Il nipote di Rameau / Jacques il fatalista e il suo padrone

by Denis Diderot

Ricchezza e attualità dell'opera letteraria di Diderot nascono dalla capacità del philosophe di superare gli schemi tradizionali del romanzo, per dar vita a una narrazione in cui il vero protagonista è il libero movimento delle idee, che continuamente rimuove e disgrega i limiti della «ragionevolezza». Attraverso la disordinata e vivace giustapposizione di episodi in Jacques il fatalista e il sapiente e innovativo uso del dialogo in Il nipote di Rameau, il genio dell'autore esprime, in una forma scintillante ed entusiastica, le proprie contraddizioni e mette costruttivamente in discussione le idee che egli stesso propone al lettore.

Genres: Fiction

343 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2011

About the author

Work on the Encyclopédie (1751-1772), supreme accomplishment of French philosopher and writer Denis Diderot, epitomized the spirit of thought of Enlightenment; he also wrote novels, plays, critical essays, and brilliant letters to a wide circle of friends and colleagues.

Jean le Rond d'Alembert contributed.

This artistic prominent persona served as best known co-founder, chief editor, and contributor.

He also contributed notably to literature with Jacques le fataliste et son maître (Jacques the Fatalist and his Master), which emulated Laurence Sterne in challenging conventions regarding structure and content, while also examining ideas about free will. Diderot also authored of the known dialogue, Le Neveu de Rameau (Rameau's Nephew), basis of many articles and sermons about consumer desire. His articles included many topics.

Diderot speculated on free will, held a completely materialistic view of the universe, and suggested that heredity determines all human behavior. He therefore warned his fellows against an overemphasis on mathematics and against the blind optimism that sees in the growth of physical knowledge an automatic social and human progress. He rejected the idea of progress. His opinion doomed the aim of progressing through technology to fail. He founded on experiment and the study of probabilities. He wrote several articles and supplements concerning gambling, mortality rates, and inoculation against smallpox. He discreetly but firmly refuted technical errors and personal positions of d'Alembert on probability.

Reviews

[Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un cachondo el Di de los Rots

[Recensioni in tre parole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paradossale. Provocatorio. Complesso.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very interesting work. I have started reading on it about 30 years ago. I’m not sure I finished, but the debut sure made me remember it.

I try to read all the best books I can and Jacques is on the Guardian list. For good reason, since this is a very good book.



A bit frustrating, as the author keeps provoking the reader, or perhaps his intellect. I read on the net that it was inspired in some measure by Tristram Shandy, but I found passages resembling The Decameron- maybe the atmosphere, the eroticism in the barn, with the priest witnessing some sexual games.



It is certainly funny in many chapters and surprising. Jacques is the servant, but at the same time the real hero, as the title plainly proves.

The servant is very witty, as a matter of fact, brainier than the master, who seems to be annoying when he disagrees with Jacques.



Denis Diderot keeps playing with our expectations, turning the plot around, delaying the counting of Jacques love story.





As I try to write for my daughter the adventures of my life, I wonder if I should use the same techniques- a twist here, a detour over there…



At times I got bored. How can I say that? Well, in the manner of Diderot-it is my business, this is my essay, my opinion on this book…so you reader, if you have another opinion, why don’t you put it down…

The issue with some of these old, “medieval” stories is to see them somehow placed in their own time frame, but to try and look from our perspective: are they politically correct? Nowadays, you wouldn’t be able to publish something like it….



I read in the Economist about the success of the Nordic Literature, especially the detective kind: The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo and the like, Perhaps I should read that, get inspired and write a crime story on the Dambovita…



From Wikipedia:

« Ce roman complexe, déconcertant et déroutant par ses digressions – sans doute l'œuvre de Diderot la plus commentée – puise pour partie son inspiration dans Vie et opinions de Tristram Shandy, gentilhomme de Laurence Sterne, paru quelques années auparavant (1759-1763). »

[Aronne · Rating 3 out of 5]

" conserva i vizi che ti sono utili, ma non assumere il tono e le apparenze, che ti renderebbero ridicolo "

# il nipote di Rameu due stelle.sicuramete lettura interessante ma faticosa, la forma dialogica di cui non sono un gran fan, unito alle dissertazione musicali e al tema ripetitivo mi fà optare per questo giudizio

# Jacques il fatalista ### stelle, l'ho apprezzato decisamente di più, sia per la forma che per i temi trattati, i destino da cui non ci possiamo sottrarre, un mondo popolato da farabutti in cui Jacques in qualche modo rappresenta un modello di calma e coerenza con i suoi racconti intrattiene il suo padrone ed il lettore e si conquista la simpatia di chi legge.