StendhalThe Red and the Black

Loved this book. The first time I got acquinted with the book was when it was on the radio presented as a recording done by actors, beautiful and I could not wait for the next part. Teh book is very particular, Stendhal is a very particular writer, but the characters are so engaging. The story of a young boy who stole many hearts, was greedy and who played the game quite well till he did not and as a result lost his head.

Burton Raffel's modern translation to Scott-Moncreiff's 1926 version (that's the one you're looking at here). Raffel's Stendhal is more accessible and immediate - The Red and The Black becomes more of a novel than does S-M's nearly 100-year-old translation of a nearly 200-year-old text.However, S-M's translation may be closer to Stendhal's convoluted style (ironically, Stendhal's writing was, I believe, considered straightforward in his time). I've read the book in the original French - as a learning exercise - and it seems to me that S-M's work is a bit closer to the original. I'm no scholar, not a native French speaker nor a translator either, so I won't venture down that road very far.Anyhow, if you're looking for a good translation with a modern feel, I'd go with Raffel's. It's pricier (still cheap though), but I believe you'd get far more enjoyment and more of a connection with the book as a novel, rather than as a literary artifact from a long-past era.Actually, why not get both versions? S-M's translation is only a dollar and not without an antiquarian charm.

Stendhal has written a sharp, dark satire of post revolutionary France. The humor is dark, trending into melodrama. So much of the content is based in the history of that moment that an annotated version is very much needed. Despite the presence of the word "Annotated" in the title, this edition is not annotated. The error does not appear to belong to AmazonHaving read Stendhal's The Charterhouse of Parma  The Charterhouse of Parma (Penguin Classics) , I find this book to be more of a pleasure to read. The translation may be more modern, but I was looking to avoid some of the older writing styles. Even so I would love to know if there was a better translation of whatever French word was returned as "Wiseacres".One does not hear or read the word 'droll' very often. (Dictionary.com: amusing in an odd way; whimsically humorous; waggish.) Droll is down played, roguish rather than slapstick. The wink of a non-glinting eye. Definitely not a pie in the face. Directed to the mind, not the belly. It seems perfect for a certain type of French humor and it is here in Red and The Black.In order to appreciate droll humor, one must have a fairly deep understanding of the context of the joke. In This case much of the humor is based on class, politics, education, religious orders and French life at the time of the story.All of this begs for Annotation. As near as I can tell, the Kindle edition has no annotation. Non-English quotes are not translated. Political parties are not identified. References to possibly real newspapers, events or people are not discussed. Even some details on church titles and hierarchies would help.The Red and The Black follows the not so comic misadventures of Jullian Soral. Julian is a young Frenchman on the make. Note that a `soral' is a young buck. He is the bright, bookish, romantic, ambitious son of a relatively poor carpenter. His father has no patience with him. His remote country village society has little respect for the social aspirations of a peasant. He must trust to luck and his ability to navigate an increasing complex path into the more sophisticated larger world.Some reviewers write him off as a social climber, seducer, and opportunist. Even Stendhal heaps all manner of negative judgments on Julian's personality. I suggest that he followed the path of his destiny, given his belief in his own value. He did not live in a world that permitted people to obtain promotion absent preferment and contacts. The two women who would come to love him seduced themselves.Underneath, the general social satire, Stendhal proposes a more general observation on the human condition. Every major figure in this novel is tied to their point of view. Jullian cannot see the rich and powerful, except through his suspicions of the rich.Both of his loves would involve women tied to deeply romantic world views. His first love, believing in romance in general his second in the romance of her family's past. Neither would be able to see Julian in any other light than the one they project on him. Much of the humor derives from the highly contrasting views we read as the women think of Julian and he of them.This theme will repeat across issues of class, politics and religion.I propose that the real message of The Red and Back is that people cannot understand each other until they can learn to get outside of their personal world and try to understand the other person's world view.My Three stars reflect my frustration over the lack of annotation I contacted Amazon to see if this is a problem unique to my Kindle copy.Followup:Amazon agrees that the item description page includes: "This edition is annotated with footnotes". From what we could jointly determine this book lacks annotation, and the problem originates with the book publishers. The few foot notes, most of them from the original, do not make for sufficient information to justify the use of the word "Annotation". Having drawn my attention to the item description I also note the following : " Contains real page numbers". My copy does not have real page numbering. Normally this is unimportant but it would have helped as the Amazon Contact us on line person asked me about page numbers.Under the heading of droll humor: the "contact us on line person", in fact the Kindle Specialist - was a very helpful person and I mean him no ill will, but he suggested that were I to go to the Amazon discussion boards, the "Authors monitor these discussions and use them to improve their work". I hope the Specialist meant the translator. It is not likely that Stendhal is monitoring much of anything in this plane of existence.

This book reads like a Rolls Royce on a newly paved road. This book could very well be among the top five novels ever written, right alongside that of Homer's Odyssey. I checked "some sexual content", but mind you, there is nothing vulgar or an attempt to titillate that I speak of, but only because the subject of adult escapades is brought into mention, and is relative to the story line.

This is an old english classic literature piece. I love the use of words and vocabulary used. There is NO profanity or untoward language. No bombs, no gunfire and no blood and guts. These do not interest me whatsoever. The relationships and intellectual side of relationships in days of old. Price was right - free.

You could definately tell Tolstoy was influenced by Stendhal. I was expecting a little more, maybe I set my standards too high. This might be blasphemy but this book is pretty boring GASP!!!!! I said it! Some people seem to take their ability to read slow and boring books as a badge of honor, and praise those same books based solely on the momentum of the book having been praised for so long. I'll give the Charterhouse of Parma a try, I haven't given up on Stendhal yet.

An excellent, if long, classic about a gifted young intellectual with ambition to make it in the world. Classic low-born versus high-born theme and you can guess how it ends. Still relevant today, good stuff.

You must read it to believe it, much less appreciate it. There is a reason why they refer to such works as "classics". It is, quite simply, because they are :-)

Thank you.

But what I expected. Unless you know a little about the history of the period it can be a little tedious. However, today it is valuable for its political and social background.

This translation didn't have any breaks in the text when the scene and the characters changed. So it was a bit confusing to start with. Also it might be a good idea to know something of French history just post Napoleon. Well, they are all a cynical snobbish arrogant bunch of hypocrites. But our hero, the low-born and barely likeable Julien, outperforms them all. Wonderful prose.

I liked the book but not Scott Moncrieff's translation from the French. It gives a good picture of provincial life in France at that time.

Not what I expected but eminently readable and worthwhile. Not much seemed to be happening but you cared about the people and wanted to know what came next. A good analysis of French society around the 1830s. Not that you need to know anything about the historical period.