Paris, những năm đầu thế kỷ 20, định mệnh đã mang tên thiếu niên ngông cuồng bỏ nhà đi, chàng nhà văn lãng tử mê phiêu bạt, gã tú tài nuôi mộng thi thư, quý phu nhân bạc nhược vì tình, tay sinh viên trường y bội bạc và cậu học sinh sa đọa bởi cám dỗ đến với nhau, rồi từng người họ lại nối kết với những người khác, tạo nên một mạng lưới quan hệ chằng chịt…
Không có một cốt truyện rõ ràng, không có một đường dây xuyên suốt, từ đầu đến cuối Bọn làm bạc giả là dòng chảy tùy hứng của số phận mà qua đó, bằng ngòi bút tài tình André Gide đã tạo nên một thế giới nhân sinh sâu thẳm, đi tới tận cùng vùng tăm tối trong bản thể con người. Được xem là tác phẩm tiêu biểu cho sự nghiệp sáng tác của Gide, cuốn sách này hàm ẩn cái chân lý văn chương trác tuyệt của ông và nhờ vậy mà trở nên bất tử.
Diaries and novels, such as The Immoralist (1902) and Lafcadio's Adventures (1914), of noted French writer André Gide examine alienation and the drive for individuality in an often disapproving society; he won the Nobel Prize of 1947 for literature.
André Paul Guillaume Gide authored books. From beginnings in the symbolist movement, career of Gide ranged to anticolonialism between the two World Wars.
Known for his fiction as well as his autobiographical works, Gide exposes the conflict and eventual reconciliation to public view between the two sides of his personality; a straight-laced education and a narrow social moralism split apart these sides. One can see work of Gide as an investigation of freedom and empowerment in the face of moralistic and puritan constraints, and it gravitates around his continuous effort to achieve intellectual honesty. His self-exploratory texts reflect his search of full self, even to the point of owning sexual nature without betraying values at the same time. After his voyage of 1936 to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the same ethos informs his political activity, as his repudiation of Communism suggests.
We are ALL frauds - every last one of us - so says Andre Gide.
We counterfeit our true natures. And we forever fall between the cracks, dust ourselves off, and counterfeit ourselves once again to the world.
We can't help it. We are fallible like Jacob.
But God loves us anyway and affirms our heartbreaking humanity with an incredible promise.
Such, then, is our life - free like Gide, or straight in an endlessly guilty, prevaricating line, like all the rest... ***
This will be another review in progress: now twenty percent into it, I am stunned by its deeply accomplished resonance, its totally Convicting plot.
When I was nineteen I decided to leave home - forever - like Bernard Provendieu in the novel. But it was not to be, so augured more happily for my health, flailing vainly in a counterfeit sea.
At coming of age, as Sartre says in his book Nausea, counterfeit society makes us sick. The docs quickly labelled me psychotic, because my naive Asperger's was not yet medically recognized.
I fell between the cracks, and thankfully soon thereafter realized counterfeiting is normal. I guess I owe that to my brother and my shrink, whose motives were mixed. My pain (a lingering embarrassment) lasted 50 years, though - a purgatorial pain at my death-in-life, modecate - to be eventually melted by Grace.
I saw myself in the story of the broken Jacob in scripture.
And yet God saw fit to love him!
When counterfeiting is a last resort and what we really want is to break up the gridlock of meaninglessness in our lives, He is touched by our humanity. Jacob was authentic in His knowing eyes, no matter what the world thought! ***
The reactionary entre-deux-guerres droitiste Paul Claudel knew Faith could close the loop of Gide's anxiety, and friended him.
But Gide mistrusted politically correct authors, outside and within the Church. Here he has one insightful character give voice to his personal faith, inspired by the same dread of an inner gridlock.
But not of meaninglessness, for Gide knew the only way to end the meaningless, yawning void within our hearts was in a knowledge of our deep - and constantly neglected - fallible humanity.
And our hated anxiety can save us. Because it is the Angst of the Deep Heart’s Core.
Life is nothing without risk. "If salt has lost its savour, wherewith can it now be salted?" Gide has the character answer, " through close encounters with society's hated fringe elements. " For they STRIVE to be free of strictures.
Freedom: Outspoken Reality is Free. Freedom in others incessantly disturbs our peace of mind.
This is Freedom localized in the Individualized Human world.
But Freedom is Natural. Freedom universalizes. We are ALL given Free Will at birth.
This is Freedom universalized in the sense of Nature.
As Kazantzakis says, freedom is the only way we can Save God in our souls. ***
Once we warm to this story - with the number and sheer human complexity of a growing number of characters who enter and exit the story - we see we are truly each one of their number.
Kazantzakis says we must see the Big Picture of existence. That big picture is our general pain - the Pain of Being Born and of our Daily Existence. Each of Gide's characters reacts in different ways to that Cross.
This is a novel, and Gide is Localizing their Pain by Individualizing it. To conquer Pain we must be One with it. We can't overcome Our Small, Local Pains.
So at first you'll think the next character that Gide portrays is the coldest, most calculating devil of the whole bunch - then Gide works his magic! That monster is a bitterly suffering friend of yours...
Voilà - Gide Universalizes their Pain. We now see why the characters act the way they do. And he has in fact Universalized the Pain of our Sins.
Once you accept that Life around you is a Cabaret of Counterfeits you are yourself Convicted.
Gide shows us though the murky broth of life may nauseate us, it IS us, ourselves, as we appear to others.
No one can see anyone around them as anything but a fellow counterfeit.
But because we are fallible, we love. ***
This book Changed My Life.
For I think I've finally Understood the World as Jesus teaches:
On His left side, the hapless Dead -
And on the right, the Blessed Living.
It's all Perspective.
And only faith gives us eyes to see the difference - and it brings the Dead to Life, and the Living to Death:
For the face of our fraudulent existence is a Double face.
The Counterfeiters is the chief novel of the work of the French author André Gide. It tells the story of many characters, each of whom symbolizes a different incarnation of the author. Declaims all philosophical theories on the novel, art, and human relations and develops them to convince the reader, just before continuing in another character (taken in a new context generally), an idea that is contradictory and which appears to us just as suitable. In the end, the story showcases the author's diverse personalities. The story is that of two young friends, a few weeks before their baccalaureate examination, who leave high school in the 1920s and embark on an adventure that they can describe as an astonishing literary experience. However, it doesn't seem very respectful to reduce the story to that of these two heroes, because there is a whole web of heroes with their own stories surrounding them. However, all these stories share a common thread, a connection that binds the characters, their families, friends, or knowledge. For example, Bernard and Edward meet through the chance of their two adventures. They realize that they both have a link with another character, Olivier. They will continue the experience together, but we will have their points of view on each side, giving us the impression of two parallel paths rather than a shared history. The worlds of Edouard and the family of Olivier, that of Laura and Pension Azaïs, and finally that of Profitendieu mingle in one world: the world of some good Parisian families, a pension for students, the younger generation of these families, the literary spirit, and the freedom of this youth. In the inter-war that exploits this novel, we applaud a fair and exciting painting of the freedom of spirit, of creation, of the artistic movement of that time when we caught our breath when war passed and where the emotion tended to fall back, where we were finally rebuilding, and where morals tended to liberalize. In the novel, the author presents a literary gathering where we encounter some significant figures of the time, such as Alfred Jarry. The latter examines this moment of a man's overbearing, crazy, and slightly offbeat reality through the original character he plays in society. Overall, we follow the vision of characteristics that those who seek to create journals, write, possess poise, and ultimately revolutionize the classical form of writing. First, a character named Strouvilhou launches a sketch of the revolutionary ideas that ran through the arts. Then, we see him theorizing what the surrealists' desires could be overall. Thus, Gide's characters seem pursued by greatness and romantic thrills. They all seem to be poets and artists. Therefore, there are lively youths, intelligent adults who have lost more than they have in everyday life, and novelists. The characters are tied and endearing. Two figures stand out from the crowd. However, Lady Griffith and the Count of Passavant seem to be this story's evil gods and manipulators. They are idle people who give their esteem only to those who are useful or agreeable to them without any sound or reasonable foundation. In this novel, there is an intelligence struggle between those who detach themselves to venture into unknown lands, those struggling to reach them, and those who believe they have arrived but are circling in reality.
Unele cărți sînt, mai degrabă, influente decît valoroase. Romanul lui Gide e un experiment destul de plicticos, dar acest experiment a marcat evoluția romanului european.
***
Greu de rezumat. Sînt mai multe fire narative, care se întrerup brusc și revin peste 10 pagini. De pildă, un fir îl urmărește pe fugarul (de acasă) Bernard și pe prietenul lui, Olivier, altul pe tînărul cuceritor Vincent, fratele lui Olivier, altul pe Edouard, un prozator care compune „un fel de romane” (p.41), din al cărui jurnal citim ample fragmente.
Există și femei fragile, cu probleme insolubile, de pildă, Laura (fosta amantă a lui Vincent), dar există și femei dintr-o bucată, precum Lady Lilian Griffith (actuala amantă a lui Vincent). Lilian îl poate iubi fierbinte pe nestatornicul Vincent, dar nu se lasă nicicum sedusă, nu-și pierde capul, rămîne trează. Știe prețul bărbaților, i-a cîntărit atent, și nu poate fi amăgită de nimeni.
Romanul are un narator foarte volubil și insistent, care nu ne lasă nici o clipă să-l uităm, fiindcă ne face adesea cu ochiul: „Aș fi fost curios să aflu ce i-o fi povestit Antoine prietenei lui, bucătăreasa; dar nu poți trage cu urechea peste tot” (p.33). „Nu, nu la amanta lui se ducea Vincent Molinier, cînd ieșea pe furiș în fiecare seară. Deși merge repede, să-l urmărim” (p.43). „Într-o cameră de la primul etaj, bătrînul conte zăcea pe patul mortuar. I s-a pus un crucifix pe piept... Tocmai pentru că n-o să-l mai vedem, îl contemplu acum mai îndelung” (p.49). „Apoi încet se întoarse la locuința Lilianei. Să-l părăsim acolo în timp ce diavolul se uită amuzat la el cum introduce fără zgomot cheița în broască” (p.59).
Cînd naratorul se duce la culcare, citim epistole (toată lumea își trimite epistole), sau fragmente de jurnal mai mult sau mai puțin intim. Găsim, bunăoară, în jurnalul lui Edouard, fragmente abisale despre identitate (probabil, tema fundamentală a romanului). Eul este, desigur, o entitate multiplă:
„Dacă mă privesc pe mine, nu mai înțeleg ce înseamnă acest cuvînt [sinceritate]. Eu nu sînt niciodată ceea ce cred că sînt - și mă schimb neîncetat, în așa fel încît de multe ori, dacă n-aș fi de față pentru a face legătura între ele, ființa mea de dimineață n-ar mai recunoaște-o pe cea de seară. Nimic nu poate fi mai deosebit de mine decît eu însumi... Nicicînd nu mă simt trăind mai intens decît atunci cînd scap de mine însumi spre a deveni indiferent cine” (p.73).
Și dacă l-am pomenit pe Edouard, e bine să menționez (nu sînt primul) că lucrează la un roman cu titlul Falsificatorii de bani. Aceasta e o punere în abis, mise en abîme: André Gide scrie un roman cu titlul Falsificatorii de bani, în care „unchiul Edouard” scrie un roman cu titlul Falsificatorii de bani, în care...
Mulți citează o frază (Pielea e lucrul cel mai profund din om) și cred, cu o anume încăpățînare, că aparține lui Paul Valéry. Fals! În realitate, aparține personajului Olivier din Falsificatorii de bani:
„Aș fi spus că descriindu-se pe el însuși, La Fontaine a făcut portretul artistului, al celui care consimte să nu vadă decît partea exterioară a lumii, suprafața, floarea ei. Apoi aș fi pus în lumină portretul savantului, al cercetătorului, al celui care caută în profunzime, și aș fi arătat, în sfîrșit, că în timp ce savanții caută, artistul găsește; că cel ce sapă în adîncime se cufundă, și cine se cufundă se orbește pe sine; că adevărul constă în aparență; că misterul constă în formă, și că ceea ce e mai profund în om e pielea sa”: „la vérité, c’est l’apparence, le mystère c’est la forme, et ce que l’homme a de plus profond, c’est sa peau” (p.240).
P. S. Să nu uit, în final Bernard se întoarce spăsit acasă. Romanul lui Gide a fost tradus de Mihai Murgu.
В этом романе сумасшедшее количество героев, запутанный сюжет или даже несколько сюжетов, что составляет сложную полифонию, но его делает совершенно замечательным, отличным от других романов ряд особенных черт. Это метароман, в котором органично сосуществуют две структуры - традиционный "роман героев", в который встроен "роман романа", причем название "Фальшивомонетчики" относится в равной степени к обоим романам. Ещё одна интересная вещь - двойственность, если можно так выразиться, авторской позиции. На страницах есть голос автора (он не принадлежит миру персонажей и звучит, как голос творца) и есть персонаж писатель Эдуар, который выражает авторскую позицию о творчестве и даже более, собирается написать роман, который был бы тем самым романом, который мы обсуждаем. Но в романе тот роман так и остаётся ненаписанным, но о нем мы узнаем из записной книжки Эдуара. Эта картинка в картинке, роман в романе соответствует геральдическом у термину «mise en abyme» - роман о писателе, собирающемся написать роман о писателе. Иногда суждения автора перекликаются с суждениями, написанными Эдуардом в записной книжке, что ещё усложняет конструкцию романа. Да, эта записная книжка многого стоит, записи в ней были сделаны до написания романа, а, значит, читая ее мы дважды переносимся в прошлое - сначала в роман (прошлое), а затем в событ��я, описываемые в записной книжке (прошлое, предшествующее прошлому). Основная идея романа - фальшь, пронизывающая все стороны жизни, хотя формально в романе есть фальшивые монеты. Эдуар в своей ��олемике с госпожой Сафроницкой раскрывает эстетическую концепцию и видение тех изменений, которые должна претерпеть литература, каким должен быть роман. Хоть в романе мало сюжетных поворотов, он в завершается эмоционально напряженным трагическим финалом самоубийства мальчика Бориса. Каким бездонным должно быть горе старика Лаперуза, чтобы в отчаянии произнести слова: "— Нет! Нет! — глухо восклицал он. — Дьявол с Богом заодно, они действуют сообща. Мы стараемся убедить себя, будто все зло, существующее на земле, идет от дьявола, но это объясняется тем, что иначе мы не нашли бы в себе сил простить Богу. Он играет с нами, как кошка с мышью, которую она мучит… И после этого он еще требует от нас быть признательными ему. Признательными за что? за что?…
Затем, наклонившись ко мне:
— Знаете, что самое ужасное из всего сделанного им?… Принести в жертву собственного сына для нашего спасения. Собственного сына! Собственного сына!.. Жестокость — вот первое из свойств Бога."
Μια ψυχολογική ανάλυση των κιβδηλοποιών που περνάει πρωτίστως απο το ημερολόγιο τους θα διευκρίνιζε με πάσα ειλικρίνεια πως γράφτηκε με «ποιητική» σημασία, με την ευρύτερη έννοια του όρου. Όπως και κάποιες φορές νομίζουμε πως δεν υπάρχουμε πραγματικά, πως φανταζόμαστε ότι υπάρχουμε. Αυτό που δυσκολεύει υπαρξιακά την οντότητα μας είναι πως αρνούμαστε εκούσια ίσως, να πιστέψουμε την ίδια την πραγματικότητα. Ξεφεύγουμε συνεχώς απο τον εαυτό μας καθώς τον κοιτάζουμε αρνούμενοι να πιστέψουμε πως αυτός που δρα είναι ίδιος με αυτόν που παρατηρεί. Αυτό, που εκπλήσσεται και απορεί πως μπορεί να είναι ταυτόχρονα πρωταγωνιστής και θεατής.
Με περισσή εσωτερική διεργασία και εμπειρία σε ατομικό και συλλογικό επίπεδο οι κιβδηλοποιοί καταφέρνουν να αποστασιοποιηθούν απο κάθε παραίτηση ή έκσταση προσέγγισης σε νοήματα όταν διαπίστωσαν πως κάθε άνθρωπος νιώθει αυτό που νομίζει πως νιώθει. Στην σφαίρα των συναισθηματικών θεμάτων το πραγματικό δεν διαφέρει και πολύ απο το φανταστικό. Μπορούμε κάλλιστα να σκεφτούμε για κάποιον που αγαπάμε πολύ, πως θα μπορούσαμε να τον αγαπήσουμε λιγότερο, αρκεί να το φανταστούμε και να το αποκρυσταλλώσουμε μέσα μας. Όταν όμως καταφέρουμε να αποστασιοποιηθούμε κάπως ή έστω να σκεφτούμε με λιγότερο αισθηματική ένταση πως λιγοστεύει η αγάπη μας για κάποιον είναι προφανές πλέον πως αγαπάμε ήδη λιγότερο, αφού ολοκληρώσαμε την διεργασία της σκέψης αυτής. Αποστασιοποίηση απο το συναίσθημα που απαιτεί πρωτίστως την αποστασιοποίηση απο τον ίδιο μας τον εαυτό.
Πόσο κίβδηλα αληθινό έιναι όλο αυτό. Πόσο τραγικά υπέροχο να διαπιστώνεις πως κατέχεις τη δύναμη να ορίζεις πόσο κι αν θα αισθανθείς χωρίς συνειδησιακές ή ψυχολογικές παρεμβολές επίκλησης.
Είναι μια κίβδηλη μα απολαυστική έκσταση σαν μία τέλεια συγχορδία διαρκείας, σαν περιορισμός στην έκφραση της μουσικής που η ασυδοσία της σε πληγώνει. Εκφράζει λατρεία και αυτογνωσία απόδρασης, μία τέλεια συγχορδία διαρκείας όταν ολόκληρο το σύμπαν έχει παραδοθεί στην παραφωνία.
Και τότε μπαίνεις σε μια χιμαιρική διαδικασία τροφής του πνεύματος όπου ξεκάθαρα η ανθρώπινη ιστορία διακρίνεται απο θεμελειώδεις συμπεριφορές. Συμπεριφορά της μεταφοράς και συμπεριφορά της σαφήνειας.
Με τη σαφήνεια ο νόμος της λογικής γίνεται ο δικτάτορας του εξεγερμένου πνεύματος και της νοητικής αφύπνισης. Ο βασανιστής αυτός που εκπροσωπεί την λογική σπορά στα άγονα χωράφια της ένδειας των ελεύθερων ιδεών, εκβιάζει το θύμα του και το ωθεί βήμα βήμα στην καταστροφή, εάν δεν ήταν δυνατή η διαύγεια και η σαφέστατη διαμορφώσει των συνθηκών.
Η μεταφορά απο την άλλη είναι το απατηλό όνειρο του ταξιδευτή των σκέψεων, είναι ο χυμός απο λιωμμένο ήλιο με αστρική γεύση που σου δίνει να πιεις η ολισθαίνουσα λογική της ψυχής, αυτή που προσεγγίζει τις ασαφείς προαισθήσεις των θεσμών, των νόμων, των τύπων, της θρησκείας και της κορνιζαρισμένης τέχνης. Ωστόσο κάθε ανθρώπινη πτυχή εσωτερικής διεργασίας και έκφρασης, κάθε σχέση του ανθρώπου με τη ζωή, τη φύση, την ανάγκη για συμφωνία ή απόρριψη, για συμπάθεια ή αντιπάθεια, για θαυμασμό, μίμηση, υποταγή, επανάσταση και ηγεμονία δεν γίνεται να υπάρξουν ποτέ ως αντικειμενικές,είναι αδύνατον να γίνουν αντιληπτές δίχως την παρεμβολή των μεταφορών. Πολλές φορές σήμερα είμαι ακατόρθωτο σχεδόν να αρνηθεί ή να αποφύγει κάποιος πως οι έννοιες της ηθικής και οι κανόνες που την ορίζουν έχουν βράσει πολύ και έχουν χάσει όλες τις ουσίες τους που αναφέρονται ως λιπαροί ατμοί μιας κακοσμίας που βγαίνει απο την κουζίνα του ανθρωπισμού.
Κι αν επιτρέπεται εδώ μια κίβδηλη αληθινά και πραγματικά απολαυστικά κίβδηλη παρεκτροπή είναι αυτή που πλανάται πάνω απο ασαφείς εντυπώσεις και το παρόν με κάθε εντιμότητα οφείλει να παραδεχτεί ως την «λατρεία του χυδαίου». Το ψέμα, το κίβδηλο, το πλαστό δεν είναι συνέπειες αδυναμίας αλλά μάλλον πεποίθηση επιτυχίας στη ζωή μέσω της βίας. Η σαφήνεια της βίας λυτρώνει. Ο όχλος χωρίζεται σε ομάδες ή ενώνεται με αυτές επειδή ακριβώς δεν μπορεί να πράξει και πετύχει ορμώμενος απο τις δικές του ατομικές πεποιθήσεις. Έτσι, η εχθρότητα, ο ανταγωνισμός, η αντιπαλότητα και η βία σε κάθε έκφανση της χαρίζουν στο ανθρώπινο γένος μια αέναη αμοιβαιότητα μίσους, μία συνθήκη βεντέτας που παραμένει άγρυπνη και ετοιμοπόλεμη, σε αντίθεση με μία γενική κατάσταση κίβδηλης ή αληθινής αγάπης, αμοιβαίας και φορτωμένης με βαριά πνευματικά κοσμήματα θα κοίμιζε, θα αποχαύνωνε τους πάντες. Οι άνθρωποι καλοί ή κακοί αντιμετωπίζουν με καχυποψία και οκνηρία το πνεύμα, είναι ζηλωτές κάθε απόχρωσης και δεν αποδέχονται κοσμοθεωρίες οι οποίες με τα στοιχεία τους προωθούν τον ανθρωπισμό. Είναι μανιακοί με λανθασμένες πεποιθήσεις που ξέφυγαν απο πολιτικές και άλλες δραστηριότητες και μετέτρεψαν τις απόψεις σε ικανοποιήση αναγκών απο αυτές που επαναλαμβάνονται σαν να κινούνται σε μια αίθουσα κατόπτρων και χαίρονται για την κίβδηλη επιφοίτηση που δήθεν τους χαρίστηκε. Όλα αυτά που γεννούνται μέσα απο τις πράξεις και τις απόψεις των κιβδηλοποιών, δίνουν την εντύπωση πως πρώτα απο όλα θα έπρεπε να αφαιρεθεί τελείως απο όλες τις ανθρώπινες σχέσεις η ψυχή που είναι σε λάθος τόπο μέσα τους. ( Δάσκαλε Μούζιλ πάντα και παντού μπροστά απο όλους θα βρίσκεσαι).
Το μυθιστόρημα του Andre Gide είναι ένα πολύπλοκο, λεπτό δομημένο μυθιστόρημα που σας προσκαλεί να εμπλακείτε σε μια λαμπρή, κρυσταλλική δομή ανάπτυξης και αμφιθυμίας. Σε μεγάλο βαθμό, το μυθιστόρημα διαμεσολαβείται μέσω του ημερολογίου του Edouard, ενός χαρακτήρα που βασίζεται σε μεγάλο βαθμό στον ίδιο τον Gide. Μέσα από σχέσεις, παιδιά από το Παρίσι, χαρακτήρες όπως ο Olivier και ο Bernard εμπλέκονται σε ομάδες φίλων και εραστών, με την ένωση των κιβδηλοποιών να λειτουργεί ως η θεμελιώδης έννοια του μυθιστορήματος.
Οι "Οι κιβδηλοποιοί" (1926), του Andre Gide (1869-1951) είναι ένα συναρπαστικό χρονικό της ζωής στο Παρίσι πριν από τον Πρώτο Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο.
Ξεκινά καθώς δύο φίλοι του γυμνασίου, ο Bernard Profitendieu και ο Olivier Molinier, προετοιμάζονται για τις τελικές εξετάσεις ( μπακαλορεά). Ο Μπερνάρντ βρίσκει κάποια γράμματα κρυμμένα στο σπίτι, τα οποία δείχνουν ότι είναι νόθος και φεύγει μακριά από την οικογένεια του , θέτοντας έτσι σε κίνηση ένα πλούσιο σύνολο περιπέτειας ανάμεσα σε μια σειρά από εντυπωσιακές διαστάσεις.
Από τον Bernard, τον Olivier και τους γονείς τους, η ιστορία μεγαλώνει γρήγορα και περιλαμβάνει τον μικρότερο αδελφό του Olivier, George, τον θείο του Edouard, τη φίλη του Edouard, Laura, τον μεγαλύτερο αδελφό του Olivier, τον Vincent, τον φίλο του Vincent, Robert Passavant, την αγαπημένη του Passavant, Lady Griffith, τον παλιό συμμαθητή του Edouard, Victor Strouvilhou, Victor ανιψιός Gheri, ο πατέρας της Laura Vedel, ο παλιός δάσκαλος πιάνου Perouse, και ο εγγονός του Perouse, Boris, μεταξύ πολλών άλλων. Καθώς αυτό το υπέροχο καστ συναρμολογείται αναγνώστης θα εκπλαγεί από όλους τους τρόπους που αυτοί οι χαρακτήρες συνδέονται μεταξύ τους.
Ο Gide υφαίνει δεκάδες σκέλη της ιστορίας, τέμνοντας κάθε χαρακτήρα με κάθε άλλο χαρακτήρα, σχεδιάζοντας γραμμές για να αμφισβητήσει την ηθική συμπεριφορά κάθε αλληλεπίδρασης, ένα πειραματικό παιχνίδι, ρηξικέλευθο για την εποχή του. Το πείραμα του Gide λειτούργησε. Το πλήρες βιβλίο είναι μια λαμπρή επιτυχία. Το "μυθιστόρημα μυθιστοριογράφου" του, «οι κιβδηλοποιοί» & « το ημερολόγιο των κιβδηλοποιών» είναι ίσως ένα από τα πιο σημαντικά λογοτεχνικά αποτελέσματα των αρχών του εικοστού αιώνα, δημιουργώντας μια συναρπαστική ιστορία με διαφορετικούς και ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες, διατηρώντας μεγάλο πνευματικό υπόβαθρο σε όλη τη διάρκεια. Αυτό το μυθιστόρημα συνιστάται σε όποιον απολαμβάνει την εξαιρετική λογοτεχνία.
Θα μπορούσαμε να του προσδώσουμε αποχρώσεις που θα χρωματίζουν πάντοτε αυτό το βιβλίο σε σοκαριστικές αποκαλύψεις ομοφυλοφιλικού ή ηδονιστικού υλ��κού, αλλά αυτό είναι επιεικώς παραπλανητικό. Είναι αλήθεια, ένας ομοφυλόφιλος και ηδονιστικός τόνος πάθους εμφανίζεται σε διάφορα μέρη του βιβλίου , με τον Passavant να είναι ο χειρότερος δράστης, αλλά ο Gide δεν είναι πορνογράφος, είναι ηθικός ανηθικολόγος. Ο ίδιος ήταν ομοφυλόφιλος, ήταν επίσης προτεστάντης (Huguenot), και όπως το λαμπρό έργο του "The Immoralist", έδωσε χωρίς δογματισμούς ή διδαχές, παραβολές ειλικρίνειας με γεύσεις απο ένα ηθικό μάθημα μέσω της ανθρώπινης δράσης, έτσι και εδώ η αγάπη ως έννοια μεταφορική είναι ουσιαστικά τολμηρή, ερωτική, είναι ασύμμετρη και δεν εξαρτάται από την πλοκή. Είναι ένα έργο τόσο έντονα συναισθηματικό και τόσο πολύ απαλλαγμένο απο συναισθήματα. Είναι μια έρευνα τόσο της προσωπικότητας όσο και του χαρακτήρα, χωρίς το κίνητρο ή το όφελος της λογοτεχνίας ως θρησκευτική πίστη και της ηθικής της ομοφυλοφιλίας δεν θα μπορούσε να υπάρξει.
Το «κάλπικο» μυθιστόρημα για την ατομική ανάπτυξη σε μια κοινωνία δομημένη από εξαπάτηση. Ο Γάλλος συγγραφέας ξεκίνησε το μυθιστόρημα αυτό μετά τον Α’ΠΠ και συνέχισε να το δουλεύει για χρόνια μέχρι να δημοσιευτεί το 1927. Στο Παρίσι, η ιστορία περιγράφει την κοινωνική ένταξη των ανώτερων και μεσαίων τάξεων με μια έρευνα τόσο της προσωπικοτητας όσο και του χαρακτήρα των έφηβων αγοριών και των επιφανών ανδρών που τα εκμεταλλεύονται. Η πλοκή εξελίσσεται με έναν κάπως αποσπασματικό τρόπο, καθώς ο Gide εισάγει ψυχαναλυτικές γνώσεις που ήταν δημοφιλείς εκείνη την εποχή. Μερικές από τις αποσπασματικές εκδόσεις του περιοδικού του Gide, που περιλαμβάνονται ως παράρτημα στο μυθιστόρημα, υποδηλώνουν μια δυσαρέσκεια, με την ικανότητά του να παράγει απρόσκοπτες συνδέσεις μεταξύ ρεαλιστικής δομής και ασυνείδητων διαδικασιών. ⭐️⭐️✡️💜🟪🟪💜💜 Εν κατακλείδι αυτό είναι ένα μυθιστόρημα για την ένταση μεταξύ της ζωής, της καλλιτεχνικής δημιουργίας και της κοινωνικής συμμόρφωσης, για την αυθεντικότητα και την κίβδηλη ανθρωπιστική δράση, και για τη δύναμη της επένδυσης στην συλλογική αξία σε έναν κόσμο που αρνείται στο άτομο την ελευθερία του. Την απόλυτη ελευθερία που είναι κατά πολύ δυσκολότερο εως ακατόρθωτο να την διαχειριστείς παρά να την αποκτήσεις.
Τα 4* για έναν επίλογο ΣΥΓΚΛΟΝΙΣΤΙΚΟ!!!!!! Το τελείωσα με δάκρυα στα μάτια.
Είναι αναμφισβήτητα ένα σπουδαίο βίβλίο με πολλά κρυμμένα σοφά μηνύματα περί παιδείας, πατρικών, μητρικών και αδελφικών σχέσεων και φιλίας. Προσωπικά, το βρήκα πολύ ενδιαφέρον στην αρχή, κάπου στη μέση με έκανε να ψιλοβαρεθώ και στο τέλος η αγωνία κορυφώθηκε. Αξίζει, επίσης το γεγονός ότι είναι ενα μυθιστόρημα περί μυθιστορήματος, έμπνευσης και συγγραφέα. Παρακολουθούμε έναν συγγραφέα να εμπνέεται το μυθιστόρημά του από γεγονότα της πραγματικής ζωής του και στην ουσία η ζωή να διαμορφώνει το βιβλίο που γράφει και γίνεται ένα ωραίο μπέρδεμα όπου ένα μυθιστόρημα κρύβεται μέσα στο μυθιστόρημα που διαβάζεις. (κάτι σαν το inception :P )
Πρώτη φορά που διάβασα André Gide και σίγουρα όχι τελευταία!
The Counterfeiters is a book about writing a book, also called "The Counterfeiters". That is the primary theme of the novel which comes from the title of the book by the writer Edouard. Thus The Counterfeiters is a novel-within-a-novel, with Edouard (the alter ego of Gide) writing a book of the same title. Other stylistic devices are also used, such as an omniscient narrator that sometimes addresses the reader directly, weighs in on the characters' motivations or discusses alternate realities. However, there is also the story of a group of boys who are passing counterfeit coins throughout Paris. Thus we have entered a world where we cannot trust our senses -- what is counterfeit and what is real?
The story of Edouard writing his novel demonstrates his search for knowledge, yet as he associates with a group of his own adolescent relatives it appears as an artificial arrangement; one that displays the effects upon society of youth's corruption of traditional standards and values. The collapse of morality is illustrated with Eduoard's nephew Vincent, who deserts his lover Laura, a married woman, and runs away with Lillian, the mistress of Count Robert de Passavant. His life goes downhill as he murders her and goes insane. There is also the coming of age story of Bernard and Olivier as they prepare to leave school -- but does this extend beyond their education and emanate from all who are learning about the world? This learning which is required by the changing nature of the everyday, the quotidian reality that is, perhaps, counterfeit.
I found the details of Edouard's struggles with his career, his family, his friendships and love provide images that enhance the main themes, yet also provide narrative drive. Another subplot of the novel is homosexuality. Some of the characters are overtly homosexual, like the adolescent Olivier, and the adult writers Count de Passavant and Eduoard. The Count seems to be an evil and corrupting force while the latter is benevolent. Even when the treatment is not overt, there is a homoerotic subtext that runs throughout, which encompasses Olivier's friend, Bernard, and their schoolfellows Gontran and Philippe. The main theme of The Counterfeiters underlies the issue of sexuality, morality, and social order and lineage in a unique way for his era.
Gide's novel was not received well on its appearance, perhaps because of its homosexual themes and its unusual composition. It is this unusual composition that I thought made it an interesting read; along with which the way Gide demonstrates ideas through his characters and their actions much like Dostoevsky and Thomas Mann. The Counterfeiters has improved its reputation in the intervening years and is now generally counted among the great novels of the twentieth century.
Este libro es literatura sobre literatura. Es metatexto, es anti-novela, es provocación hecha novela. Eduardo es un hombre que escribe una novela y nosotros (los lectores) leemos el borrador de esa novela. Nos encontramos con fragmentos que no le salen y que él dice que no va a publicarlos, nos encontramos con personajes que aparecen y desaparecen como fantasmas (un ejemplo es Vicente, de quien perdemos el rastro en África). El texto tiene estructura de notas del borrador.
¿Por qué André Gide escribió esta novela? ¿Por qué quiso mostrar el proceso de creación de un libro? Porque también es divertido. Por la misma razón por la cual algunas personas van a comer a estos restaurantes donde primero tienen que cocinar su cena. Por la misma razón por la cual nos paramos al lado de un dibujante en una plaza y seguimos sus movimientos. Pero este libro no es un manual de como escribir una novela; es una visión irónica sobre la labor de un escritor.
No solamente la estructura es desafiante, también el contenido. Gide toca temas importantes y universales: la infancia, la búsqueda de su ser, la sexualidad, la agresión, la familia, la confianza, los miedos. Y para cada uno de ellos su ángulo de vista es diferente al de la sociedad típica patriarcal. Para entender la forma de pensar del autor, deberíamos adentrarnos en su biografía.
La historia se centra en la vida de dos chicos adolescentes: Bernardo y Oliverio. Los dos abandonan sus casas para poder construir sus vidas. Los dos odian a sus padres, el ambiente hipócrita de sus hogares. El aire de mentira, de represión, de autoridad los asfixia. Desde una edad muy chica nos enseñan que la familia es la base de todo, el hogar, las raíces. Nos convencen de esto los mismos padres, la escuela, los medios de comunicación, la sociedad. Porque así es más fácil manejarnos. Muy pocas personas se dan cuenta que la familia es una maquina de represión. Solo las personas que abandonan sus hogares pueden ser unos seres libres, fuertes, originales, reflexivas.
Probablemente, es uno de los libros más íntimos que leí. Yo misma abandoné mi casa cuando tenía 16 años porque sentí esta represión, esta falsedad que arruinaba mi alma y que tan bien describe Gide. Nunca me arrepentí de esa decisión. Encontrar a alguien que piensa como yo y quien no tuvo miedo de romper el velo de este tema tan sagrado incluso en la actualidad, significa muchísimo para mí.
Ιδιαίτερο ανάγνωσμα, ιδιαίτερος συγγραφέας, ιδιαίτερη πένα. Εκεί διακρίνουμε την ευφυΐα κ ικανότητα του συγγραφέα. Απαιτητικός και αυστηρός, αισθάνεσαι να δίνει εντολές στον αναγνώστη.
Τον αφήνει ελεύθερο να βρει αυτός τις απαντήσεις των κρυφών μηνυμάτων που είναι διασκορπισμενα σε κάθε κεφάλαιο του βιβλίου. Εμπιστεύεται την κρίση του και την οξύνοιά του κ λειτουργεί ως απλός παρατηρητής.
Οι ήρωες αρκετοί, νεαροί, ανώριμοι που διαπλάθουν την προσωπικότητά τους μέσα από τις εμπειρίες που θα συναντήσουν. Άτεγκτοι, επιρρεπείς, δειλοί εμπλέκονται σε ένα παιχνίδι κίβδηλο, σε ουτοπίες. Κινούνται μεταξύ πραγματικότητας κ ονείρου κ φαντασίας. Χάνονται μέσα στις σκέψεις τους, ενσαρκώνουν ρόλους προσπαθώντας να πείσουν τους πάντες.
Τα θέματα που ξετυλίγονται ποικίλα, θρησκεία, ομοφυλοφιλία, καλό και κακό, προδοσία, οικογενειακές και ηθικές αξίες. Συζητήσεις και αντιπαραθέσεις, αντικρουόμενες σκέψεις- πράξεις.
Ο Ζίντ παίζει με την ανθρώπινη υπόσταση. Θέτει πειρασμούς. Υμνεί την αυτογνωσία, την εγκράτεια κ την κρίση.
Όλα θα φανούν στο τέλος! Ο αναγνώστης θα ρθει αντιμέτωπος με την έκπληξη, την αγωνία, το φόβο.
Is it just me or is this all homoerotic twaddle? The social network described in this novel is just labyrinthine and what’s with the story within the story? I don’t get it!
Bundan önce birçok eser vermiş olmasına rağmen André Gide'in "ilk romanım" dediği eser. Edebiyatta öncüleri hep sevmişimdir, bu roman da anlatım teknikleri açısından öncü bir roman. Roman içinde roman yapısı, farklı karakterlerin gözünden bakışımız, Édouard'ın günlükleri, Gide'in bizzat yazıya dahil olduğu kısım vs. Yeni Roman'a giden yolda önemli bir eser, roman tarihinde kilometre taşlarından biri Kalpazanlar.
This is subtle metafiction since one of the main characters is a writer and the nature of Gide's The Counterfeiters is intellectual, bohemian, philosophical and of its time - for example, Freudian techniques used on a boy are exposited upon and discussed. It follows various people of a social milieu, from schoolboys to new school-leavers, to their parents and relatives, to an old schoolmaster, and is about their relationships and connections: in that sense, it was soap-like. It is also very homoerotic - never directly stated but some of the male main characters are almost certainly gay.
It wasn't the easiest of books to follow but it was good in an interesting way. The denouement (cannot spoil), however, I did not like much because it felt a bit obvious and heavy-handed to me and it rang hollow, so that was a shame.
Edit: I suppose the counterfeit coins used in the novel that the title references, represent the hollow and somewhat flashy or surface nature and currency of many of these relationships people have with each other. I will say that I did find the novel a bit depressing but almost scientifically honest that way because it kind of mirrors what I see and experience about people. I'm sure that says more about me though. Again, I think this is an interesting and philosophical novel - it wove subtly complex webs across my mind.
Back when I was reading Gide, this was my favourite of his works. Have read it several times. What do I remember of it? Nothing, just how the title can reflect meaning onto the falseness of life in so many ways. I keep wanting to read it again. Perhaps I shall.
I wonder if I’ll ever pick my way through Gide’s journals again? Perhaps an unexpurgated version ;)
[2024 update] Have revisited this book through the words of E.M. Forster as he discusses the foundations of literature in Aspects of the Novel, which I am very slowly working my way through. Oh Morgan — may I call you Morgan? — you make everything so interesting, and your wit is wildly restrained.
Morgan quotes a passage, one with layers of construction and artifice, which he says "is the centre of the book. It contains the old thesis of truth in life versus truth in art, and illustrates it very neatly by the arrival of an actual false coin."
Oh Morgan. If only I could have you write all my reviews.
Un romanzo nel romanzo dove l'Autore più volte irrompe nelle vesti di un personaggio per correggere o alterare il corso del racconto o le possibilità di sviluppo. Questo rende la trama, più che complessa, complicata ma la scrittura è colta e raffinata alla maniera di una pièce teatrale e i dialoghi serrati. Il titolo - I Falsari - è appena indicativo e si riferisce a una vicenda collaterale nella storia che riguarda lo smercio di monete false. Piuttosto, l'idea di fondo è che tutto è falso intorno a noi e che ognuno gioca la sua parte. Gide ne ha per tutti non tollerando imposizioni e pregiudizi. "La maniére dont le monde des apparences s'impose à nous et dont nous tentons d'imposer au monde extérieur notre interprétation particulière, fait le drame de notre vie."
Και ο κλασικισμός και το πρόταγμα της καθαρής λογοτεχνίας του Ζιντ (αν, βέβαια, καταλαβαίνω επαρκώς τι σημαίνουν) με εκνευρίζουν αφάνταστα. Υπήρξαν στιγμές που μ' εκνεύρισαν κι οι Κιβδηλοποιοί. Αυτό δεν σημαίνει ότι δεν τους απόλαυσα στο μέγιστο βαθμό, παρά τον κατ' εμέ πομπώδη, γεμάτο μεγαλοστομίες τρόπο, με τον οποίο συζητούν οι -τόσο καλοφτιαγμένοι όμως!- χαρακτήρες. Δεν μπόρεσα να μη θαυμάσω και να μη ρουφήξω μέσα σε ένα διήμερο αυτό το τόσο γεμάτο, πλήρες μυθιστόρημα, με πλήθος προβληματισμών για χίλια δυο ζητήματα, που, ναι, ενδεχομένως έχουν ξεπεραστεί από την εποχή μας (αλλά μπορεί και όχι). Ας προσπαθήσω να το πω πιο λακωνικά: εκνευριστικό αυθεντικό αριστούργημα.
Fałszerze to bardzo specyficzna powieść. Nie każdemu przypadnie do gustu, głównie ze względu na skomplikowaną kompozycję. Powieść Gide'a to powieść o pisaniu książki. Pomysł na powieść Gide zaczerpnął z dwóch artykułów prasowych - o fałszerzach monet oraz samobójstwie ucznia z małej miejscowości. Akcję powieści autor ukazuje niejako w dwóch zwierciadłach - z perspektywy bohaterów powieści jak i z perspektywy Edwarda (pisarz, alter ego Gide'a), który opisuje ich. Fałszerze pisani są jakby od środka, przy całkowitym udziale autora. Bohaterów są dziesiątki, ich losy się przeplatają.
Momentami można się pogubić, ale czego tutaj nie ma! Oprócz standardowego zestawu motywów powieściowych, pojawia się wątek romansu między Edwardem a jego bratankiem (z przyrodniej siostry, ale jednak!), homoerotyczny podekst obejmujący przyjaźń licealistów Oliwiera i Bernarda, jest i polski akcent (Bronia i jej matka, dr Sofroniska).
Fałszerze, to także kopalnia cytatów, wynotowałem sobie ich kilkanaście. I choć początkowo powieść została chłodno przyjęta przez krytykę i publikę, to ówcześnie zalicza się ją do klasyki literatury francuskiej.
Fałszerzy można traktować jak eksperyment literacki, który według mnie powiódł się znakomicie. Będę wracał.
کتاب واقعا زیبا شروع میشه و پایان بسیار جذابی هم داره .کلا من خیلی ازش خوشم اومد ولی مشکل کتاب در اینه که ژید اندیشه ی قدرتمندی نداره(در مقایسه با پروست ،مان و موزیل).بر خلاف نظر خود ژید راجع به نبود عنصر داستانی در این کتاب،کتاب سرشار از حادثه و اتفاقات باور نکردنیه.بعضی از بخشهای کتاب به شدت شبیه رمان های داستایفسکی(مخصوصا ابله و آزردگان)از آب در اومده.رمانتسیسم در جای جای کتاب موج میزنه و داستان خیلی غیر قابل باوره.من همون مشکلی رو که باآثار داستا یفسکی دارم با این کتاب داشتم(از جمله سخنان عجیب وغریب در دهان کودکان و فضای تئاتری ونمایشی سرشار از تصادفات عجیب وغریب ).اما به هر حال کتابی به شدت خوندنیه وبه خصوص روابط همجنسگرایی در اون( حداقل دربین کتابهایی که من خوندم)خیلی شگفت انگیز و جالب از کار در اومده.
سكه سازان تصور بى خودى كه كتاب هاى مدرسه از آندره ژيد به من داده بودو عوض كرد و در واقع از جزئياتى كه بهشىن توجه مى كنه و تجربه هايى كه ازشون مى نويسه خيلى خوشم اومد و حتما چيز ديگرى از آندره ژيد خواهم خوند. نكته اين كتاب شخصيت پردازى هاشه، خيلى خوب درومده. آدم دوست داره همه چيزشون رو دنبال كنه و بيشتر ازشون بدونه. تو كتاب از يك سرى تجربه در روابط و دوستى ها حرف مى زنه. خوندن اين ها منو مجاب مى كنه كتاب بخونم. انقدر اصيل اند و انقدر در تجربه شون تنها و حيران بوده م كه از خوندنشون سر ذوق ميام و دوست دارم هرچى در موردشون هست رو ببينم و از تجربه خودم بيشتر سر در بيارم. من نصف كتابو به فرانسوى خوندم و مخصوصا ازين قسمتش خيلى لذت بردم. بقيه شو به خاطر كمبود وقت مجبور شدم ترجمه بخونم كه زياد جالب نبود. ترجمه از حسن هنرمندى بود و ترجمه طبيعى و روانى نيست.
Chi sono i falsari? Il romanzo che scrive sé stesso
Quando nel 1925 André Gide pubblica I falsari ha ormai cinquantasei anni, ed alle spalle opere letterarie di grande importanza, tra le quali L’immoralista (1902), La porta stretta (1909), I sotterranei del Vaticano (1914), opere che siamo portati a classificare come romanzi, in considerazione della loro relativa ampiezza e dell’articolazione complessiva della narrazione. Eppure dedicando I falsari all’amico Roger Martin du Gard, scrittore che avrebbe ricevuto il nobel nel 1937, l’autore scrive: ”A Roger Martin du Gard dedico il mio primo romanzo in testimonianza di profonda amicizia”, e anche più tardi affermò che I falsari costituivano il solo romanzo da lui scritto. Gide infatti non classificherà mai le opere sopra citate come romanzi: considererà le prime due récit, termine difficilmente traducibile in italiano (una possibilità è data da narrazione) con il quale viene indicato il racconto, sia orale sia scritto, di determinati fatti, reali o di fantasia, secondo modalità decise dal narratore; quanto a I sotterranei del Vaticano, egli lo designa come un sotie, riesumando un termine che nel medioevo indicava rappresentazioni teatrali di contenuto politico o di attualità. Per Gide quindi il termine romanzo ha un significato preciso, che va al di là dell’ampiezza della narrazione, dell’articolazione della trama e dei personaggi, della materia stessa dello scrivere: come vedremo, negli anni ‘20 del XX secolo merita per lui questo appellativo solo un’opera totalizzante che – prendendo le mosse dalla grande tradizione letteraria dei due secoli precedenti – ambisca a rappresentare lo spirito dell’epoca; per far questo è però necessario disarticolare, utilizzare solo strumentalmente la cassetta degli attrezzi che la letteratura dei secoli precedenti ha messo a disposizione dello scrittore, giungendo paradossalmente a creare qualcosa di completamente diverso dal romanzo classico. Gide fa quindi pienamente parte, con una sua precisa originalità intellettuale, del grande movimento tellurico che nei primi decenni del novecento rivoluzionò, non solo in ambito letterario, la forma ed il senso stesso dell’espressione artistica. Dato che – come spesso nelle sue opere – anche ne I falsari grande importanza assumono gli elementi autobiografici, sembra opportuno riassumere a grandi linee la vita di questo grande e contraddittorio intellettuale, sicuramente una delle figure che ha segnato la vita culturale francese ed europea della prima metà del XX secolo e la cui influenza si fa sentire ancora oggi. André Gide nacque nel 1869 a Parigi in una famiglia della borghesia intellettuale, di stampo puritano. Appena decenne perse il padre, e si legò profondamente alla madre che, pur nell’ambito di un rapporto possessivo, assecondò le sue aspirazioni artistiche. Altra figura femminile di grande importanza nella sua vita fu la cugina, Madeleine Rondeaux, di cui si innamorò adolescente e che finì per sposare, dopo lunghe resistenze di lei e dei suoi genitori, nel 1895: il matrimonio, che - a detta dei testi sacri - non fu mai consumato, durò comunque sino alla morte di lei nel 1938. Dopo una giovinezza segnata da momenti di fervore religioso e dal senso di colpa per la sua omosessualità, peraltro non vissuta sino a oltre vent’anni, Gide la accolse ed ebbe numerose relazioni con altri uomini, anche adolescenti; nel 1923 ebbe da Élisabeth Van Rysselberghe una figlia, che riconobbe solo dopo la morte della moglie. La sua produzione letteraria è piuttosto corposa e molto articolata, essendo composta da testi di narrativa variamente classificabili, alcune opere teatrali, saggi letterari, reportages di viaggio ed altro; le opere principali che la segnano marcano i numerosi passaggi, anche politici nella vita dell’autore. Dopo alcune prove giovanili segnate da un tardo simbolismo, una prima svolta arriva con I nutrimenti terrestri, sorta di saggio filosofico in cui vengono affrontati i temi dell’affrancamento dell’individuo dalla morale corrente e dell’importanza della sensualità; nell’opera si sente l’influsso di Oscar Wilde, autore molto ammirato da Gide: tra l’altro i due si incontrarono un paio di volte durante i numerosi viaggi di Gide. Seguono le opere più importanti, che culminano proprio con I falsari e, l’anno successivo, con l’autobiografico Se il grano non muore. Ormai intellettuale molto influente nella vita culturale francese, anche grazie al suo ruolo di fondatore e animatore della Nouvelle Revue française, pubblica in seguito, oltre ad altre opere di narrativa, resoconti di viaggio, tra i quali molto importanti quelli relativi al Congo e al Ciad, nei quali denuncia gli orrori strutturali del colonialismo, suscitando un ampio dibattito pubblico. Negli anni ‘30 si avvicina al comunismo, dal quale però si dissocia dopo un viaggio in URSS: il saggio che pubblica al proposito accende feroci polemiche a sinistra. Muore nel 1951, dopo avere, quattro anni prima, ricevuto – lui grande irregolare – il più mainstream dei premi, il Nobel per la letteratura. Non è facile parlare de I falsari, che come detto Gide considerava l’unico vero romanzo da lui scritto. Il motivo di questa difficoltà (che è del resto probabilmente tutta mia, legata alle mie croniche insufficienze critiche) sta sia nella articolazione strutturale del romanzo, che presenta molti personaggi e molte storie, gli uni e le altre intrecciantisi o svolgentisi parallele, sia nelle sue ambizioni, in quanto numerosi, e tutti estremamente rilevanti, sono i temi che l’autore tratta, nell’ambito di un contenitore che riprende, disarticolandola a mio avviso con un buon tasso di una sottile ironia, la tradizione del romanzo borghese. Un primo dato da notare è che il romanzo non è narrato da un unico soggetto. Se molti capitoli sono appannaggio di un narratore terzo, una parte importante dell’opera è costituita dal diario dello scrittore Édouard, uno dei personaggi principali del romanzo, che non forma un corpus separato, ma interseca ciò che è narrato in terza persona. Il narratore terzo non è né asettico né onnisciente: pur senza assumere il ruolo di guida morale, come spesso fa il narratore settecentesco, a questo si avvicina quando interviene direttamente, anche esprimendo giudizi su quanto sta avvenendo oppure dicendo al lettore di non essere stato in grado di seguire alcuni personaggi oppure di aver tralasciato un loro colloquio in quanto non importante ai fini delle vicende narrate. Egli si pone quindi come un filtro esplicito tra i fatti e come questi vengono riportati: in qualche modo rivendica la sua parzialità, e così facendo sembra avvertire il lettore che la letteratura, di per sé stessa, è parziale. Naturalmente ancora più parziali sono le pagine del diario di Édouard, nel quale in trasparenza si può vedere lo stesso Gide. Così come non esiste un narratore univoco, anche la trama del romanzo è scomposta in varie storie, parallele od intrecciantisi. La vicenda principale riguarda il rapporto di amicizia tra due liceali parigini in procinto di diplomarsi: Bernard Profitendieu e Olivier Molinier. Entrambi figli di giudici, sono molto legati, pur avendo caratteri molto diversi. Bernard è impulsivo e irrequieto. All’inizio del romanzo scopre, leggendo di nascosto alcune vecchie lettere della madre, di non essere figlio di Albéric Profitendieu, padre da lui mai amato, ma il frutto di una breve relazione adulterina della moglie, che a suo tempo Profitendieu ha perdonato riaccogliendola in casa e riconoscendo il figlio non suo. A seguito di questa scoperta Bernard fugge da casa, scrivendo una durissima lettera al patrigno. Si rivolge a Olivier, che lo accoglie per la notte di nascosto in camera sua: i due ragazzi dormono nello stesso letto e la mattina dopo Bernard affronta la nuova vita. Olivier Molinier è un ragazzo timido, sensibile e insicuro, con velleità letterarie. Ha un rapporto più tranquillo con la famiglia e prova una grande ammirazione per un fratellastro della madre, Édouard, scrittore famoso, che una volta ha criticato amichevolmente alcuni brutti versi da lui scritti, consigliandolo su come migliorarsi. Lo zio tornerà il giorno successivo da un viaggio a Londra e Olivier intende andare alla stazione ad accoglierlo. Édouard a sua volta è attratto dal ragazzo, sia per la sua pur acerba vivacità intellettuale, sia fisicamente: anche se nel romanzo non viene mai esplicitata, l’omosessualità di Édouard è infatti palese; egli tuttavia ama platonicamente una giovane donna, Laura, ormai sposata. Nel loro incontro alla stazione, comunque, ed anche in seguito, i due non riusciranno ad esprimere i reciproci sentimenti; il loro rapporto si svilupperà solo più tardi, a seguito di vicende anche drammatiche, dopo che per un certo periodo ad Édouard si è legato Bernard, suscitando la gelosia dell’amico. Una prima vicenda parallela è centrata sul personaggio di Vincent Molinier, fratello maggiore di Olivier. Studente di medicina ma appassionato di scienze naturali, durante un soggiorno a Pau per curarsi dalla tisi ha conosciuto Laura Vedel, l’amica di Édouard, da lui spinta ad un matrimonio senza amore e rivelatosi sessualmente insoddisfacente. I due giovani, convinti di avere i giorni contati, hanno avuto una relazione, e Laura è incinta. Guariscono, e tornati a Parigi, Vincent, che frequenta la casa di uno scrittore alla moda, cinico e a sua volta omosessuale, Robert de Passavant, abbandona Laura per una eccentrica amica di Passavant, Lilian Griffith, con la quale finirà in Africa. Laura nel frattempo verrà salvata da Édouard e finirà per tornare dal comprensivo marito. Molte altre sono le storie narrate nel romanzo, tanto che sarebbe troppo lungo accennare a tutte. Alcune sono tragiche - su tutte quella che coinvolge un ragazzino timido di nome Boris bullizzato da alcuni compagni di classe - altre più leggere, altre ancora quasi goliardiche: iniziazioni amorose adolescenziali, velleità artistiche, piccoli furti, spaccio di monete false e violenze psicologiche coinvolgono una serie di personaggi minori, legati ai protagonisti e quasi sempre molto giovani. Come è facilmentee intuibile, questo intreccio tra due diversi narratori che raccontano molteplici vicende consente a Gide di variare i toni del romanzo, che infatti tocca numerosi registri, dal drammatico al tragico, dal lieve all’ironico, quasi a volervi riassumere tutte (o quasi) le sfaccettature tonali possibili di tale genere letterario. Analogamente, e forse più significativamente, numerose sono le tematiche che vengono toccate. Sicuramente tra le più importanti e scabrose vi è quella dell’omosessualità e della pederastia. Gide ha già pubblicato lo scandaloso saggio Corydon e nell’edizione del 1924 – un anno prima della pubblicazione de I falsari - vi ha apposto il proprio nome. Omosessualità e pederastia sono quindi già state sdoganate dall’autore, che si è anche assunto la responsabilità della loro difesa. Ecco che quindi i rapporti di Édouard e Passavant con i due giovani protagonisti, sia pure mai esplicitati nel testo, possono avere la stessa dignità ed essere trattati analogamente agli amori eterosessuali che si incontrano nel romanzo; questi ultimi tra l’altro assumono spesso la forma di fuga dall’istituto matrimoniale e dalle tensioni nei rapporti interpersonali che caratterizzano le normali famiglie borghesi di cui il romanzo si occupa. Senza dubbio però la tematica che maggiormente interessa Gide è legata all’analisi della letteratura dei suoi tempi, di ciò che è e di ciò che dovrebbe essere. Da un lato egli polemizza con la letteratura mediocre che piace al pubblico e ai circoli della critica, identificando in Passavant il paradigma dell’autore opportunista; dall’altro affida al diario di Édouard numerosi passi densi di riflessione letterarie, in particolare attorno alla forma-romanzo. L’autore rende la sua identificazione con Édouard del tutto esplicita utilizzando la tecnica della mise en abyme: Édouard sta infatti scrivendo un romanzo intitolato I falsari, che parlerà di uno scrittore che sta scrivendo un romanzo… Nel suo diario Édouard giunge persino a riportare un passo di ciò che ha scritto, che si riferisce ad una vicenda del tutto analoga a quanto avviene realmente. Questa identificazione mi appare troppo plateale per non essere intesa in senso ironico, ed a mio avviso infatti la mise en abyme gioca un ruolo più sottile. Le riflessioni letterarie di Édouard ruotano attorno al problema del rapporto tra letteratura e realtà, e più volte egli critica il romanzo realista e la narrativa che si pone il problema della verosimiglianza. Édouard, scrivendo nel suo I falsari ciò che è avvenuto ne I falsari scritto da Gide conferisce a quest’ultimo la patente di fonte del reale, ed alla letteratura la possibilità e la necessità di riprodurre la realtà: esattamente ciò che Gide nega sia possibile. È quindi un gioco di specchi a cui Gide ci invita, reso ancora più affascinante e complesso da due ulteriori elementi, che il lettore scopre in appendice al romanzo. Il primo è che Gide, del tutto analogamente a Édouard, ha tenuto dei quaderni nei quali ha annotato la nascita del romanzo, aggiungendo se cosi si può dire un ulteriore cerchio esterno al gioco dei rimandi. Il secondo, forse più clamorosamente ironico, è il fatto che per sviluppare alcune delle vicende di un romanzo volto a mostrare la vanità e l’inutilità dei tentativi letterari di essere realistici attinge a due fatti di cronaca, quasi a dire che neppure attingendo dal reale un romanzo può narrare la realtà. Ma un romanzo così complesso e stratificato come I falsari non si limita certo ad essere un contenitore di polemiche e riflessioni letterarie o a difendere il contraddittorio universo sentimentale dell’autore. Come accennato, assumono una loro centralità anche la denuncia di alcuni cardini della società borghese come il matrimonio e la famiglia, dissezionati nella loro essenza regolatrice dal lucidissimo occhio di Gide. Anche il potere giudiziario non ne esce bene, tutto intento com’è non a perseguire la giustizia ma a fare in modo che nelle inchieste avviate non siano coinvolti i figli di gente perbene. Infine, un Gide ormai lontano dai fervori religiosi di gioventù non risparmia, nelle vicende del romanzo dedicate alla pensione Vedel – Azaïs, strali anche ad una religiosità falsa, ipocrita e venale, regalando al lettore, nella figura del pastore Prosper Vedel, un moderno discendente di Tartuffe. Su tutto, poi, aleggia il senso di una efferatezza giovanile che forse anticipa i tempi bui che sarebbero giunti di lì a poco. Tantissime altre cose vi sarebbero da annotare su questo romanzo, forse meno celebrato di altri della sua epoca e che in alcuni passaggi pecca di un certo autocompiacimento culturale, tipico dell’egocentrico Gide; non per questo esso non va annoverato tra i grandi capolavori del XX secolo. Resta infine da comprendere: chi sono i falsari? Certamente i ragazzi che spacciano monete false e giungeranno ad abissi di crudeltà, ma anche i loro genitori immersi in un falso perbenismo, e soprattutto i letterati, che non possono – facendo di necessità virtù – che raccontare il falso.
"Os Moedeiros Falsos", publicado em 1925, é uma das obras mais importantes de André Gide e pode ser analisado pelo modo como aborda temas de identidade, autenticidade e a fluidez do desejo. A narrativa segue um grupo de jovens pretensos escritores interligados entre si, que lidam com questões de moralidade, autenticidade e a busca por um sentido verdadeiro de si e da vida.
Li a par deste, o volume “Diário dos Moedeiros Falsos” (tradução de Mário Laranjeira, li de 18/12/2024 a 02/01/2025) em que autor que explorou o modo como reflete na sua escrita diarísica o caminho de escrita de “Os Moedeiros Falsos” e nos mostra uma visão profunda sobre seus pensamentos e processos criativos.
“Os Moedeiros Falsos" de André Gide pode ser lido como uma obra literária que intensamente desafia normas sociais, promovendo reflexões sobre autenticidade, identidade e desejo. Através de personagens complexos e uma narrativa densa que explora as tensões entre o indivíduo e a sociedade, Gide convida os leitores a reconsiderar seus próprios entendimentos de identidade e a abraçar a fluidez do desejo humano, reconhecendo a multiplicidade de experiências além das categorias tradicionais. Na realidade a relevância da obra continua a ressoar no debate contemporâneo sobre sexualidade e identidade, solidificando Gide como um possível precursor das questões “queer” na literatura.
Years ago, while working on my thesis for my master's degree, I learned everything there was to know about East of Eden. One bit of information I learned was the books that had influenced Steinbeck, particularly in his writing of EoE. There were titles I'd heard of: Moby-Dick and Don Quixote. And there was this: The Counterfeiters. Because I loved all things East of Eden, I made it a point to read these influential books.
Now that I've read The Counterfeiters, I see how it influenced Steinbeck. The Counterfeiters is an intelligent and imaginative novel. And it is perhaps the earliest example of post-modernist metafiction I've encountered. Here is a novel called The Counterfeiters, a novel which includes a character who is an author writing a book named The Counterfeiters. And as the character in the novel shapes the story, so changes the story in the reader's hands. Lovely. I thoroughly enjoy works like this. (Steinbeck's original draft of East of Eden featured some similar metafictional elements, but many of these were toned down at the insistence of Steinbeck's editor and publisher.)
Also groundbreaking was Gide's approach to sexuality. The majority of the characters in the novel are either gay or bisexual. Their relationships are presented realistically—in both positive and negative light—just like you'd expect from any heterosexual relationship. Published in 1925, this display of authentic, non-sensationalized homosexual relationships was surely an original take.
So The Counterfeiters was definitely a groundbreaking novel, but oh, is it void of anything enjoyable. It's intelligent and creative, but there's not much of a story. It is art for the sake of art. And it's so incredibly hard to follow. The Counterfeiters has a cast of characters that rivals War and Peace; the difference is that The Counterfeiters introduces these character in a third of the space Tolstoy allowed for his characters to develop. Another big difference, War and Peace was vastly interesting.
While trying to follow this novel, I stumbled upon the following graphic. I think it nicely illustrates one of the problems I had with The Counterfeiters.
graphic by Morn the Gorn What you see here is the cast of characters, and their convoluted relationships. It's not unlike a graphic you might find for War and Peace. Halfway through this novel, though, I couldn't honestly tell you more than one or two details about no more than two or three of these characters. Many of the others were recognizable by name only. Looking at this diagram should have made the story easier to read, but it didn't, and that's purely because Gide made a much too tangled mess of a novel. Honestly, and I hate admitting this, it got so bad that I began to skim pages and skip entire passages. I just didn't enjoy anything about this story.
To Gide's credit, however, this novel was definitely groundbreaking. For me, the way it shattered the confines of story and sexuality were the only redeeming qualities. I'm glad he wrote it, if for no other reason than it changed the landscape of the modern novel, but I have no desire to read this novel ever again.
"Involuntaria e inconscientemente cada uno de los seres que se aman se moldean conforme a la existencia del otro, trabaja en parecerse a ese ídolo que contempla en el corazón del otro... Todo el que ama de verdad renuncia a la sinceridad."
"Los monederos falsos" es la primera novela escrita por André Gide en 1925. Esta es una novela de múltiples narradores que yo clasificaría como "polifónica", pero no al estilo de las de Fiódor Dostoievski en la que la historia es llevada adelante en base a las vivencias e ideas de los personajes, permitiendo al autor ponerse a un costado para no interferir ni siquiera narrando lo que sucede. En este caso es un tanto distinto ya que un narrador neutral ordena la historia en base a las situaciones que cada personaje en particular va atravesando. De todas maneras la novela se aleja de la construcción clásica para formar un auténtico entramado de personajes y situaciones, además de alternar entre primera y tercera persona y de incluir también cartas y extractos del diario de Edouard Profitendieu que es uno de los personajes principales junto con Bernard y Olivier, lo que dificulta la normalidad de la lectura llevando al lector a mantenerse atento a las conexiones entre los personajes y sus puntos narrativos. Creo encontrar también ecos de esta novela en otras como "Las olas" de Virginia Woolf en la que todos los personajes confluyen al desarrollo de la historia, pero de una manera más lineal. De todos modos, en "Los monederos falsos" todo se complejiza más, ya que con el correr de las páginas, algunos personajes desaparecen para tener importancia vital en el último tramo de la novela. En la novela vamos conociendo una historia principal, la de Eduardo, un escritor que a la vez está escribiendo la novela que le da el nombre a la de Gide que leemos: "Los monederos falsos, mientras Bernard y Olivier, Vincent y otros personajes van tomando relevancia en la historia. Luego se desprenden historias secundarias en donde una gran cantidad de personajes se conectan entre sí, generando Gide un verdadero cruzamiento que recuerda un poco a "Cien años de soledad" de Gabriel García Márquez. Alrededor de esta historia se desarrollan otras narraciones de segundo grado: En primer lugar, la del hermano mayor de Olivier, Vincent, quien se involucra de manera adúltera con una prima lejana, Laura, quien a su vez queda embarazada. Vincent termina huyendo para refugiarse con Lady Griffith, una amiga de un tal conde Robert de Passavant. Por otro lado, el hermano pequeño de Olivier, Georges, se involucra con un subalterno del conde de Passavant. Otra historia refiere a un amigo de Olivier, Armand, depresivo y nihilista que también sucumbe al conde de Passavant y por otro lado, el padre de Bernard que investiga un caso de monedas falsas; el padre de Olivier dividido entre su familia y su amante y otros sucesos que demuestran por qué esta novela es considerada de vanguardia en la literatura, ya que constantemente uno debe estar atento en la lectura para no perder el hilo de los acontecimientos. Una excelente novela de esas que vale la pena leer ya que por su estructuración nos saca de la normalidad para disfrutar de la literatura de otra manera y con distintos puntos de vista.
Frömmlerischer Schwulenschmalz *Achtung Rezi in Progress*
Persönliche Befangenheitserklärung
Bin erst mal froh, dass ich's hinter mir habe, aber als Literaturfreund maßlos enttäuscht, auch wenn das Buch für die damalige Schwulen-Szene oder reife Freunde von Knaben, die sich im Dauerringkampf mit ihrem puritanisch-christlichen Erbe befanden, sicher der Brüller war. Hauptmotivation durchzuhalten, war die stilbildende Funktion für Klaus Manns Vulkan, an dessen Eigenheiten ich schon mehr als einmal gescheitert bin.
Während meiner literarischen Sozialisation wurden André Gides Die Falschmünzer in einem Atemzug mit Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften, Ulysses, Auf der Suche nach der verlorenen Zeit oder Zenos Gewissen als Markstein der Moderne genannt. Klaus Manns Lobpreis als Kunst der Fuge des Romans hat den Erwartungshorizont noch höher gespannt, zumal das entsprechende Kapitel in André Gide und die Krise des modernen Denkens zweifellos der Höhepunkt dieser gelegentlich apologetischen Analyse darstellt. Im Gegensatz zum sonst eher sinfonisch gestalteten traditionellen Roman, sollte Gide mit seinem reinen Roman so etwas wie ein kontrapunktisches Erzählwerk gelungen sein. Von daher war ich zumindest auf einige erzähltechnische Finessen gespannt. Aber der Erzähler, der nicht immer alles wissen will und seine Leser persönlich anspricht und demonstrativ bevormundet, erinnert mich eher an einen alten Onkel. Es sei denn, jemand empfindet die Montage von Tagebucheinträgen und Briefen als ungewöhnlich, mir erscheint das Buch aber in diesem Punkt eher den Traditionen des 18. Jahrhunderts verhaftet. Wenn man so will, eher Neobarock als Aufbruch zu neuen Ufern. Das Personal und seine Konflikte gehen dem Leser in etwa so nahe wie die Dramen des ausdrücklich gelobten Racine. Gides strikte Weigerung dem Leser mehr als ein paar Kleidungsstücke oder die aktuelle Luftqualität an die Hand zu geben, die mir schon bei den Verliesen des Vatikan sehr zu schaffen machte, erhöht das Lesevergnügen nicht unbedingt. Die einzige Ausnahme ist das ausführliche Portrait eines jungen Bücherdiebs aus der Perspektive von Tagebuchschreiber und Tugendbold Edouard. tbc
The reputation of the Faux-Monnayeurs is that it is an experimental novel that succeeds only where it is conventional. Gide's experimentation comes in the form of a magically real angel, multiple narrative points of view combined with more subplots and characters than would normally be considered prudent in a well-controlled work.
At 19, I liked it because the author maintained a rapid pace and clearly had great affection for his characters. As well the discussion on homosexuality was new to me. Because Gide obviously knew the topic very well I felt that the Faux-Monnayeurs delivered great insight.
I was stunned when an angel appeared in the novel to wrestle with Bernard as if he were Jacob. I was then very glad to see that Bernard was subsequently able to make peace with his adopted father.
The novel however ends on a very cruel note as a bullied child commits suicide in front of his classmates. I had frankly hoped that the Angel could have saved the little boy and still regret that he did not.
This is a great novel about the soul-searching of adolescent males during their late teens. I recommend it well before Catcher in the Rye.
حال می توان یک اثر ایده الیست و زیبا از اندره ژید را دید که توانسته خیلی زیبا و منظم مسائل بسیاری از زندگی را در یک کتاب بگنحاند و با خواندن ان بسیاری از چیزهایی را که ما در انتقال ان به دیگران ناتوانیم را به راحتی شرح داد.👍🏻
Die Konstruktion des Romans verwirrte mich anfänglich, da er keine Chronologie darstellt, sondern unterschiedliche Erzählstränge miteinander zu verbinden sucht. Grundsätzlich mag ich so etwas sehr gerne und habe auch schon Bücher dieser Art gelesen. Hier erschwerte mir das Hineinkommen in die Geschichte allerdings, dass mir die Themen nicht zusagten: homoerotische Eifersüchteleien, Masturbation, diverse Eifersüchteleien und das Verführen von Personen zu Straftaten sind für mich nicht wirklich begeisternd. Da half es mir auch nicht, die Psychologie dahinter zu suchen, zu erkennen und zu deuten. Fehl schlug auch das Querlesen. Leider muss ich erkennen, dass mir das Buch inhaltlich nicht gefällt. Einzig der Strang des jungen Bernard, der durch Zufall herausfindet, dass er das Ergebnis eines Fehltritts seiner Mutter ist und ihm somit erkennbar wird, warum er nie einen Bezug zu seinem Vater und seinen Geschwistern spürte, war interessant und spannend. Doch auch das sich darauf Konzentrieren ließ mich nicht am Buch dranbleiben. Nach 250 Seiten gab ich auf.
Konzeptionell bekäme das Buch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Inhaltlich für mich nur ⭐️ Da ich somit auch nicht sagen kann, dass es für mich okay war, bekommt es in Gänze leider nur ⭐️.
The Counterfeiters is a book for writers, intellectuals or learners. It's an odd book with crisscrossing themes and story lines. Difficult to follow. (I gave up trying to follow it.) Gide, a winner of the Nobel prize for literature, is an old-time writer, the emphasis being on "writer," rather than "novelist." In those days, there weren't that many writers around and writers often were able to put whatever they wanted in their books.
And Gide put a lot in this book. It's just not much of a story. Ostensibly it's about a young artist's search for artistic authenticity. But that search gets twisted in a hundred different directions, ending up only as strands heading in a general direction. And yet in the process much insightful information about art and the artistic process is provided. And information about life.
Consider these gems:
"It very often suffices to add together a quantity of little facts which, taken separately, are very simple and very natural, to arrive at a sum which is monstrous."
"...the greatest intelligence is precisely the one that suffers most from its own limitations."
Like a Renaissance man, Gide's thoughts are learned and broad ranging, and yet clearly the book's predominant emphasis is on art, more specifically writing. Even, in this edition anyway, at the end, there is Gide's notebook on his process of how he wrote the novel. And it's good information. Like, "...be guided by the words rather than force them into submission."
So, read this novel for entertainment? I would say not really. Read it to read a brilliant man and learn from him? You're getting warmer. Read it to learn about art and writing? You're hot now.
Have a little spare time? I've free flash fiction (all stories under 1K) at my website greggbell.net
" Que cette question de la sincérité est irritante ! Sincérité ! Quand j'en parle, je ne songe qu'à sa sincérité à elle. Si je me retourne vers moi, je cesse de comprendre ce que ce mot veut dire. Je ne suis jamais ce que je crois que je suis - et cela varie sans cesse, de sorte que souvent, si je n'étais là pour les accointer, mon être du matin ne reconnaîtrait pas celui du soir. Rien ne saurait être plus différent de moi, que moi-même. Ce n'est que dans la solitude que parfois le substrat m'apparaît que et que j'atteins à une certaine continuité foncière ; mais alors il me semble que ma vie s'alentit, s'arrête et que je vais proprement cesser d'être. Mon cœur ne bat que par sympathie ; je ne vis que par autrui ; par procuration, pourrais-je dire, par épousaille, et ne me sens jamais vivre plus intensément que quand je m'échappe à moi-même pour devenir n'importe qui. "
Gide'nin yaşamının büyük bölümünü, ön kabule dayanan basmakalıp ahlaki yargılara karşı bireyin düşünsel ve bedensel bağımsızlığını savunarak/arayarak geçirdiğini görüyoruz. Onu, yetiştiği protestan ahlakının içinde dosdoğru bir şekilde kendi olmaya çabalayan, esasında bunun için yazan huzursuz yapılı bir yazar olarak buluyoruz. İşte bu arayışın peşinde, kendi ahlaki çatışmalarını farklı farklı karakterler üzerinde gösterdiği ve 'ilk romanım' dediği Kalpazanlar'ı yaratıyor Gide.
Eserde kurgu ya da biçim kaygısından çok, Gide'nin esas derdinin bu 'insanın kendi doğasına karşı olan ikiyüzlülüğü' olduğunu farkediyoruz. Karakterlerinin kiminde bir kendini arayış sancısı, riyakarlığa karşı bulantı görürken, kiminde ise bilerek ya da bilmeyerek kendini geleneksel ahlakın güdümüne bırakmış bir tür sahtekarlık gözlemliyoruz. Zaten 'Kalpazanlar' isminin de bu ahlakçı ikiyüzlülüğe bir gönderme olduğunu anlıyoruz. Sahteliği fark edilmedikçe değerli addedilen bir meta (eserdeki kalp paralar) gerçekte ne kadar değerliyse, toplumda da değer atfedilen, geleneklerin bilinçli ve ikiyüzlü takipçisi olan kimsenin de o kadar değerli olduğunu anlatmaya çalışıyor Gide.
Belki de bu yüzden Gide'nin, okulda ve okul dışında yozlaştırıcı etkilere maruz kalan ama toplumsal ahlakın henüz dönüştüremediği, öz benliklerine çok yakın olan gençlere ve çocuklara yoğunlaştığını görüyoruz. Yazar, hem isimsiz bir anlatıcı olarak kendi ağzından, hem de yine kendi izdüşümü olan protagonist Edouard'ın günlükleri üzerinden başta Olivier ve Bernard olmak üzere bir dizi genç çocuğun çevreleriyle, aile ve arkadaşlarıyla olan ilişkilerini, hatalarını, yüzleşmelerini ve kişilik yapılarını ele alıyor. Gide'nin nefret ettiği üsttenci ebeveyn bir anlayışın tam aksi olan Eduoard, incelemeci akran bir bakış açısını yansıtıyor. Eleştirel bakışını önce kendisine yönelten, sürekli olarak kendinin ve değer atfettiği kişilerin basmakalıp değerlerden kurtularak öz benliklerine ulaşabilmesi için çabalayan, idealist bir karakter olarak görüyoruz Edouard'ı. Onun Olivier, Bernard, Laura ve diğer karakterlerle iletişiminde insanın öz savaşımı, içsel çatışmaları çok berrak ve şeffaf şekilde önümüze seriliyor. (Burada kitabın çıktığı dönemden beri süregelen bazı eleştirilerin, Edouard'ın Olivier'le olan ilişkisini salt seksüel bir niteliğe indirgediğini görüyoruz. Her ne kadar bazı bölümler bize ruhsal yakınlaşma isteğinin bedensel olanla iç içe geçtiğini hissettirse de, kanımca kitabı salt cinsellik üzerinden okuyan bu saptamalar eserin esas amacının yanında sığ kalıyor. Zira eser bedensel şehvetin ötesinde bir sevgiyi, önemsemeyi ve anlama çabasını içeriyor.)
Teknik olarak da çığır açıcı, tıpkı hayat anlayışı gibi genel ge��er kurallara aykırı bir eser yaratıyor Gide. Olan bitene hakim tanrısal anlatıcının yanı sıra, Edouard'ın günlüğünden okuduklarımız ve klasik diyaloglar paralel ilerliyor eserde. Böylece olaylara çok boyutlu bakabiliyoruz. Ayrıca bir yığın karakterin kaderinin birbiriyle bir şekilde bağlı olduğu Dickensvari karmaşık bir kurguya yer veriyor Gide. En önemlisi de, romandan ziyade denemeyi andıran bir tarz, başı-sonu olmayan garip bir kurgu, derinleşemeyen bir dizi Grotesk karakter görüyoruz eserde. Bu nedenlerden dolayı esere getirilen eleştirilerin cevabını ise aslında yine kitabın içinde buluyoruz: Zira zaten Kalpazanlar'da bir roman yazabilme, yaratabilme sancısını ve kafa karışıklığını okuyoruz. (Hatta Edouard'ın yazacağı romanın ismini değiştirme, saklama gereği bile duymuyor yazar.) Böylece Gide, mise en abyme denilen teknikle roman içinde roman yazma türünün de en nadide örneklerinden birini vermiş oluyor.
**
Camus ve Sartre gibi yazarları düşünsel olarak etkilemiş olan Gide'nin hem teknik hem içerik olarak en sansasyonel eseri olarak görülen Kalpazanlar, yıllar sonra ortaya çıkan, konu ve biçimde tutarlılığa önem vermeyen 'yeni roman' (nouveau roman) akımının da öncüsü olarak kabul ediliyor.
"Dünya şayet kurtulabilirse, ancak yerleşmiş kurallara, kökleşmiş basmakalıp düşüncelere boyun eğmeyenler sayesinde kurtulacaktır. Onlarsız uygarlığımız mahvolacak, kültürümüz yok olacak, yeryüzündeki varlığımızı gizliden gizliye haklı gösteren her şey kaybolup gidecektir. Boyun eğmeyenler yeryüzünün tuzu biberidir."
26/7/2018 بدت لي كأنها قنطرة بين كلاسيكية القرن التاسع عشر وتجريبية القرن العشرين!..القليل من كل شيء وبسلاسة ومهارة أصيلة..حكائية بلزاك لكن دون إغراقه في التفاصيل، تشريح زوﻻ اﻹجتماعي لكن دون سوداوية أو قساوة، مثالية هوغو/واقعية فلوبير!..كرواية أولى لجيد ﻻ بد وأنها حملت أثرا ﻷساليب العمالقة لكنه أيضا بث فيها الكثير من آراءه في اﻷدب والنقد بلسان إدوار أو بمذكراته! استخدم جيد ضمير الراوي العليم والمذكرات بضمير المتكلم..كما أظهر فيها ميوله المثلية الشاذه لكن بأسلوب موارب!(بالطبع ﻻ يمكننا أن نجزم إن كانت المواربة أو التلميح نتيجة الترجمة أو أصالة من المؤلف الذي عرف عنه غرامه بالغلمان!)..العمل الثاني الذي أقرأه لجيد بعد اللاأخلاقي التي ﻻ أذكر الكثير منها غير انطباع بالرتابة والملل أثناء قراءتها لذلك سأعطيها أي اللاأخلاقي نجمتين إلى أن تصادف قراءة ثانية أشك بها! لكني سأنصف هذه مع أن النهاية مخيبة قليلا..نسيت أن أذكر أن ما دعاني لقراءة مزيفو النقود، هو ذكر ماركيز لها في سيرته (نعيشها لنرويها) على أنها من الروايات التي ﻻ يزال يذكر أنه قرأها أيام المدرسة الداخلية It seems like a bridge between the classical of the nineteenth century and the empiricism of the twentieth-century.