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Diese verdammte Hand
Ein Haus auf einer Bergspitze, völlige Einsamkeit, der Blick in den Himmel unverstellt, Stille. Ein Paradies für einen Künstler, ein Rückzugsort. Doch als der anonyme Erzähler seinen Freund Georges dort besucht, findet er ihn völlig verändert und lebensmüde vor.
Zur Erklärung gibt Georges dem Erzähler sein Tagebuch.
Als kränklicher Sonderling wächst Georges auf dem Land auf und erkennt erst in der Bekanntschaft zum selbstbewußten und charismatischen Maler Lucien, daß auch er ein Künstler ist. Gemeinsam leben sie in Paris, doch das der Kunst gewidmete Leben offenbart bald seine Tücken: Ein Wechselspiel zwischen manischer Arbeitswut und lähmender Depression setzt bei Lucien ein. Die Flucht aufs Land – auf eben jene einsame Bergspitze – entpuppt sich als dramatische Fehlentscheidung. Während Georges in Paris gerade erst langsam seine eigene Identität entdeckt, wird Lucien zunehmend unzurechnungsfähig und quält sich mit seiner Einsamkeit und Zweifeln an seinem Werk.
Zurück in Paris stürzt sich Lucien in eine letzte fieberhafte, geradezu wahnsinnige Arbeitsphase, die in einer Katastrophe endet.
Der Maler Lucien ist leicht als Vincent van Gogh zu identifizieren, den Mirbeau gut gekannt hat: Octave Mirbeau war derjenige, der als einziger ein Werk van Goghs zu dessen Lebzeiten gekauft hat.
»Octave Mirbeau ist der größte französische Schriftsteller unserer Zeit und derjenige, der in Frankreich den Geist des Jahrhunderts am besten reprä¬sentiert.« Leo Tolstoi
Zur Erklärung gibt Georges dem Erzähler sein Tagebuch.
Als kränklicher Sonderling wächst Georges auf dem Land auf und erkennt erst in der Bekanntschaft zum selbstbewußten und charismatischen Maler Lucien, daß auch er ein Künstler ist. Gemeinsam leben sie in Paris, doch das der Kunst gewidmete Leben offenbart bald seine Tücken: Ein Wechselspiel zwischen manischer Arbeitswut und lähmender Depression setzt bei Lucien ein. Die Flucht aufs Land – auf eben jene einsame Bergspitze – entpuppt sich als dramatische Fehlentscheidung. Während Georges in Paris gerade erst langsam seine eigene Identität entdeckt, wird Lucien zunehmend unzurechnungsfähig und quält sich mit seiner Einsamkeit und Zweifeln an seinem Werk.
Zurück in Paris stürzt sich Lucien in eine letzte fieberhafte, geradezu wahnsinnige Arbeitsphase, die in einer Katastrophe endet.
Der Maler Lucien ist leicht als Vincent van Gogh zu identifizieren, den Mirbeau gut gekannt hat: Octave Mirbeau war derjenige, der als einziger ein Werk van Goghs zu dessen Lebzeiten gekauft hat.
»Octave Mirbeau ist der größte französische Schriftsteller unserer Zeit und derjenige, der in Frankreich den Geist des Jahrhunderts am besten reprä¬sentiert.« Leo Tolstoi
184 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1892
2 people are currently reading
242 people want to read
About the author
Octave Mirbeau
369 books166 followersOctave Mirbeau was a French journalist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, novelist, and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, while still appealing to the literary and artistic avant-garde. His work has been translated into thirty languages.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 18, 2016
This book broke my heart. There are books you read at moments when you need to read them and this was one of those sorts of books for me. I was left feeling unsettled the first time I read In the Sky, and read it again to see if I could pinpoint what this book was trying to tell me. The second read was more of a revelation, and I’m not going to discuss the reasons in any real depth because, even though I discuss books in a confessional manner, this book caused me to consider my life in a manner that I prefer not to discuss overmuch. As much as I tend to treat this site like a diary, even I have parts of my mind that don’t need to be shown because the contemplation trumps the discussion. That should be in itself an excellent reason for any regular reader here to read this book. A book that helps me cauterize my continual brain bleed is a rare, interesting, compelling book.
Mirbeau is a genius. He portrayed with great intensity a quietly malignant life, a person rotting inside because of tension and fear, a person for whom a blue sky is a crushing reminder that there is no freedom, only a mocking emptiness that can never be filled. This is a book about a man who died while still living, who kept dying long after the disease had eaten its fill. That Mirbeau never finished this novella makes it all the better a representation of the life half-eaten, half-lived, never complete. Ann Sterzinger is also a genius to be able to read these words in their original French and convey such exquisite misery so precisely yet with such raw, bleeding emotion.
You can read my entire and very long discussion on Odd Things Considered.
Mirbeau is a genius. He portrayed with great intensity a quietly malignant life, a person rotting inside because of tension and fear, a person for whom a blue sky is a crushing reminder that there is no freedom, only a mocking emptiness that can never be filled. This is a book about a man who died while still living, who kept dying long after the disease had eaten its fill. That Mirbeau never finished this novella makes it all the better a representation of the life half-eaten, half-lived, never complete. Ann Sterzinger is also a genius to be able to read these words in their original French and convey such exquisite misery so precisely yet with such raw, bleeding emotion.
You can read my entire and very long discussion on Odd Things Considered.
January 10, 2017
Let it be noted, that my rating is based on the Italian version. I haven't read the English translation, so... not what I am rating here.
November 22, 2024
" Man doesn't have the right to move toward joy, to grasp happiness, to think, to imagine, to create, even to feel. It's appalling, if you think about it... as soon as a man wakes to consciousness, as soon as he realizes he has legs and can walk, the State comes in and breaks his legs with a billyclub. But a man has arms as well: if he can no longer walk, he can grab something. So the State comes back and breaks his arms with a stick. So he's flat on the ground. But he has a brain, which makes him always a contender, because he can think, he can dream; there the idea of human redemption is seeded and flowers, there blooms the sublime flower of rebellion. So the State comes back a third time and smashes his skull with a mallet, and says to him, "There, now you're a good citizen." "
November 14, 2024
La plume de Mirbeau est magnifique, j’adore ses personnages détestables mais tellement touchants. Tout a tellement de sens et est bien exécuté, même le fait que l’œuvre ne soit pas finie va de pair avec l’intrigue.
January 25, 2024
To write breath, or the feeling of sight… to write the moans of earth and the agony of man upon it… what torture and weeping that instills in the author. And if one was an artist, it would be no easier to paint such scenes. Shouldn’t instead one paint colorful fields, bright and full with curious birds? Shouldn’t one feel love and joy, and not solely be obsessed with one’s ever-more-occurring distance from it? These questions, among others, are explored by Mirbeau, though his final stances are quite ambiguous. All in all, a great book; though I had to remove a star since the ending felt rushed, as if he wanted to work on other projects.
January 19, 2016
FULL REVIEW
It's an engaging story with excellent prose with a lot to chew on. This story of artists working in the 19th century avant-garde remains as relevant as ever with its mockery of middle-class values, its portrayal of the frustrations of the artist, and the search for one's place in the vast, hostile sky. It's great that this book was brought to the English language, and I hope it receives the attention it deserves.
It's an engaging story with excellent prose with a lot to chew on. This story of artists working in the 19th century avant-garde remains as relevant as ever with its mockery of middle-class values, its portrayal of the frustrations of the artist, and the search for one's place in the vast, hostile sky. It's great that this book was brought to the English language, and I hope it receives the attention it deserves.
May 13, 2019
Curiously I read it after I read Hill of Dreams of Arthur Machen and it gave me that same feeling and synchronically the main characters name is Lucien while Machen's character was Lucian.
The most important part for me was that perfect description of the frustration of the artist with its work, which is the same topic to the story of Lucian in the Hill of Dreams
I feel these two books as twin stories, as if they were the same story in parallel universes, kinda like Stephen King's Desperation/Regulators you could say
The most important part for me was that perfect description of the frustration of the artist with its work, which is the same topic to the story of Lucian in the Hill of Dreams
I feel these two books as twin stories, as if they were the same story in parallel universes, kinda like Stephen King's Desperation/Regulators you could say
November 6, 2018
What a pleasant surprise, this is a great modern novella that contains insight into the impossibility of the artists' process. It's pretty bleak, but also really contains a depth fo character and an interesting structure. I was pleasantly surprised. Mirbeau could use more editions of his work for sure, it seems the right time to reassess his body of work.
February 15, 2019
I had a roommate who tried to make his lackluster stories exciting by speaking loudly and gesticulating a lot, but it just made them annoying. This book is like that; a lot of "intense feelings" and tears culminating in a pulpy ending.
May 27, 2021
It's one of those small books that took a long time for me to read because I kept stopping to think about what I'd read and how it made me feel. Mirbeau is such an interesting author, because despite writing in the 1890s and 1910s, much of what he writes about feels relevant today. He has an amazing ability to cut through the bullshit and get to the point.
Advice for would-be readers of this specific edition: do not read the introduction first. I skipped it, then went back and read it. Holy crap, dude, SPOILERS in the introduction! I hate literary books that do that. As if the plot isn't important because we're all here for genius.
The translator's afterward is also a bit weird to read. Because she wants to provide some literary criticism and caveats and explanations. These, while somewhat interesting, felt unnecessary.
I enjoyed the book, though I have to admit it drags in a few places. The tormented genius artist stuff felt like a drag. Everything up until that point was fantastic.
I wouldn't recommend this book unless you're a Mirbeau completist, which is something I've somehow become, having now read his big 3 books that were translated into English. Are there more? I should find out.
Advice for would-be readers of this specific edition: do not read the introduction first. I skipped it, then went back and read it. Holy crap, dude, SPOILERS in the introduction! I hate literary books that do that. As if the plot isn't important because we're all here for genius.
The translator's afterward is also a bit weird to read. Because she wants to provide some literary criticism and caveats and explanations. These, while somewhat interesting, felt unnecessary.
I enjoyed the book, though I have to admit it drags in a few places. The tormented genius artist stuff felt like a drag. Everything up until that point was fantastic.
I wouldn't recommend this book unless you're a Mirbeau completist, which is something I've somehow become, having now read his big 3 books that were translated into English. Are there more? I should find out.
June 28, 2022
"Le silence éternel de ces espaces infinis m’effraya; j’eus la terreur de ces étoiles si muettes, dont le pâle clignotement recule encore, sans l’éclairer jamais, le mystère affolant de l’incommensurable. Qu’étais-je moi, si petit, parmi ces mondes?"
Georges reçoit la lettre de son vieil ami peintre Lucien qu’il n’a plus revu depuis des années et qui le supplie de venir lui rendre visite, lui qui s’est isolé du monde dans une abbaye au milieu des plaines.
À travers le personnage de Lucien qui est inspiré de Van Gogh, Mirbeau aborde le thème de l’art et de la folie de l’artiste, condamné à courir derrière un idéal qui toujours se dérobe, parce que les moyens dont il dispose ne sont jamais à la hauteur de cet idéal qu’il s’est fixé.
Lucien est ainsi frustré de ne pas arriver à retranscrire la beauté de la nature dans ses toiles, et sombre progressivement dans la folie…
"La nature, on peut encore la concevoir vaguement, avec son cerveau, peut-être, mais l’exprimer avec cet outil gauche, lourd et infidèle qu’est la main, voilà qui est, je crois, au-dessus des forces humaines".
Mirbeau critique la société bourgeoise dans laquelle les artistes novateurs ne peuvent trouver leur place et peuvent difficilement vivre de leur art, ce qui les poussent à s’isoler pour chercher leur voie.
J’ai été très touchée par ces deux personnages, incompris de tous et aux destins tourmentés, et je compte poursuivre ma découverte de cet auteur!
Georges reçoit la lettre de son vieil ami peintre Lucien qu’il n’a plus revu depuis des années et qui le supplie de venir lui rendre visite, lui qui s’est isolé du monde dans une abbaye au milieu des plaines.
À travers le personnage de Lucien qui est inspiré de Van Gogh, Mirbeau aborde le thème de l’art et de la folie de l’artiste, condamné à courir derrière un idéal qui toujours se dérobe, parce que les moyens dont il dispose ne sont jamais à la hauteur de cet idéal qu’il s’est fixé.
Lucien est ainsi frustré de ne pas arriver à retranscrire la beauté de la nature dans ses toiles, et sombre progressivement dans la folie…
"La nature, on peut encore la concevoir vaguement, avec son cerveau, peut-être, mais l’exprimer avec cet outil gauche, lourd et infidèle qu’est la main, voilà qui est, je crois, au-dessus des forces humaines".
Mirbeau critique la société bourgeoise dans laquelle les artistes novateurs ne peuvent trouver leur place et peuvent difficilement vivre de leur art, ce qui les poussent à s’isoler pour chercher leur voie.
J’ai été très touchée par ces deux personnages, incompris de tous et aux destins tourmentés, et je compte poursuivre ma découverte de cet auteur!
October 23, 2024
pulls great thought into the concept of art itself loosing all ambiguity and intrigue in its finished state. found myself reflecting on this idea as i’ve listened to music, watched movies, and read more in the past weeks. when i try to write music myself i often feel the anger and frustration of not having the full spectrum of emotion i feel translate into the final product and often sit there wondering if it was worth the trouble to begin with. should art exist in finality to garner an individual reaction? or should it only communicate the creators intent in full? great writing that integrates a french impressionistic setting which i am a slut for so that where the extra star comes from👍
April 10, 2021
Estuvo interesante pero no es un libro que volvería a leer
January 25, 2023
Oh dear, oh dear. Frustrated much?
April 10, 2021
Mirbeau is best known for his novel ‘The Torture Garden’. 'In the Sky' has remained largely ignored (and untranslated) until now. It's definitely a worthwhile addition to his English language canon.
As the blurb for the book indicates, the tale revolves around an artist Lucien, who, like the Garden of 'The Torture Garden', we do not encounter until halfway through the book. Lucien is an artist trying to capture the inner essence of things such as painting the sky or the bark of a dog and slowly extricates himself from Paris to a remote mountain house in order to liberate himself from his surroundings and open himself to his creative potential. This story is narrated by his friend X who aspires to literature and is encouraged in this by Lucien. The reader gets the sense that he will also be doomed to failure although whether that manifests itself in a madness similar to Luciens’ is unclear.
There are some good moments in this novel, Mirbeau writes in a clear style but yet is able to portray Lucien's passion with intensity as he attempts to explain to the less enlightened X what is going on and why.
Although the whole ‘madman as artist’ theme has been heavily debated (and worked, Mirbeau does not mention any artist by name but ‘In The Sky’ is supposedly inspired by Van Gogh), neither translator nor Mirbeau scholar Claire Nettleton in her introduction mention the element that lifts this book above a ‘run of the mill’ exploration of this trope, namely Mirbeau’s anarchism.
I am certain that the novel is primarily an extended critique of society. Take this extract where X writes of the family: “Every reasonably well-constituted being is born with some dominant faculties, some individual strengths which correspond exactly to a need or to a pleasure in life. Instead of helping them develop normally, the family moves fast to suffocate and drown them. It produces nothing but social outcasts, revels, unbalanced people, unhappy people, through its marvellous instinct of alienating them from themselves…” At school, the teachers “indifferent hands of mercenaries with no stake in him…fills everything with his stiff, fake gravitas, a profoundly stupid dogmatism that kills the curiosity in a child's soul instead of developing it”.
Even more clearly: “Man can’t stand to let something beautiful and pure, a thing on wings, pass over him. He hates everything that soars, and everything that sings…all around, coming from everywhere, you hear rifle shots; above you from all over, like moans, like screams. The sky is filled with death throes, just like the earth.”
As someone who believes that lots of interesting things can be found at the edgelands (if you had not already guessed from my previous reviews) this book struck something of a chord with me. I haven’t come away from the book feeling that I have ‘learnt’ anything I didn’t already know, but I did like its intensity and it packs a quick punch in its 200 or so pages. Overall, I think it’s his best novel.
As the blurb for the book indicates, the tale revolves around an artist Lucien, who, like the Garden of 'The Torture Garden', we do not encounter until halfway through the book. Lucien is an artist trying to capture the inner essence of things such as painting the sky or the bark of a dog and slowly extricates himself from Paris to a remote mountain house in order to liberate himself from his surroundings and open himself to his creative potential. This story is narrated by his friend X who aspires to literature and is encouraged in this by Lucien. The reader gets the sense that he will also be doomed to failure although whether that manifests itself in a madness similar to Luciens’ is unclear.
There are some good moments in this novel, Mirbeau writes in a clear style but yet is able to portray Lucien's passion with intensity as he attempts to explain to the less enlightened X what is going on and why.
Although the whole ‘madman as artist’ theme has been heavily debated (and worked, Mirbeau does not mention any artist by name but ‘In The Sky’ is supposedly inspired by Van Gogh), neither translator nor Mirbeau scholar Claire Nettleton in her introduction mention the element that lifts this book above a ‘run of the mill’ exploration of this trope, namely Mirbeau’s anarchism.
I am certain that the novel is primarily an extended critique of society. Take this extract where X writes of the family: “Every reasonably well-constituted being is born with some dominant faculties, some individual strengths which correspond exactly to a need or to a pleasure in life. Instead of helping them develop normally, the family moves fast to suffocate and drown them. It produces nothing but social outcasts, revels, unbalanced people, unhappy people, through its marvellous instinct of alienating them from themselves…” At school, the teachers “indifferent hands of mercenaries with no stake in him…fills everything with his stiff, fake gravitas, a profoundly stupid dogmatism that kills the curiosity in a child's soul instead of developing it”.
Even more clearly: “Man can’t stand to let something beautiful and pure, a thing on wings, pass over him. He hates everything that soars, and everything that sings…all around, coming from everywhere, you hear rifle shots; above you from all over, like moans, like screams. The sky is filled with death throes, just like the earth.”
As someone who believes that lots of interesting things can be found at the edgelands (if you had not already guessed from my previous reviews) this book struck something of a chord with me. I haven’t come away from the book feeling that I have ‘learnt’ anything I didn’t already know, but I did like its intensity and it packs a quick punch in its 200 or so pages. Overall, I think it’s his best novel.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews