko kratkotrajnog zajedničkog života (ispunjenog dosadom i dokonošću), do njenog raspada. "ljubavna veza", pod navodnicima: nejasno je što je to dvoje privuklo jedno drugome jer osim "ljubovanja" oni malošto rade, a osjećaji koje izmjenjuju neutemeljeni su i krnji. afera, to da.
  tu i tamo pokoja poetičnija rečenica koju valja pročitati dva puta, ali ostalo je sasvim prosječno ispričana priča o egoizmu i besmislu.
• 
  Vanessa Wu

  I felt supremely intellectual and sensitive while I was reading this book, all the more so because I read most of it while standing the queue for the David Hockney exhibition at the Royal Academy in London. Not that David Hockney is an intellectual. But the standard of badinage in the queues at the Royal Academy is generally pretty high.
  
  I should also point out that the edition I was reading was not chosen lightly. I settled on the translation by Robert Westhoff only after a protracted internal struggle.
  
  Nevertheless, although I liked this book and couldn't fault individual sentences, it didn't hold my attention as much as I'd hoped.
  
  The dialogue is a bit precious. There is some wan and winsome philosophizing. The characters drift along in a haze of amorality, without too much to do. But there are some very sensual descriptions, which I adored. Chapter 7 is very good, for example. It's only a page and a half but it has sentences like this:
  
  

  I'll never be able to meet you without blushing," said Lucile, "or see you leave without feeling pain, or speak to you in public without turning my eyes away."

  
  
  and this:
  
  

  As she turned, he closed his fingers and held the lower part of her face, almost fiercely for a second, her mouth pressed to his palm. Gazing at each other, they wordlessly promised to have thousands of such moments together, no matter what happened."

  
  
  Even in English this is very French: classic, simple, understated and intense.
  
  The English have more words but, as one of the characters states in the (very short) closing chapter, "where poetry is concerned, France reigns supreme."
  
  Françoise Sagan is perhaps not the greatest French writer but she does justice to the tradition of beautiful, clear, poignant love stories into which she was born.
• 
  Jane E. Ryan

  High-society Paris in the 1960s. Sagan’s talent is her ability to make vacuous and self-absorbed characters colorful and interesting.
• 
  Arax Miltiadous

  3,5 και χαλάλι του. Παρότι οι ερωτικές ιστορίες δεν είναι και πολύ του στυλ μου, η δεξιοτεχνία της Σαγκαν με συνεπήρε.
  Αυτό. Λιτό και απέριττο!
• 
  Lova Berggren

  Ah vilken ljuvlig sommarbok!! Alla som någongång varit lyckliga av att bada i havet eller dricka vin eller se våren komma eller äta grillad fisk i solen eller röka en cigg och läsa en bok bör läsa omgående
• 
  Einu

  “Four people, jaggedly emerging from the superficial gloss of the Paris social set” reads the back cover, and after the first third of this novella I thought that was all it would be, except that I felt they barely 'emerged' at all, so superficial seemed their thoughts and interactions. But now that I’ve finished it, I’m surprised to find myself still thinking about these people and their lives. It left me wondering to what extent it’s possible and desirable to live an untethered life, free of real obligations, possessions, ties; not to encumber and to be unencumbered. Lucile has managed, for the most part, to create such a life for herself but is forced to learn that those qualities do not marry well with the greediness of passion.
• 
  Maria

  This was impeccable! The writing was one of the most beautiful I've ever read. Emotions are so beautifully written, like highlighting material!
• 
  Helynne

  I think this is Sagan’s most eloquent novel so far in her career regarding relationships, different personalities, what kinds of passionate love or non–passionate love are destined for short-term or long-term success. The title translates loosely as “the heartbeat” but is really more complex than that. The word, as described at the story’s end, refers to a drum roll announcing a military defeat. Sagan leaves us readers to imagine precisely what she means about this definition in the love triangle she creates. It is tempting to describe 30-year-old Lucile as shallow and blatantly self-serving. She has not done much with her life, and at the beginning has been content to let Charles, a kind, adoring man some 20 years her senior, be her sugar daddy, spoiling her with a sports car, dresses, jewelry, and vacations, and leaving her with as much liberty as she desires. She has respect for Charles, but no passion. “Il y avait deux ans qu’il vivait ensemble, si l’on pouvait appeler vivre ensemble le fait d’habiter le même appartement, de voir les mêmes gens, et de partager parfois le même lit” (15). Sagan describes Lucile as half-woman, half-child, someone who has no capacity for acting responsibly and productively who has a “horror of possession,” who cannot exist without a certain amount of freedom. In short, she is incapable of any kind of traditional give-and-take relationship that puts normal demands on her. “Je n’ai jamais compris à rien. La vie m’a paru logique jusqu’à ce que j’aie quitté mes parents. Je voulais faire une license à Paris. Je rêvais. Depuis, je cherche des parents partout, chez mes amants, chez mes amis, je supporte de n’avoir rien à moi, ni le moindre projet, ni le moindre souci. Je suis bien dans la vie, c’est affreux, je ne sais pas pourquoi, quelque chose en moi s’accorde avec la vie dès que je m’éveille” (30-31). Early in the story, Lucile meets Antoine who works at a publishing company on a limited income. Antoine and Lucile fall passionately in love, and she leaves a sorrowful Charles for him. But can Antoine live very long with someone who cannot rise to the challenge of being a traditional wife/partner, some who is capable of doing basically nothing? “Le soleil, les plages, l’oisiveté, la liberté . . . c’est notre dû, Antoine, nous n’y pouvons plus rien" (144). The beginning of the end for Lucile and Antoine comes when he finds her a simple job at his company. Not only is she incapable of sticking to the job, but she also is insulted by the lifestyle—riding the métro, waiting for the bus in the rain, rubbing elbows with the workforce and riffraff of Paris, and worst of all, living on a strict budget. But rather than earn a little money, Lucile abandons her easy office position after reading a passage by William Faulkner (translated into French) that seems to champion the merits of idleness. (I know. I had never heard of it either). The final blow to Lucile and Antoine’s relationship, which I will not reveal, is a chilling situation that shows Charles’s amazing capacity for forgiveness and unconditional love. This is a very interesting psychological study about some unusual people, and Sagan has shown herself an affecting analyst of some singular emotions. The French-language film version that stars the luminous Catherine Deneuve as Lucile, is very true to the book. According to YouTube, one of the most popular clips from the film seems to be the part where Lucile reads the Faulkner passage and ditches her job.
• 
  Ethan

  Je me sens que ce livre est très similaire à Bonjour Tristesse! Il y a un thème en commun — la possession et le vouloir d’être libre — mais je crois qu’en écrivant La Chamade, Sagan a écrit des plus beaux passages, plus intéressants, et en tout plus matures. Je crois qu’il y avait la possibilité de peindre Lucile comme femme qui s’est trompé, mais je crois que le fait que c’est pas le cas qui marque Sagan comme un de mes écrivains préférés. Lucile s’est trompé mais Sagan n’utilise pas ses erreurs de l’accuser.
• 
  A

  Françoise Sagan savait si bien décrire les dangers et les plaisirs de l'amour :
  
  « On ne parlera jamais assez des vertus, des dangers, de la puissance du rire partagé. L'amour ne s'en passe pas plus que l'amitié, le désir ou le désespoir. » (p.27)
  
  « on n'est jamais parfaitement sûr de l'intensité du plaisir de l'autre - ni, surtout, que cette intensité, il ne puisse la retrouver ou la dépasser avec un étranger. » (p.98)
  
  « Elle se demandait comment elle ferait plus tard, un jour, pour survivre au souvenir de cette plénitude. » (p.109)
  
  
• 
  Jakob Stone

  Fint om att det kan vara svårt med romans och arbetsliv. Enklare ifall du är finansiellt oberoende
• 
  emma

  pure passion with young idiot twat or domesticity with a sweet dilf who loves you very much and would do anything you wanted (added bonus he is very rich). can you tell who i prefer.
• 
  Mademoiselle_jn

  C'est l'histoire d'un coup de foudre, mais c'est surtout l'histoire d'une femme éprise de sa liberté, qui veut tout et rien. On aime et on déteste ces personnages qui sont autant de défaut que de qualité, peut être parce qu'ils rappelle a la réalité !
  
  J'ai terminé ce livre devant une vue panoramique de Florence et je dois avouer que ca ma mise dans une ambiance plutôt propice pour cette lecture sans quoi on serait plutôt sur un 3,5/5.
• 
  Becky Chen

  「一般人看起來總是應付不了自己生活的重擔，而你看起來是你的生活應付不了你。」
• 
  Amber Robbins

  I love the discussion underlying this book. What is love? And the choices we must make
• 
  Rafya

  this was a bit slow at times but was an enjoyable read nonetheless. francoise sagan is a beautiful writer. representation for lazy unambitious women w no passions !!
• 
  Φερειπείν

  Sagan "nurturing" her heroine with the values ​​of a material consumerism that leads her to aesthetic and emotional consumerism. Spoiled or simply apathetic, Lucille suffers from the "pollution" of inactivity, which she makes the most of by redeeming it with the burden of her beauty. Her behavior seems almost "formal". A formalism of emptiness, cold and indifferent, fruitful only in the material world. Everything is always provided to her by someone else. When she needs to act herself she is completely lost.
  She prefers her absolute dependence, the golden cage provided by her several years older and wealthy lover, the sufficiency of a well-made, easy and perfectly calculated in all its details world.
  Υποταγή. Φρανσουάζ Σαγκάν
  📖📖📖
  Η Σαγκάν "γαλουχεί" την ηρωίδα της με τις αξίες ενός υλικού καταναλωτισμού που την οδηγεί στον αισθητικό και τον αισθηματικό καταναλωτισμό. Η Λουσίλ κακομαθημένη ή απλά απαθής, πάσχει από τη "ρύπανση" της αδράνειας, την οποία αξιοποιεί στο έπακρο εξαργυρώνοντάς την με το φορτίο της ομορφιάς της. Η συμπεριφορά της μοιάζει σχεδόν"φορμαλιστική". Μια τυπολατρία της κενότητας, ψυχρή και αδιάφορη, γόνιμη μόνο στον υλικό κόσμο που πάντα κάποιος άλλος της παρέχει. Όταν χρειάζεται να αυτενεργήσει αλλοτριώνεται χαμένη, υπνωτισμένη στην ανευθυνότητα της απο-αισθηματοποίησης. Της είναι αδύνατο να τελειωθεί αυτοβούλως και εν ενεργεία. Προτιμά την απόλυτη εξάρτησή της, το χρυσό κλουβί που της παρέχει ο αρκετά χρόνια μεγαλύτερος και ευκατάστατος εραστής της, την επάρκεια ενός καλοφτιαγμένου, εύκολου και απόλυτα υπολογισμένου στις λεπτομέρειές του κόσμου. Αντιπαθεί το "χειροποίητο", το "σκέπτεσθαι". Όταν βρεθεί μεταξύ ενός έρωτα απο- ερωτικού, συμφεροντολογικού, εφησυχασμένου και ενός απόλυτα δεσμευτικού, που στερεί την πνευματική ελευθερία και διακυβεύει την ακεραιότητα των συνηθειών της θα επιλέξει την- κατ' εικόνα και καθομοίωσή της- λειτουργική στάση ζωής.
• 
  Marta

  La Chamade (1965)
  
  In un mondo diverso io potrei vivere come Lucile, e questo è abbastanza spaventoso.
  Stavo per comprare questa edizione, invece mi sono accorta di avere già il libro ma con un altro titolo (La disfatta) nell'edizione Bompiani. Infatti chamade = rullo di tamburo che annuncia la disfatta, ma anche batticuore, all'impazzata
  
  "Allora il tempo sarebbe stato altro che una cosa da ammazzare, il tempo sarebbe stato una cosa da vezzeggiare, da amare, cui impedire di passare." pag. 137-138
  
  "La pigrizia di Lucile, la sua enorme capacità di non far nulla, di non prevedere nulla, la sua facoltà di essere felice, vivendo giornate così vuote, così inattive, così simili l'una all'altra, gli sembravano di tanto in tanto stravaganti, quasi mostruose." pag.176
• 
  Ratratrat

  come sempre, piacevole lettura, piacevoli descrizioni, solito ambiente parigino anni 60, Saint Germain des prés... i soliti amori fra relazioni ufficiali e ufficiose: lei è mantenuta da un riccone, lui è in parte mantenuto da una riccona, si vedono, si innamorano fisicamente. piantano i conviventi e dopo un paio di mesi di passione fisica lei scopre che non ce la fa senza i soldi del suo ex. che è un vero signore, accetta tutto, se la riprende.. alla fine la sposerà pure. di lui.. non si sa..
• 
  Angeliki

  Πραγματικά πολύ καλύτερο απ αυτό που περίμενα. Δεν είναι ένα ακόμα καταθλιπτικό δήθεν κουλτουριάρικο διήγημα για έναν αποτυχημένο έρωτα. Καλογραμμένο και με συνοχή στην παρουσίαση των σχέσεων και των συναισθημάτων των ηρώων.
• 
  Lavinia

  High society in Paris in the 1960s. Claire holding dinner parties for her friends, the elderly rich that take younger lovers. Going to the theater, picnics and cafes. Jealousy, intrigue, gossip, a spark of scandal. Nothing has changed in Paris in the past few hundred years.
• 
  flavia :)

  Contrairement à Bonjour Tristesse j’ai vraiment aimé ce livre.
  
  En plus j’avais une édition où on voyait Catherine Deneuve sur la couverture c’était génial
• 
  Dimitris

  Το λάτρεψα όπως και τα άλλα της. Μπορεί τότε κι η ίδια να μην θεωρούσε τα έργα της καμμιά «υψηλή λογοτεχνία» μα σήμερα είναι σαν μια δροσερή ανάσα ζωής - κάτι που δεν θα΄πρεπε να είναι ένα μυθιστόρημα 65 χρονών. Είχε μια απίστευτα πλούσια και ελεύθερη ζωή και αυτήν πέρασε στις ηρωΐδες της που πάλλονται από ενέργεια και αλήθεια. Κατανοούσε όμως εξίσου και τους αντρικούς χαρακτήρες.
  
  Αυτό είναι που αγαπώ περισσότερο στη Σαγκάν: οι ήρωές της είναι αληθινοί, με τα πάθη και τα ελαττώματά τους και τα πισωγυρίσματα, δεν είναι οι κακιασμένες καρικατούρες που διαβάζουμε σήμερα κι απορούμε πού υπάρχουν τέτοιοι άνθρωποι τριγύρω μας. Πιο πολύ ταυτίστηκα με τη Λουσίλ και τον Αντουάν, νεαρούς Παριζιάνους του 1965 όταν δεν είχα καν γεννηθεί, παρά με τους ξενομανείς ήρωες φετινών βιβλίων καρμπόν.
  
  Λάτρεψα επίσης την όλη ατμόσφαιρα, τα καθημέρινα που μεγάλωσα θεωρώντας τα δεδομένα και που χάθηκαν από τα βιβλία - και τον κόσμο - χωρίς να το καταλάβω. Υπέροχες προτάσεις που δεν υπάρχουν πια: «έκατσαν ν΄ακούσουν τη συναυλία στο ραδιόφωνο», «βαριόταν κι έπιασε το πλεκτό της», «του αγόρασε την πρωϊνή εφημερίδα ανεβαίνοντας», «κρέμασε τα τρία φουστάνια της στη ντουλάπα του», «του αγόραζε δίσκους και έβαζε το πικάπ να παίζει», τι ανακουφιστικό ένα βιβλίο χωρίς κινητά και ίντερνετ και stalking στο instagram Θεέ μου.
  
  Ωραία και τα σημερινά μα θέλω ένα μυθιστόρημα που να με παίρνει μακρυά απ΄την καθημερινότητά μου για τρεις μέρες. Περισσότερη Σαγκάν και Ντυράς αυτό το Καλοκαίρι, ευτυχώς η μακαρίτισσα η γιαγιά μου τις αγαπούσε κι έχουμε στοκ.