Customer Reviews

The Life of 'Henry Brulard' - By: H. B., 07 Jan 2009
I'm hoping the current unavailability of this book is a temporary blip? Sure, even Stendhal (i.e. Marie Henri Beyle) admits that it's a bit of a rambling & tangential tale, & apologises to his readers, advises them to skip pages, & wonders what on earth peoplein 1880 or 1935 will make of it all, but that's all part of its joy. He wrote itin great haste c. 1835-6, then abandoned the manuscript, unfinished & unrevised; it was rediscoveredin 1890, half a century after his death. It's an autobiography, of sorts, covering the years of his childhood (and much besides), very free & uninhibited, & illustrated throughout with various maps, sketches, notes & scribbles: my old Penguin paperback reproduces these, & I can't see how you can publish the book without them? Not much else quite like this has been written since (though W. G. Sebald gave it a good shot).