El elegido

by Maxence Van der Meersch

It was a small, low room, with walls roughly stippled to imitate Paris stone. Sham antique beams supported the ceiling. A rustic fireplace, consisting of a red-brick hearth and a huge white chimney-piece supported by two stucco pillars, occupied the whole of the far wall. On the wrought-iron firedogs with copper ball feet was a pile of mossy logs, arranged so obviously for artistic effect that one would have felt it a sacrilege so set fire to it.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

A lawyer by training, he in fact practiced this profession very little, preferring to devote himself to writing. His work, replete with a spirit of realism, is essentially concerned with the life of the people of the Nord, his native region.

In 1936 he was awarded the Prix Goncourt for "L'Empreinte du dieu" (Hath Not the Potter). In 1943 he published "Corps et âmes" (Bodies and Souls), which was awarded the grand prix de l'Académie française for that year. The novel was an international success — it was translated into 13 languages.

Van der Meersch experienced great success in his lifetime, but is little known today.

Reviews

[Fonch · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I am an anvil at the bottom of the abyss, the anvil of God, who, I well know, sends me sufferings because he loves me. Anvil of God at the bottom of the abyss! It's a good place to soar into it!" LEON BLOY ("The Ungrateful Beggar").

Ladies and gentlemen with humility we offer you the first review of the year 2024. Some may think that it could be expected, but I have been in a hurry to write it because Maxence van der Meersch is a very unknown writer, especially in the Anglosphere among English-speaking readers, where he has hardly been translated or has remained unpublished. I had a lot of problems when I recommended him to The Catholic Book Club, because there were no editions of his books in English, and that was despite the fact that "Bodies and Souls"Cuerpos y almas not only my favorite novel (hopefully one day a review of this novel can be written), but the best French novel of the 20th century. This quote from Leon Bloy Léon Bloy to which Juan Manuel de Prada Juan Manuel de Prada to whom he congratulated the year and sent a hug to him, his family, friends and followers in his book "Weirdos Like Me" Raros como yo (If you haven't read this wonderful book, read it, you have my review in @goodreads and, when I return to work on January 8th, it will be finished in @instagram and, @facebook ) Juan Manuel de Prada included León Bloy, whose quotation precedes this novel by Maxence van der Meersch Maxence Van der Meersch . You could have also included this author in your list. A man who, despite writing wonderfully, is not mentioned in the lists of French writers and, for me, in an atom ⚛️ of his finger, has much more talent than more exalted writers like Georges Bernanos Georges Bernanos (which, in spite of its fame, bores me sovereignly, whose "Diary of a Country Priest" will be read at The Catholic Book Club in February The Diary of a Country Priest and François Mauriac François Mauriac (who has good novels, but I like him less than this writer. In this matter I always had more affection for Paul Claudel Paul Claudel A los mártires españoles And, of the Catholic writers my favorites and, people are going to be surprised. It's the English.) The paradox is that this writer, who went on to win the Prix Goncourt, is now forgotten. Miguel Delibes Miguel Delibes ] (in an interview with César Alonso de los Ríos) went so far as to say that during the Franco regime the dictatorship came to publish bad writers. Including Lajos Zilahy on the list Lajos Zilahyand Maxence van der Meersch. In this case, my compatriot whose son Germán Delibes de Castro I met him and, whom I appreciate, he made a mistake and, people only have to read "Bodies and Souls" and, a jewel that a late friend of my admired Don @juan_manuel_de_prada appreciated very much. I am referring to the distinguished Jesuit historian Fernando García de Cortázar Fernando García de Cortázar , who was very fond of "Mary daughter of Flanders" Maria , Fille de Flandre and, he wrote a book in which he tried to put an end to prostitution, "A Slavery of Our Time" Una esclavitud de nuestro tiempo I wish Pope Francis had read itPope Francis You know that I have been very him in many things, especially with his last encyclical, and my fear is that one day I will go down in history as George Soros' Pope George Soros Something from which we will have to save him, but His Holiness did three very good things during his pontificate. Attack Capitalism (I don't see that as a bad thing). What I don't see is that he leans to the left. What the Church must do in socio-economic matters is not to lean towards either capitalism or social-communism, and it is clear that it does not favour fascism or National Socialism. What he must do is follow the socio-economic doctrines of Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII and
Pius XIPope Pius XI With Pius XII Pope Pius XII we leaned towards capitalism. Perhaps support the distributism made fashionable by G.K. Chesterton G.K. Chesterton and, Hilaire Belloc Hilaire Belloc or, "Small is Beautiful" by E.F. Schumacher Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered Ernst F. Schumacher adapting it to current times. It would be very interesting for my friends to explore the books of @michael_d._greaney Michael D. Greaney friend of @declanfinnbooks Declan Finn who has a lot to say on the subject. Or the books by Anthony Esolen. Anthony Esolen The second positive thing Pope Francis did was to challenge the Black Legend against Pius XII that was still in place by some left-wing Jews such as Goldhagen Goldhagen Daniel Jonah and Susan Zuccotti https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... (it was defended in a wonderful book by David G. Dalin David G. Dalin) and by liberal Catholics like John Cornwell John Cornwell and, James Carroll James Carroll and, another very interesting aspect is that Pope Francis tried to end prostitution if I know that I am not the best person to talk about it since my Achilles heel is the sixth commandment and, I am lascivious and lustful by nature but, despite my fascination with such a disastrous industry I am in favor of what Pope Francis and Maxence van der Meersch tried to do away with the oldest profession in the world (ladies and gentlemen do as I say, but not as I do) and, Maxence van der Meersch (on the subject of incontinence I recommend a wonderful @abc_diario column written by Don Juan Manuel de Prada about the homosexual poet Max Jacob Max Jacob Jewish convert to Catholicism and, that Don Julio Ariza is sharing in his @telegram ) the book that Maxence van der Meersch wrote was called "A Slavery of Our Time" and, although he was wrong in his predictions since, Maxence van der Meersch did not prevent either the Sexual Revolution or May '68 which is the origin of pansexualism read the wonderful books by Mary Eberstadt Tadesci "Adam and Eve After the Pill" Adam and Eve After the Pill: Paradoxes of the Sexual Revolution in the Christendom publishing house although I don't know if @edicionesrialp he has also translated books by Mary Eberstadt and, "The Global Sexual Revolution: Destruction of Freedom in the Name of Freedom|28204355] by Gabriele Kuby Gabriele Kuby (famous for her criticism of Harry Potter https://www.goodreads.com/series/4517..., but in this book she is right) published by Didaskalos. It was a great book about prostitution and, as it became stronger in Vichy France, the one that Sartre's egomaniac Jean-Paul Sartre and other converts of French socialism liked so much. Nevertheless, Van der Meersch gave names of socialists who did much to eradicate the white slave trade. This novel "The Chosen One" is considered one of Maxence van der Meersch's best, but I liked "Bodies and Souls" and "Mary, Daughter of Flanders" the best. The novel draws on French naturalism. In fact, Maxence van der Meersch is an Émile Zola Émile Zola It has something of Leon Bloy who is also naturalistic, so this novel, due to the hard themes it touches, is not for a young audience, however, it moves, tears and stirs consciences. The protagonist Simeon Bramberger drains the chalice of suffering and pain, which is what God uses to awaken a world of the deaf as C.S. Lewis C.S. Lewis says, but for Van der Meersch suffering is a sign of God's preference for the person. The first part is very hard, it doesn't sweeten anything: adulteries, suicides, terrible diseases. A heartbroken father who, thanks to a friend Vilhust (a Jansenist Catholic), discovers the terrible reality that affects his sick son Valeri, which is that his wife Isabeau, for me, is the great villain of the story. In a sense it is the dark version of "Lady Chatterley's Lover" Lady Chatterley's Lover A woman who never loved her husband, and now even less because he can't satisfy her. Even though poor Valeri is in love with her. Valeri is not perfect, the disease has made him powerless and selfish, being very dissatisfied with the life his father has given him. I disagree with Maxence van der Meersch here: perhaps Simeon Bramberger's worldview is wrong, but he has given his son what he thought was best. Simeon (he should have started there) is a man from a poor environment who started from nothing and has become the owner of a nitroglycerin factory. Most of the novels are set in interwar France (1919-1939). It is known that this is after 1926, when an accident takes place that ends with a friend of his and Vilhust. Gergaut was a socialist. Maxence van der Meersch uses this character to attack socialism and Simeon Bramberger's capitalism. . In the second part, through Vilhust (perhaps the most interesting character in this novel), Maxence van der Meersch explains his social model. That it does not seek the enrichment of a few, and that work is a means for man to fulfill himself, and not the other way around. As with Bernanos and Mauriac, there is a critique of the bourgeoisie. Maxence van der Meersch always felt very comfortable with the working class sectors and the Catholic trade unions. Like Vicet, or Father Llanos in Spain would be the HOAC, or the Catholic Worker Youth. What is clear is that a third way is being sought. The novel is not without a Noir and detective component in the investigation of Isabeau's affair with Fabre, who works at the Nitroglycerin factory. It is a great honour that, in spite of everything, Simeon Bramberger does nothing to dismiss him. From the very beginning, I was fascinated by the description as a hairless man in his fifties, with white hair and, almost like a crusader, or a man of the Middle Ages. It almost looks like something out of a novel by Sigrid Undset Sigrid Undset . Of course, although he is not the most interesting character that Vilhust is, but the novel revolves around Simeon Bramberger and his evolution, which is undoubtedly for the better. Already in the first half he shows an admirable capacity for sacrifice. There are scenes of a Zolian heartbreak, or Dostoyevsky Fyodor Dostoevsky or, of Leon Bloy's "Desperate" or, "The Woman Who Was Poor|2304222] Le Désespéré . The misery and anxiety is not so much physical as spiritual because of a wrong way of life. As in "Bodies and Souls" (which the author wrote to reconcile with his father. The protagonist of "Bodies and Souls" is inspired by Maxence van der Meersch's father, with whom the author broke up) is a conflict between father and son, reminiscent of the one the author had with his father. Like Valeri (suffering from tuberculosis, something he shares with Shusaku Endo Shūsaku Endō and, the characters in his novels such as those in "The Sea and Poison|169446]) is almost autobiographical. But, in this case, even if it makes Simeon recant. I think it's on the son's side, unlike "Bodies and Souls." This novel is divided into three parts, and the end of the first part is brutal and a terrible shock for the reader and the protagonist of the novel. The second part also deals with illness, but under the umbrella and shield of religion. There is a lot of talk about the bad effects of religion, but rarely is there any talk about the good effects it has, especially when it comes to accompanying the sick in illness. It is the abandonment of Isabeau and, as he deals with loneliness, Simeon Bramberger and his wife Françoise. In this case, for me, Vilhust is vital, as it is able to prevent and counteract a problem caused by loss and disease. Perhaps one of the flaws of the novel is that it is much smaller than "Bodies and Souls" and, apart from that, Maxence van der Meersch. Like Bernanos and Mauriac, he opted for Jansenism and Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal when perhaps it would have been better to bet on a more orthodox side like Francis de Sales Francis de Sales or, another type of Catholic movement as opposed to Jansenism and quietism (as we see in the title of the novel. There were options, and opposition to Jansenism Maurras Charles Maurras as seen in an article in Religion at Liberty together with the Carmelite nuns opposed this ideological current). Greene Graham Greene also flirted with this and, clashed with an Anthony Burgess Anthony Burgess which almost bets on Pelagianism. It is Christianity seen from the outside, which accepts Jesus Christ, but finds it difficult to accept the ceremonies, the rites and the liturgy. There is one of the characters who only travels part of the way thanks to Vilhust al, Father Monnihot and, to Kempis's "Imitation of Christ" The Imitation Of Christ Thomas à Kempis commented by the heretic Lamennais Félicité Robert de Lamennais . The third part takes us to stories like "The New Woman" by Carmen Laforet The New Woman , or y, this is what reminded me the most of "On the Road" by Joris Karl Huysmans Joris-Karl Huysmans praised by Houllebecq in "Submission" SoumissionMichel Houellebecq . Bramberger reminds me a lot of Durtal (the fictional character who follows that religious itinerary. Writing made him enemies with Leon Bloy, who accused him of plagiarism and of stealing his idea). Maxence van der Meersch's love for his Flemish roots is also seen in this novel. Simeon Bramberger takes the last step without Vilhust and, the best thing is the dialogues of the latter with the monk Forest and, the ending perhaps predictable, and not as powerful as that of "Bodies and Souls" but satisfying. It won't be among the best of the year, but it deserves to fight for it. Only the presence of Vilhust makes my grade (5/5). PD. This review will be translated into English, Spanish, French and Polish in @goodreads.