Clementine

by Robert Nathan, Gaja Cenciarelli (Trasnslator)

With little passion left in his marriage, a middle-aged scientist begins having a series of romantic encounters with a beautiful young woman who he later discovers is his wife from another time.
Waking up one morning, middle-aged scientist EDWARD, our narrator, is dismayed to discover that he cannot remember what his wife’s face looked like when they were young. They have a steady relationship, but the passion has long since cooled. Though Edward is a scientist, spending his life exploring the mysteries of the universe, RUTH has always been the serious, stable one in the relationship. While driving to work, Edward gets lost in a dense fog and meets a charming, mysterious and idealistic young woman named CLEMENTINE. Edward isn’t sure what to make of the seemingly magical encounter . was it a dream? He bumps into Clementine on several other occasions, and they fall in love, often talking romantically and unrealistically about the life they will have together. Though Edward tries to forget Clementine, she continues to appear. Edward is torn between this fantasy and his reality. He can’t quite put his finger on the odd similarities between this vibrant young woman and his wife. Eventually, Ruth’s brush with death finally reveals to Edward the supernatural connection between the two women.
“Mr. Nathan is, I should say, at least at his tender best. Whimsical enough, stepping neatly over the line into fantasy and then back again at will, romantic in Mr. Nathan’s own special sense, this is a short novel that will make its friends by the thousands.”

J.H. Jackson
San Francisco Chronicle

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QUOTE
"There is no distance on this earth as far away as yesterday"

128 pages, Rilegato

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Robert Gruntal Nathan was born into a prominent New York Sephardic family. He was educated in the United States and Switzerland and attended Harvard University for several years beginning in 1912. It was there that he began writing short fiction and poetry. However, he never graduated, choosing instead to drop out and take a job at an advertising firm to support his family (he married while a junior at Harvard). It was while working in 1919 that he wrote his first novel—the semi-autobiographical work Peter Kindred—which was a critical failure. But his luck soon changed during the 1920s, when he wrote seven more novels, including The Bishop's Wife, which was later made into a successful film starring Cary Grant, David Niven, and Loretta Young.

During the 1930s, his success continued with more works, including fictional pieces and poetry. In 1940, he wrote his most successful book, Portrait of Jennie, about a Depression-era artist and the woman he is painting, who is slipping through time. Portrait of Jennie is considered a modern masterpiece of fantasy fiction and was made into a film, starring Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten.

In January 1956 the author wrote, as well as narrated, an episode of the CBS Radio Workshop, called "A Pride of Carrots or Venus Well-Served."

Nathan's seventh wife was the British actress Anna Lee, to whom he was married from 1970 until his death. He came from a talented family — the activist Maud Nathan and author Annie Nathan Meyer were his aunts, and the poet Emma Lazarus and Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo his cousins

Reviews

[Tisreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh, mi aspettavo di meglio. Non mi ha affascinato come credevo, l'ho trovato un po' inconcludente. Mi ha lasciata abbastanza insoddisfatta anche perché il potenziale c'era, la scrittura dell'autore è scorrevole e coinvolgente. Peccato!

[Steve Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A man struggles to remember how his wife's face looked when younger.

One day, in a fog, the man meets a mysterious woman who appears familiar. He constantly bumps in to her and wonders who she is, then over time he begins to question her reality. I love Nathan's gentle fantasy style (he wrote Portrait Of Jennie). This is probably my favourite of his novels. Always fascinating. It's a pity he seems to have drifted into the mists of time - just like a character from one of his stories.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Purchased last month from the Willis Monie bookstore in Cooperstown. (www.wilmonie.com) I just pulled it off the shelf, read the first paragraph and decided to buy. Why not? Had no expectations and I was quite surprised and pleased by the tale it tells. Not sure what to make of it but I liked it anyway.

[Michelle Hoogterp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was impressed. A touch of magical realism--had no idea American writers in the 50s were doing this. Lovely tale, very sweet. Super quick read.