Manon Lescaut

Manon Lescaut is a deceptive novel in multiple ways. It could be easily labeled as a classic, picturesque short tale of a doomed love affair between a noble young man, Chevalier des Grieux, and a beautiful maiden from a lower breed, set in the Paris of The Régence, a convulsive era where class struct Leggi tutto

This is a novel that puts me in the not completely unfamiliar position of attempting to balance my extreme distaste for the narrator - and even for his story - against my admiration for the way the story is told. Let's get the aggravations out of the way: objections so strong, they caused me to put

IntroductionNote on the TextNote on the IllustrationsSelect BibliographyA Chronology of the Abbé Prévost --Manon Lescaut Explanatory Notes

Manon Lescaut is a slut. A priestess of the highest order: and, made to order. Its hard to know if she is real, or the uber male fantasy wet dream, she juxtastruts about so: think John Cage 4.33. Its the Chevalier whose lament we witness. Not in the ordinary-esque tableau. Which latter didacts a scen Leggi tutto

"Afirmen que las delicias del amor son pasajeras, que están prohibidas, que serán seguidas de penas eternas y que, cuanto más dulces y sabrosas sean, mayor será la magnanimidad del Cielo al recompensar tan gran sacrificio; pero confiesen que con corazones como los nuestros aquí abajo constituyen la Leggi tutto

We were just going to get into bed when he opened the door. 'Oh God!' I said to Manon, 'it's old G.M!' I leaped for my sword but, as ill-luck would have it, it was tangled with my belt. The introduction to my Penguin edition discusses this in terms of tragic grandeur - well, call me a Philistine but Leggi tutto

<< Όμως οι άνθρωποι με χαρακτήρα μπορούν να συγκλονίζονται με χίλιους διαφορετικούς τρόπους. Είναι σα να διαθέτουν πάνω από πέντε αισθήσεις και να μπορούν να συλλαμβάνουν ιδέες και ερεθίσματα που ξεπερνούν τα κανονικά όρια της φύσης. Και επειδή έχουν συναίσθηση του μεγαλείου που τους ανυψώνει πάνω α Leggi tutto

Des Grieux is a nobleman who falls in love with the irresistible Manon Lescaut, a woman from the lower classes. They run away together and during the course of their relationship, Manon betrays des Grieux three times. He takes her back every time after experiencing some angsty thoughts, such as “But Leggi tutto

This is a fast-paced, flowing read, though I can see that some will become annoyed with the Chevalier's constant protestations, especially of nothing being his fault. I'm sure the story was quite scandalous for its time. The fact that the Chevalier's story is actually being told by another narrator m Leggi tutto

Thầy dòng Prévost viết đã hay, mà bản dịch của Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh tiên-sinh tài-tình cũng lắm, quả là một cuộc đọc sung-sướng cho kẻ hậu-sinh.