Scan barcode
ivostarr's review
4.0
Duo and Toutounier are connected novels that Colette wrote later in her life, and they are fantastic.
closely analyzes the marriage of Alice and Michel. Alice has a brief affair with one of Michel's friends, and so we experience the struggle of dealing with this act of infidelity.
For me, is the real gem. After Michel's death, Alice slips back to Paris to seek refuge with her sisters in the family's small apartment. The book's title is taken from the nickname that Alice and her sisters have given a couch in their family's apartment. The couch becomes a centerpiece in the story as it is where the sisters come together to talk, sleep, etc.
What is true about both of these stories is the bravery and frankness within Colette's writing about relationships and about women. I love her lack of apology for inappropriate feelings in certain situations.
For me,
What is true about both of these stories is the bravery and frankness within Colette's writing about relationships and about women. I love her lack of apology for inappropriate feelings in certain situations.
d_iris's review
3.0
I think Colette's disdain for men shines through in this. There is no respect present whenever she speaks of them. Michel is petty and surly; unable to handle the harsh but ultimately meaningless truth of his wife's one time infidelity. But on the other hand, Colette seems to think that women are vain and silly creatures. Alice shows no remorse and is, in my opinion, a little too proud, effectively hindering any chance of reconciliation. She almost demands forgiveness and cannot understand why their relationship should change so drastically because she once had an itch that needed to be scratched. It's almost as if Colette is mocking the essence of romantic relationships. She points out how flawed they can be and how the two people engaging in this escapade view and experience things differently; how they are never truly on the same page. The end result of such commonplace folly is one that I found to be a tad dramatic and over indulgent, but still holding to the truth that Colette believed.
In the second part this continues with the addition of two new women and their subsequent relationships. You see how silly and how misguided they can be when trying to acquire a new hold on something that they already have. Alice notices this and can't help but compare it to what she once had with Michel. She also notices that childhood friendships, even sisterly bonds change once romance has entered into the equation. It's a rather harsh reality when you realize that the only thing driving people is the desire to be loved forever by someone. Anyone really, as long as it has romantic feelings attached, because fraternal or platonic love just doesn't cut it.
It was an interesting read to say the least. Not my favorite Colette writing pieces, but still a sharp observation on how most people experience living. 3/5
In the second part this continues with the addition of two new women and their subsequent relationships. You see how silly and how misguided they can be when trying to acquire a new hold on something that they already have. Alice notices this and can't help but compare it to what she once had with Michel. She also notices that childhood friendships, even sisterly bonds change once romance has entered into the equation. It's a rather harsh reality when you realize that the only thing driving people is the desire to be loved forever by someone. Anyone really, as long as it has romantic feelings attached, because fraternal or platonic love just doesn't cut it.
It was an interesting read to say the least. Not my favorite Colette writing pieces, but still a sharp observation on how most people experience living. 3/5
More...