Red and the Black (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

A reviewer

My book group decided to read 'The Red and the Black,' and I thought it would be fun to read it in French, side-by-side with an English translation for those spots in which my college French failed me. My first disappointment with this edition was the skimpiness of the endnotes -- a total of 12 for a 532-page book. Unless one is a scholar of French history, this is a book that is much easier to appreciate with some background on the politics of the times. I was shocked, however, by the discovery of some glaring errors in the translation. On p. 17, for instance, 'quatre-vingts' (eighty) is translated as 'ninety', while on p. 34, 'dix-neuf' (nineteen) is translated as 'eighteen.' Also, on p. 45, the translated text states that Mme. Renard is taking a walk with M. Renard, while the original French text states that she is taking a walk with M. Valenod! There are even some sentences in the French text that do not appear in the English text. Where were the proofreaders? It is quite possible that the rest of this translation is flawless, but at this point I gave up in frustration and went in search of a different translation.

5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

New translation of brilliant classic

Such disparate souls as Richard Posner and Al Gore have named this as one of their favorite books---but you should read it anyway, as Stendhal's wit, psychology, and narrative verve make reading him unlike reading anyone else. I've not finished the new Penguin translation (much needed), and I think that the Slater translation for Oxford catches the style better; but the notes in the Penguin are interesting, as is the intro, and Gard is certainly better than was Richard Howard with his sloppy translation of The Charterhouse of Parma. No one who enjoys 19th-c. fiction should miss this book, and no one who thinks he doesn't should make up his mind before reading it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

True literature...

One discovers true compassion of literature after reading a piece of art such as this novel. Breathtaking in suspense of the actions the characters take.... I was truly shocked at the outcome of the book yet it was a beautiful closure. This book will have you truly feeling deep compassion in the motives and outcomes of each individual character.

makes you think

I loved this book.It made me apriciate the freedom of choice that I can practice every day. It's hard for Julien's ambition not to rub off on you. Julien is not the typical heroe he makes more mistakes it seems than he triumphs. He moves up in the world through his education and itelligence, very much the same as it is today exept in post revolution France this was an uncommon and great achievement. Julien is a complex charector who shows traits of a real human. The novel is deeply romantic. Julien will rise to the top only to be thrown down by an inevidable misfortune and a rash descision, the tragic flaw which brings about Julien's downfall. Though tragic, the ending is beutiful and unexpected. So that when you close the last page of the book, you have to just sit there and think for a while,until one word comes to mind 'wow'

OPTIME!!

I loved this book. As far as I am concerned its one of the best books ever, second only to Hesse's 'Narcissus and Goldmund'. Stendahl has a way of explaining life as it really is a divine comedy with an unhappy ending.

We as men

Julien's character serves true to my generation. As a college student during the september tragedy I see a reflection of him to a lot of my peers and myself. Lost?

Elegant, profound portrait of an anti- hero

This is truly great novel,-it took me forever to get around to reading it,-I closely identify with the book's main character,-he even though seems evil at times,-we come to see only acted on the will of the duty which he felt calling him,-The book is about the plight of free choice,-Precisely rendered by Stendhal,-who's words are ones to live by,-The ending is so beautiful,-

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