The Red and the Black – Stendhal
The Red and the Black – Stendhal – 1830
Reviewed by: Avi Date: 10 April 2003
I read the book in English. It made me want to read it in French. The hero of the book, Julien Sorel is caught up in the ultimate conflict of the mind and the heart. His head tells him that he should be ambitious, materially successful at the highest level, and in his eyes equal to his hero, Napolean. His heart wants happiness and love, but even that love is governed by the pre-requisites his head sets for it.
Stendhal creates situations that are perhaps akin to us all, where ambition and high goal get equated with the happiness we pursue in life.
Is this how life turns out?…well, read the book 🙂
The way he follows Julien’s mind reminds of the way Dostoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment. (One reason I wanted to learn Russian).
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