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ruileite's review against another edition
3.0
"What is it about the present that makes it so eager to judge the past? There is always a neuroticism to the present, which believes itself superior to the past but can't quite ger over a nagging anxiety that it might not be [...] what is our authority for judging? We are the present, it is the past: that is usually enough for most of us. And the further the past recedes, the more attractive it becomes to simplify it".
eriynali's review against another edition
1.0
Excellent Rough Draft. Read like cut-rate Bill Bryson, and I mean that with disdain.
From the outside, The Man in the Red Coat looks like a high budget biography in the style of Flaubert's Parrot complete with gorgeous images, thick paper, and clear type... but what is found inside are haphazard notes, where the only really interesting delightful nuggets are quotes from other writers. True, he *found* those, but they are not his, and his own additions are both pretentious and dull. Many of these quotes and nuggets are repeated multiple times, to not much better effect. And I truly LOVE Barnes. The ending was interesting. A better title for this book would have been "We cannot know" and I would still would have bought it and been disappointed.
From the outside, The Man in the Red Coat looks like a high budget biography in the style of Flaubert's Parrot complete with gorgeous images, thick paper, and clear type... but what is found inside are haphazard notes, where the only really interesting delightful nuggets are quotes from other writers. True, he *found* those, but they are not his, and his own additions are both pretentious and dull. Many of these quotes and nuggets are repeated multiple times, to not much better effect. And I truly LOVE Barnes. The ending was interesting. A better title for this book would have been "We cannot know" and I would still would have bought it and been disappointed.
pasarmalam's review
The fact that Sargent practically knew every single rich famous white person in Victorian Europe lol
aljosa's review
4.0
Okay, my 20th Barnes book. wowza
At first, I was kinda interested, then really really disappointed, but the second half was really intriguing. I love how Barnes was a bit all over the place (kinda like Pozzi himself) but was able to present the world of the late 19th century France (and a bit of England) with such ease and detail. And I love how Pozzi is connected with pretty much 80% of the famous people of that time.
I'm not sure what to give this book. The first half was a 2, the second was nearly 5, so that's 3.5/5.
At first, I was kinda interested, then really really disappointed, but the second half was really intriguing. I love how Barnes was a bit all over the place (kinda like Pozzi himself) but was able to present the world of the late 19th century France (and a bit of England) with such ease and detail. And I love how Pozzi is connected with pretty much 80% of the famous people of that time.
I'm not sure what to give this book. The first half was a 2, the second was nearly 5, so that's 3.5/5.
aylart's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Reading this biography of Dr Pozzi, set in the Belle Epoque was a confusing experience.
Things I appreciated at some moments became exasperating the next. It may have been due to me not always being very focused on the reading or not being able to read for long stretches of time. But even that felt conflicting: sometimes reading for longer periods of time made me connect more with the book, but at other times it became too much.
I would describe the approach to this book as both beautifully meandering and exhaustingly choppy.
The writing as both masterful and pretentious.
The subject as both an interesting time travel and a list of obsolete details.
I was learning but also felt I missed some necessary background to connect with the book more.
I definitely didn't hate the book and even loved parts of it. But I was also quite glad when I finished it.
Things I appreciated at some moments became exasperating the next. It may have been due to me not always being very focused on the reading or not being able to read for long stretches of time. But even that felt conflicting: sometimes reading for longer periods of time made me connect more with the book, but at other times it became too much.
I would describe the approach to this book as both beautifully meandering and exhaustingly choppy.
The writing as both masterful and pretentious.
The subject as both an interesting time travel and a list of obsolete details.
I was learning but also felt I missed some necessary background to connect with the book more.
I definitely didn't hate the book and even loved parts of it. But I was also quite glad when I finished it.
traciedavis's review against another edition
3.0
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher. I really enjoyed reading about the French gynecologist Samuel Pozzi. This book was less of a biography, and more of a meandering discussion of life during the Belle Epoque. Perhaps because I am a gynecologist, it kept my interest. The subject matter would make a great miniseries or novel.
notizhefte's review against another edition
5.0
Im Juni 1885 kamen drei Franzosen in London an. Einer war ein Prinz, einer ein Graf und der dritte war ein bürgerlicher mit italienischen Nachnamen. Der Graf bezeichnete ihre Absicht als intellektuelle und dekorative Einkaufstour. (Meine Übersetzung des ersten Absatzes.)
Die drei Männer waren:
Edmond de Polignac
Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac
Dr. Samuel Jean Pozzi - der Mann im roten Rock
Julian Barnes nimmt diese Reise zum Anlaß, über das gesellschaftliche Leben der Zeit und das Verständnis von Kunst, insbesondere der Literatur zu schreiben. Denn der Graf de Montesquiou war Vorlage für ein Buch, den Roman „À Rebours“ von Joris-Karl Huysmans. Die dortige Hauptfigur namens Des Esseintes – ein Herzog – ist ein Dandy, Ästhet und Décadent. Dieses Buch wiederum verschenkt Lord Henry in Oskar Wildes „Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray“ an den jungen Protagonisten, und es verändert dessen Lebensführung nachhaltig. Lord Henry leugnet dies:
Art has no influence on action.
Auf den verschlungenen Pfaden von Kunst und Laster schreitet Barnes voran, durchwandert sein Gelände also kreuz und quer und besichtigt solchermaßen ein Zeitalter, breitet farbenprächtige Details aus und stellt vielfache Bezüge zu den literarischen und gesellschaftlichen Zeitgenossen seiner drei Protagonisten her.
Mehr auf meinem Blog "Notizhefte" unter: https://notizhefte.com/2021/09/16/uneindeutigkeit-von-lebensstilen/
Die drei Männer waren:
Edmond de Polignac
Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac
Dr. Samuel Jean Pozzi - der Mann im roten Rock
Julian Barnes nimmt diese Reise zum Anlaß, über das gesellschaftliche Leben der Zeit und das Verständnis von Kunst, insbesondere der Literatur zu schreiben. Denn der Graf de Montesquiou war Vorlage für ein Buch, den Roman „À Rebours“ von Joris-Karl Huysmans. Die dortige Hauptfigur namens Des Esseintes – ein Herzog – ist ein Dandy, Ästhet und Décadent. Dieses Buch wiederum verschenkt Lord Henry in Oskar Wildes „Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray“ an den jungen Protagonisten, und es verändert dessen Lebensführung nachhaltig. Lord Henry leugnet dies:
Art has no influence on action.
Auf den verschlungenen Pfaden von Kunst und Laster schreitet Barnes voran, durchwandert sein Gelände also kreuz und quer und besichtigt solchermaßen ein Zeitalter, breitet farbenprächtige Details aus und stellt vielfache Bezüge zu den literarischen und gesellschaftlichen Zeitgenossen seiner drei Protagonisten her.
Mehr auf meinem Blog "Notizhefte" unter: https://notizhefte.com/2021/09/16/uneindeutigkeit-von-lebensstilen/
chrysanthi_kiku's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0