Gigi

by Colette

Une histoire de la naissance de la féminité et de l'amour, le chef-d'œuvre de Colette révèle l'emprise de l'auteur de la politique de relations. Avec la musique, le théâtre et le charme du français-fléchie, cette histoire nous montre la formation de la courtisane Gigi.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, France, Romance, French Literature, Historical Fiction, 20th Century

182 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1942

About the author

Colette was the pen name of the French novelist and actress Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette. She is best known, at least in the English-speaking world, for her novella Gigi, which provided the plot for a famous Lerner & Loewe musical film and stage musical. She started her writing career penning the influential Claudine novels of books. The novel Chéri is often cited as her masterpiece.

Reviews

[Madeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Darling, so good to see you! How was Monte Carlo?

Oh, just delightful. I mean, this is turn-of-the-century France and I'm a woman, so I got to watch people have fun. It was great. So what did I miss while I was gone?

Oh my god, I have to tell you the news. You know Gaston Lachaille?

The sugar heir? I'd like him to give me some sugar, if you know what I mean.

No, shut up, I have the best worst news ever. He's getting married.

Married? So his mistress finally locked that down. Good for her.

It's even better than that. Okay, so apparently Gaston's been hanging around this poor family for like, ever--

Ew, why?

I'm not totally clear on that, but I'm like 99% sure that Gaston's dad used to bang the mom and the aunt - they used to be courtesans.

Gaston Lachaille is friends with a family of former hookers?

Yeah, he goes over there and has tea and coos over how adorable their poverty is, it sounds awesome. Anyway, so there's a daughter...

Holy shit, NO.

I'M NOT EVEN AT THE BEST PART. So apparently the mom and the aunt have been training this girl to be a courtesan for Gaston--

How sweet. If this wine wasn't so expensive I'd throw it up.

Right? Anyway, Gaston was like, "yes thanks, wrap her up, I'll take her to go" and the girl was like, "um, I'm not cool with this" and so he proposed instead.

Huh. That is like the opposite of "why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free."

So now Gaston Lachaille is marrying the girl who was supposed to be his mistress. Me and the other girls have a betting pool going - I've given them six months.

Is that the best part?

No, this is: guess how old she is?

Oh Jesus. Okay, he's...what, thirty?

Thirty-three. She's fifteen.

Holy shit.

Did I mention he's known her since she was a baby, and considered her a little kid until like, two days ago when he suddenly noticed she got boobs? And she calls him "Tonton"?

Wow. So what are the odds she's had any kind of sex ed?

Hard to say. I mean, her entire family is courtesans, so I can't imagine they're shy about discussing the facts of life. But on the other hand, when they pitched the idea of her being Gaston's mistress, she used the phrase "I'd sleep in your bed" to describe the situation. So it's equally likely she'll have a heart attack the first time he takes his pants off.

Well, mazel tov, I guess. You said you had six months in the betting pool?

Yep.

Put me down for three.

[Gabrielle (Reading Rampage) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Am I the only one who doesn't get skeeved out by "Gigi"? I do get skeeved out big time by Maurice Chevalier singing "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" because, well… duh! That's a pretty fucked up song… But the actual Colette novella (that I have read in French countless times - as Colette is one of my mother's favorite authors and her books were all over the house I grew up in - and in English for the first time just now) never struck me as creepy.

Maybe it's my weird mix of French and Italian cultural heritage, or a healthy perspective on the social and historical setting of the story itself (or maybe I got into Anaïs Nin short stories way too young and a Freudian analyst would have a field day with my brain…), but I found "Gigi" to be a charming and comical, albeit rather unusual, coming-of-age story.

Some potential spoilers ahead…

Gilberte comes for a family of demi-mondaines; that's a fancy French way of saying high-class courtesans or kept women. These women were beautiful, educated, elegant and experts at entertaining men in every imaginable way (including, but not restricted to, sex). In return, said men would buy them houses, pay their servants, cover them in jewels and fancy dresses. While this was not the most reputable way of making a living, they were not considered prostitutes, but a social class unto themselves, and their lovers were invariably wealthy, often aristocrats or industrialists. Gigi (as her family affectionately call her) is being groomed for that life by her aunt Alicia, a retired courtesan of great fame. A family friend, Gaston Lachaille, is a fabulously rich but bored playboy who enjoys Gigi's company and slowly comes to realize that his fraternal affection for her is changing into something else.

The story is a lot more about Gigi leaving childhood behind and becoming a woman than about the idea of her shaking up with an older man. In fact, Gaston fully admits to feeling uneasy about their age difference - not to mention that Gigi doesn't exactly make herself easy to get. Of course, that sort of gender relation is terribly dated, and no one in their right mind would condone a similar arrangement today, but again, this is the Belle Époque in Paris: age, love and sex were not viewed in our modern North American way at all... I also feel the need to point out that this is not "Lolita": Gigi actually rejects the lifestyle that her family encourages her to pursue in favor of *gasp* marriage and respectability! Not exactly what Humbert had up his sleeve for his little Lo…

And let's not forget that beyond subject-matter, there is Colette's prose: beautiful, whimsical and disarmingly honest. Colette, not unlike Gigi, lived by her own rules and didn't care much for the sexual restrictions imposed on her by proper society. In some ways, Gigi is the proto-manic-pixie-dream-girl who shakes a male character out of the depression and boredom brought on my vacuous women and an empty and unfulfilling lifestyle. Interestingly enough, when the novella was first adapted for Broadway, Colette herself demanded that a young woman she had seen on the beach be cast in the title role: that young woman was Audrey Hepburn. Please don't let the PC rear-view mirror stop you from enjoying this little story… My only problem with it is that its too short! I wanted to know more about these women's lives and the society they lived in.

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Todas las actitudes de Gilberte estaban marcadas por la indiferencia de las niñas castas. Su aspecto podía ser de arquero, de rígido ángel o de chiquillo con faldas, pero casi nunca de una jovencita"

Me gustó este breve relato sobre la vida de la adolescente Gilberte (Gigi) quien tiene una madre Andrée que trabaja como actriz en la Ópera Cómica. Ella no tiene tiempo ni aparentemente interés en velar por su hija por lo que es la abuela (la Sra. Álvarez) quien se encarga de alimentarla e instruirla. También se encuentra la hermana de su abuela (la honorable y pretenciosa tía Alice) quien desde su punto de vista trata de adoctrinar a Gigi cada vez que puede con modales refinados y gusto por lo costoso y de clase.
Gigi es una adolescente que insinúa en las páginas de la novela ciertos rasgos bellos y atrapantes. Aunque la verdad es que están muy atenuados y más bien resaltan más bien sus virtudes de "niña". Ella misma dice de sí misma que parece menor de lo que es (tiene entre 15 y 16 años en realidad).
Por otro lado tenemos la figura de Gaston Lachaille, todo un dandy de la época que ha tenido numerosas aventuras con muchas mujeres, las más resonadas encuentran eco en los periódicos de la época como el "Gil Blas" y, sin embargo, es considerado a pesar de su riqueza y mundo amigo de la humilde familia Álvarez. Visita a la abuela y a Gigi y parece divertirse con la joven. Parece más bien una relación de joven y niña. Ella suele ser impertinente y cual niña de 6 años es constantemente vigilada y callada por su abuela que ve cómo Gigi se comporta excesivamente confianzuda aunque sin malicia.
Tiene un argumento bastante sencillo y no resalta por grandes frases pero la manera de contar de Colette como siempre es transparente, concreta y sabe llevar la acción bien. Me gustó porque también aprecio la cantidad de diferentes temas que puede tratar y esto la hace ver bien para mí (es lo bueno cuando un autor tiene una amplia obra y se puede juzgar mejor lo que escribe). En este caso tenemos contexto y buenas descripciones del "cuidado" de una adolescente en el despertar de su madurez.
El desenlace por lo simple y rápido no fue de mi mayor agrado.

"No hay camafeos bonitos. Hay piedras preciosas y perlas. Hay brillantes blancos, amarillos, azules o rosados. No hablemos de los diamantes negros, no valen la pena. Hay el rubí, cuando una está segura de él. El zafiro, cuando es de Cachemira"

[Dimitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Non è che il matrimonio ci sia vietato, ma per noi, invece di essere un ‘prima’, può essere un ‘dopo’.”

La nonna, la zia e la mamma: una famiglia tutta al femminile che si occupa a modo suo dell’educazione della quindicenne Gilberte, con tanto orgoglio e molta attenzione per come ci si comporta e per quello che la gente può pensare di loro. E un occhio particolare per le notizie riportate dai giornali scandalistici.

Quel giorno, come al solito, la signora Alvarez si assicurò che Gilberte non facesse tardi, mise sul tavolo i bricchi bollenti del caffè e del latte e aprì il giornale aspettando la nipote, che entrò tutta fresca, odorosa di lavanda e ancora un po’ insonnolita. Un grido della signora Alvarez la riscosse di colpo.
“Chiama la mamma, Gigi! Liane d’Exelmans si è suicidata!”
“Ooh …” esclamò la ragazzina, colpita. “E’ morta?”
“Macché! Non è mica così stupida.”
“Che cosa ha usato, nonna? La rivoltella?”
La signora Alvarez la guardò con aria di commiserazione:
“Ma figurati … Il laudano, come al solito.”
“L’altra volta si era uccisa per il principe Georgevic, vero, nonna?”
“Ma dove hai la testa, tesoro? Era per il conte Berthou de Sauveterre.”

E quando il ricco e ultratrentenne amico di famiglia comincerà a guardare Gigi con un occhio diverso, come si comporterà il terzetto femminile e soprattutto come reagirà la nipote? All’inizio della storia Gigi viene vista come una bambina per poi passare, nel giro di poche settimane, da adolescente a donna, meno ingenua di quanto tutti credano.
Molto godibile questo racconto di Colette. Seppure non sia ai livelli di “Cheri” o “Il grano in erba”, ha i suoi punti di forza nell’arguzia dei dialoghi e nella descrizione della mentalità e delle logiche ferree che regolano quel particolare ambiente familiare di fine Ottocento.

“Per noi una buona dose di debolezze e la paura dei ragni sono un bagaglio indispensabile nel mondo degli uomini. “
"Perché, zia?”
“Perché nove uomini su dieci sono superstiziosi, diciannove su venti credono al malocchio e novantotto su cento hanno paura dei ragni. Possono perdonarci … tante cose, ma non di essere libere dalle loro ansie …”

[Roman Clodia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable ingénue meets eligible sugar millionaire...

This story has been told so many times before, in different times, and in different registers from Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre to Georgette Heyer and, er, 50 Shades of Grey - but this has to be one of my favourites.

Set in 1899 in the Parisian démi-monde, Gilberte (Gigi) is almost 16: all unwitting charm and raw beauty, she is totally unselfconscious as she romps with Gaston Lachaille, 33 year old friend of the family - and the most eligible, rich and sought-after bachelor in town...

This is perhaps one of Colette's most perfect stories. Just under 60 pages, this is easily read in a single sitting but is rich enough to delineate a whole world, its values, its politics and its treatment of women, and to do all that with enviable warmth, wit, candour and subtlety. My only niggle is that it's too short! I'd have loved Colette to have revisited these characters - if you haven't experienced Colette before, this is a fine taster.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Colette é de cair de cu."
António Lobo Antunes

Lobo Antunes como romancista tem um estilo tão enredado que me parte a cabeça; como homem "comum" é de uma simplicidade que me encanta e subjuga. Aquela frase, tão expressiva embora pouco literária, foi como um rastilho que me atirou para os montes de livros à procura da minha Gigi, o qual comprei por achar curioso ter tradução de José Saramago, mas que arrumei e esqueci.

Os três contos (diria pequenos romances) incluídos nesta edição são um primor; pela beleza da escrita; pelas histórias representativas da sociedade parisiense da época; pelos temas universais (o amor e a morte); pela estrutura da narrativa que evolui, em crescendo, até um final inesperado.

1. Gigi
(A "Lolita" de Colette)
Gilberte é uma menina de quinze anos, educada pela família, com todos os rigores da finura e decência, para que se case (ou amasie) com um homem de classe, mesmo que seja já bem maduro.

2. O Menino Doente
Jean tem poliomielite (Alizia Effanti, como ele lhe chama). Está na cama, inválido, rodeado pelos cuidados da mãe. Espera, sempre ansiosamente, pela noite para ficar só e poder partir para um mundo de sonho, onde pode andar, onde pode voar...
"- Senhora Mamã, se faz favor, queria os meus livros...
- Meu querido, o médico disse que...
- Não é para os ler, Senhora Mamã, é para que eles tornem a habituar-se a mim..."

3. A Senhora do Fotógrafo
"Raramente se morre por se ter perdido alguém. Creio que se morre mais frequentemente por alguém que não se teve."
A Srª Armand, apesar de ter tudo para ser feliz - uma boa situação económica, um casamento com amor - resolveu acabar com a sua vida.
"Nós, mulheres, morremos poucas vezes fora das nossas casas; que a dor nos ponha, como aos cavalos, um molho de palha a arder sob o ventre, e conseguimos arranjar forças para correr ao nosso abrigo."

Esta edição é um mimo: além dos três contos, tem a biografia resumida de:
- Colette (França, 1873-1954), a primeira mulher eleita presidente da Academie Goncourt, "que mais que escritora ou artista, foi uma inspiração de liberdade para todos, pela forma única como viveu e amou livremente.";
- José Saramago, que aos dezoito anos trabalhou como serralheiro mecânico e aos setenta e seis ganhou o Nobel da Literatura (sim, estou a choramingar...);
- Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993), a atriz escolhida por Colette para representar Gigi na sua peça na Broadway.

Para terminar, uma "fotografia" minha, tirada por Colette:

"O desgosto, o medo, a dor física, o frio e o calor nos seus excessos, a esses ainda me encarrego de opor uma resistência honrosa. Mas abdico diante do aborrecimento, que faz de mim um ser miserável, feroz, se preciso for. A sua aproximação, a sua presença caprichosa que afecta os músculos das maxilas, que dança no vazio do estômago, que canta um estribilho ritmado pelos dedos dos pés, não me fazem apenas temor, fazem-me fugir."

E, agora, vou tentar levantar o cu do chão...

[Carlo Mascellani · Rating 3 out of 5]

L'autrice ci conduce a toccare con mano quella sterile precettistica educativa che fa di una persona (e della donna, qui, in particolare) oggetto privo di anima destinato solo a conformarsi a regole che qualcun altro - per motivi, peraltro, mai riconducibili a una qualche forma di fondata etica - ha disposto e che sempre sopisce l'anima sino a indurla a disconoscere anche i sentimenti sinceri. Triste nel suo cinico sarcasmo. Pauroso nel grido di disperazione e di lesa libertà esistenziale che vi si coglie.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely novella written by Colette.

The book tells the funny story of a teenager who lives with her Grandmamma and Aunt Alicia. She is raised in order to become a stylist "coquette".

And then Gaston comes up: is she going to marry him or not?

A movie Gigi (1958) was made based on this book. Starring: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan. Directed by Vincent Minelli.



According to Wiki Colette is directly credited with the discovery of a young, unknown Audrey Hepburn, whom the elder chose on sight to play the eponymous Broadway lead in Gigi.



There will be a new production of the play Gigi on Broadway 2015.


3* The Innocent Libertine
4* Gigi
TR The Cat
TR Claudine's House
TR The Last Cheri
TR The Vagabond

[Théo d'Or]

" La liberté est une belle chose, mais ce n'est pas en jetant ses amours qu'on la réalise. "

La juxtaposition de cette phrase finale avec le sujet du livre est intéressante. Colette tisse avec finesse et audace l'histoire enchanteresse de Gigi, où les apparences trompeuses se dévoilent peu à peu, révélant ainsi que le bonheur est parfois caché dans l'inconnu. À travers l'éveil de Gigi à sa propre indépendance et à la liberté d'aimer selon ses propres désirs, Colette me rappelle avec la force de l'expression " il faut cultiver son jardin ", que chacun doit trouver et cultiver son propre bonheur, malgré les obstacles sociaux et les conventions imposées, offrant ainsi une leçon profonde sur la quête de soi et la véritable essence de la liberté.
Chère Colette, tu m'as rappelé qu'être fidèle à soi-même est un acte de rébellion et d'amour envers notre propre être.
J'emprunte tes mots pour te dire avec sincérité :
" Merci de m'avoir guidé sur le chemin merveilleux de la découverte de soi, où la liberté de vivre pleinement nous attend ".

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and sweet, Gigi offers a glimpse into the decadence of fin-de-siecle Paris, the scandals, the life and morals of women who lived their lives as celebrated, high-class courtesans - mistresses to important men, celebrities of gossip magazines, recipients of fabulous jewels. Gigi, a young innocent girl is groomed for such life - but she recoils from it. But all is well when it ends well.

[George Ilsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short sharp work that reads like a marriage of satire and societal critique. Yes, marriage is a major theme. What makes a desirable marriage?

Gigi is a young blossom, and her relatives are keen to steer her towards money (here in the form of a respectable and wealthy bachelor, a family friend).

Gigi is 15.

[shakespeareandspice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate to call this “cute”, but it is a rather charming story. And ah the lovely writing. Such a delight, dear Colette.

[Karen Powell]

At first appearances, the short novella is cute, light fare seeped in the richness of the Gilded Age in France. It soon turns into a witty satire of love and relationships. [return][return]Raised by her grandmother, Gigi is a girl on the verge of womanhood who is being primed for a life as a courtesan. She comes from generations of courtesans, with their own moral system and rules, of which Gigi must learn in her lessons with her Aunt Alicia. The hypocricy and silliness of these lessons is not lost on Gigi, and her greatest joy is childishly teasing Gaston, a family friend who often pays a call on her grandmother. They interact so easily, that Gigi's family makes plans for Gaston to be Gigi's first lover. After hesitation on both sides, they decide to give it a try - with disasterous results. But the novel resolves itself sweetly, like a delectable bonbon.[return][return]Gigi's transformation is astounding: from a rough-around-the-edges, tomboyish child to an elegant lady in love. She becomes wiser when she realizes that the artifices taught by her Aunt Alicia repulse Gaston, and resolves to love him as she is. Gaston, on the other hand, is a bored tycoon who finds happiness away from the upper crust's hypocrisy at Gigi's more humble home. He is horrified when Gigi adopts the mannerisms of his past lovers and spurns her, but soon realizes that he needs her. Gigi is his anchor in a duplicitous world, and he learns he cannot turn her into just another one of his lovers.

[Glire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hace años, por casualidad, vi en televisión una película llamada Mademoiselle Gigi (2006). Y me encantó. Hace unos días, también por casualidad, la recordé y me dispuse a buscarla por todo ese hermoso sistema llamado world wide web, sin éxito.

La única prueba de que realmente existe es una ficha pobre en IMDB, sin poster, y con apenas información de los actores. Ahí fue que me enteré que estaba basada en un libro de Colette, así que decidí leerlo. Que triste decepción.

Aún estando brillantemente escrito (nos venden a los personajes en apenas poco más de 55 páginas), la trama deja mucho que desear. En vez de ser esa inteligente historia de amor que recuerdo de la película, es un retrato un tanto oscuro de la sociedad francesa de 1899. Una vista "elegante" de la prostitución y la pedofilia. Aunque su mayor defecto, debo aceptarlo, es no ser la copia fiel de esa película que tanto quiero. Así que, solo por esta vez, culpemos a mis expectativas y no al autor.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story about a 15-year-old girl being trained to be a mistress by her grandmother and great aunt. I liked it better than Colette’s Claudine at School, which also follows a 15-year-old girl. Where Claudine is too wise and mature for her age, and doesn’t think highly of anyone but herself, Gigi seemed a more realistic girl on the cusp of womanhood. Though she manages to ultimately succeed far better than her teachers, Gigi doesn’t come across as calculating and manipulative.

[spoilers ahead]

The age difference and dynamics between her and Gaston is disturbing by modern standards. He’s a 36-year-old millionaire playboy who is like an uncle to her. She’s sheltered, isolated from any friends and only ever goes out to school or her great aunt’s house. She seems innocent and still mostly a child. She has no sexual or adult feelings toward Gaston (or anyone) that we see. And yet he wants her to be his lover, though does say he will be patient. Uh huh.

As much as I wanted to embrace the happily ever after, I just couldn’t. Colette herself married a 34-year-old playboy at the age of 20, and no doubt drew on her own experience here. Gigi concludes abruptly with a marriage proposal, and one can only hope things work out better for her than her creator. Colette’s new husband moved her from the country to the city, then basically abandoned her and went back to his old life, including his mistresses. Though he did spend enough time with his new wife to give her a bad case of syphilis. He encouraged her to take female lovers, which she did. He encouraged her to write about her girlhood, which she did and which he initially said was worthless. Then later he found the writings, stating he thought he’d thrown them out. Rereading he realized they were good and published them as the Claudine novels—under his own name.

It does seem that he had an editorial hand in the books, and in comparing Claudine and Gigi, I suspect he made Claudine more sexually aware and agressive, gratuitously so, to the detriment of the book as a realistic portrayal (though it was immensely popular when published). Or perhaps Colette evolved as a writer and was in a different place when she created Gigi. “Gigi” is set in 1899, but was published late in Colette’s career in 1944. At that point, Colette was no longer a newlywed, but a woman twice divorced and mother to a daughter herself. Though she seems to have largely abandoned said daughter to a nanny and boarding school, and she started sleeping with her 16-year-old stepson (she was 52!) So hardly mother of the year, but her life certainly explains her penchant for writing May December romances.

[Manny · Rating 4 out of 5]

15 year old Gigi is being groomed to become a courtesan. I loved the following passage, where her tante Alicia, a great courtesan herself in her day, is evaluating Gigi's chances with her usual objectivity:

- Fais attention à ce que je te dis : tu peux plaire. Tu as un petit nez impossible, une bouche sans style, les pommettes un peu moujikes...

- Oh! tante! gémit Gilberte.

- ... mais tu as de quoi t'en tirer avec les yeux, les cils, les dents et les cheveux, si tu n'es pas complètement idiote. Et pour le corps...

Elle coiffa de ses paumes en conque la gorge de Gigi et sourit :

- Projet... Mais joli projet, bien attaché. Ne mange pas trop d'amandes, ça alourdit les seins.

I've never read anywhere else that eating almonds can have this effect. I wonder if she made it up?

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of a like Proust, if Proust had been into satisfying men..., oh wait, that might not do. Ok, how about this. Kind of like Proust if you were finding out how Albertine was being groomed to be the way she was, well not all the ways she is, but the ways she is when she's around Marcel.

I really liked this, there is something nice about turn of the century-ish era French society things. I have no idea if this is a whole story, or an excerpt from something else. It bothers me not to know, but not enough to just do some simple research in another browser tab, instead I'll probably wait till I'm back at work on Thursday and once again see if bookmaster will give me any answers, because I like being masochistic and try to find out simple things with an idiotic search program that doesn't even work right half the time.

[Masteatro · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 estrellas
Me ha gustado aunque creo que lo hubiese disfrutado aún más si hubiese ido más a ciegas porque ya sabía "de qué iba el libro" y creo que eso le ha quitado la gracia del descubrimiento.
Colette escribe de forma delicada y demuestra una gran capacidad para describir y poner atención en los más pequeños detalles. Eso sí, me hubiese gustado que el relato hubiera sido un poco más largo.

[Floflyy · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai adoré Gigi et La dame du photographe et à elles seules ces deux nouvelles valent le coup, les autres me laissent plus pantois.

La petite bourgeoisie dans Gigi est délicieuse et comme toujours les dialogues sont remplis de malice et de moqueries. Le déjeuner entre Gigi et sa tante mi-acariatre mi-pince sans rire est à tomber.

[Flybyreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vintage Heroines Collection created with covers from various female photographers created a chance for me to meet Colette. This captivating series includes novels with iconic female protagonists and Gigi is definitely one unforgettable character. The title of this little novella does not suggest but there are actually two stories written by Colette in this book. As I had no idea this was the case, I was surprised by the abrupt ending of Gigi. I loved the novella which combines powerful prose with the hypnotic atmosphere of Belle Époque and the relationship between three generation of women. The second story “The Cat” was far more depressing by nature: the life of a newly-wed couple devastated by the groom’s love of his cat. The story literally sucked the air out of my room, the narrative was shockingly honest and reflective. Colette’s talent and aptness to play with the language is visible and I’m happy to have discovered her stories.

[ttttooo”””’mmmmmm · Rating 4 out of 5]

gigi: very nice description of gigi’s surroundings, cut a bit short and i wouldn’t’ve minded a “second part” but i see how it makes sense to have ended it as is. love how gigi wasn’t as wild a personality as the back of the book makes her seem to be, but still fun. completely ignoring the social critique, because it seems way too obvious to mention, but not in a bad way because obviously back then it would’ve been more wild.

the cat: don’t really understand the purpose of the story other than it being a kind of funny set up. camille throwing the cat off the balcony and not denying it seems quite funny to me as she must’ve known that would be the end of their relationship. also: alain low-key has to chill and mother was low-key the realest character in the book with her telling him to basically just shut up and not leave her be.

[Come Musica · Rating 4 out of 5]

È il primo romanzo che leggo di Colette. Sono stata attratta dalla copertina. Il romanzo è stato pubblicato per la prima volta nel 1944.

L’Orma lo pubblica nella traduzione di Ornella Tajani.
Questo romanzo breve è ambientato nella Parigi della Belle Époque. La protagonista è la giovane Gilberte, detta Gigi, una sedicenne, cresciuta in un ambiente di cortigiane, tra la nonna e la zia, che la educano per farla diventare una donna raffinata e pronta a sedurre uomini facoltosi.

Gigi è un personaggio fresco, spontaneo e ribelle alle convenzioni, capace di stravolgere le aspettative sociali con la sua autenticità.
Colette analizza il passaggio dall’adolescenza all’età adulta, esplorando il conflitto tra libertà individuale e aspettative sociali, e il potere dell’amore autentico.

Nonostante la brevità, Gigi lascia un’impronta duratura grazie alla sua protagonista indimenticabile, che sfida le regole di un’epoca con la sua spontaneità e il suo coraggio. È un’opera che si legge d’un fiato, ma che invita a riflettere sulla complessità delle relazioni umane e sul prezzo della libertà.

Lo stile di Colette è diverso a mio avviso rispetto a quello di Jane Austen. Si avvicina di più a quello delle sorelle Brönte.


Scrive nella postfazione di Daria Galateria:

“Tra le pagine di questo romanzo ironico e romantico, composto da Colette nel 1942, si combatte una silenziosa rivoluzione: quella di una ragazza che trasforma un’esistenza in vendita in una storia d’amore e libertà. Perché Gigi, l’eroina più amata della letteratura francese del Novecento, non chiede il permesso per essere felice.”


Curiosità: il romanzo poi è stato adattato cinematograficamente nel 1958. È inutile dirvi che non l’ho visto e che vorrei vederlo.

[Somya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it in English so I may not have been able to grasp all the substantial details which otherwise would've proven to be an advantage. However, 15 year old Gigi was perfectly charming in her ways and I think it's kind of wonderful how Colette could inculcate such humour while still trying to create a vital story with a character individualistically independent of all that was conventional and prudish at that time. The only problem I have with this book and the author is that it was so particularly short that it couldn't spare time for the story to grow or rather, develop smoothly.

I of course won't call it cute as it won't be fair, but it was surely an endearing read.

[Nan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely story, but not for the reason so many people seem to latch onto. I don't agree that this one has a happy ending, particularly (SPOILER) given Colette's own views on marriage. Honestly, I'd be disappointed if the ending were cut and dried and cute (like the musical adaptation) and not a tad bit ambiguous. The characters are so delicately observed, and the details take you directly to a bygone Paris, where the last of the courtesans try to make sense of the changing world. Sweet and sad, and of course wonderful writing.

[Sophia Orachunwong-Pochet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I recognize this is beautifully written and a great depiction of an odd society from an -not so- ancient time, I was very surprised to discover the general acknowledgement of this novel as a "love story". A 15 yo girl is to marry her 33 yo "uncle" who knows her since she was a baby...and the back cover says "Colettes happiest novel", leading to both a romantic movie and musical. I hope the true meaning of the story is a bit more sarcastic...

[Jeremy Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming little story of a young girl navigating her way through love, the penultimate years before adulthood, and Parisian society.

[Vel Veeter]

This book is one for the dustbin of history assuredly. So much of Colette feels fresh and amazingly progressive and in the moments where they feel less so, then she often feels like she’s providing an undercurrent of built-in criticism in some interesting ways. This book does not feel like that at all. In fact, it feels oddly regressive for her, especially so late in her life and career when much of the rest of society had actually caught up to some of her earlier ideas.

So this is about a young woman being raised as a courtesan/consort and instead of this kind of life, she’s instead married off to a relatively young, but still significantly older man. And it’s treated as a kind of disruption of the life she planned to lead and seen as a kind of comedy of manners or played for laughs. Victorian romances already kind of hit on some uncomfortable truths about the marriage being promised in those novels. I mean Jane Eyre for one. But you can almost completely sigh in wonderful relief in a book like Persuasion where everybody is older, experienced, and of sound mind.

But this one, well, she was already going to be a prostitute, which is a complicated framework, but instead she’s married off at 16 to a 30 year old man who admits to grooming her for years! Well, great! I mean the movie version of this book was already incredibly creepy by the time it came out, and includes the song “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” a song that is mostly used in political scandal movies.

[Sahel's · Rating 5 out of 5]

What do I write about Colette that has not been written before? Should I write about her writing style that focuses on such details in perceiving the world? Should I write about her choice of vignettes from life that only show a brief cut of life but it suffices to read into that person's general mental theme? Or should I write about the way she depicts the innermost feelings of people, both shown and written into characters in a way that is not told directly? Even if it does sound "told" through a character's soliloquy, it certainly does not read/feel so! You never feel stupid or cheated with Colette!

I had read Gigi before, but I'm not sure why I had not paid attention to it as I did this past week. It's one of those Daddy long Legs stories, only this time it tastes Coletteesque!

And Julie, oh Julie's love for freedom, for being able to say "free, free, body and soul free" oozes from every sentence of this story!

If you want to know what I mean by Colette's style, here's an example from Julie de Carneilhan:

"Julie was wondering 'how many men she had given in to with a tone of command'"

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being very familiar with the musical based on this short story, I was curious to see what the original was like. I was surprised by how closely the film followed the text, at times down to the very dialogue. The most notable differences were the presence of Gigi's mother as a character and the absence of Gaston's uncle Honore. I liked the written version very much. The overall message of the story is so beautiful and I appreciated the complex relationships it manages to present in so few pages, but I slightly prefer the musical version, as it draws out the themes a bit more fully and, of course, complements those themes with some great songs!

[Antonio Fanelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breve e geniale come abitudine per Colette :D
Avevo visto il musical quando ero ragazzo, ma non sapevo fosse basato su questo romanzo.
Letto in francese è stato abbastanza faticoso perché ricco di termini ottocentesti legati all'abbigliamento su cui la mia ignoranza è completa.
Per anni "un topazio!, tra i miei gioielli!" è stata la frase che usavamo per esprimere disprezzo verso qualcosa o qualcuno :D ritrovarla in queste pagine è stato un tuffo nell'adolescenza.