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Simplicianische Zyklus #7
Courasche
„Trutz Simplex oder Lebensbeschreibung der Ertzbetrügerin und Landstörtzerin Courasche“ (ohne Ort und Jahr, ungefähr 1669) ist ein Schelmenroman von Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen.
Der Text ist von ihm als „Gegenrede“ der Libuschka zum Simplicius Simplicissimus, dem Helden aus Grimmelshausens Simplicissimus Teutsch konzipiert. Ihr Spitzname „Courasche“ rührt von „Courage“ her, womit allerdings, wie im Roman erklärt, im Landsknechtdeutsch die Scheide gemeint ist.
Die in Böhmen geborene Courasche folgt, mit zwölf Jahren durch die Eroberung ihrer Heimatstadt aus ihrem relativ bürgerlichen Leben gerissen, im Dreißigjährigen Krieg den Heeren (als Offiziersliebchen, Dirne, Landstreicherin, Marketenderin und anderes mehr). Abenteuer- und episodenreich wird ein Panorama dieses Krieges entwickelt, wie ihn eine von ihm entwurzelte Frau erlebt.
Der Text ist von ihm als „Gegenrede“ der Libuschka zum Simplicius Simplicissimus, dem Helden aus Grimmelshausens Simplicissimus Teutsch konzipiert. Ihr Spitzname „Courasche“ rührt von „Courage“ her, womit allerdings, wie im Roman erklärt, im Landsknechtdeutsch die Scheide gemeint ist.
Die in Böhmen geborene Courasche folgt, mit zwölf Jahren durch die Eroberung ihrer Heimatstadt aus ihrem relativ bürgerlichen Leben gerissen, im Dreißigjährigen Krieg den Heeren (als Offiziersliebchen, Dirne, Landstreicherin, Marketenderin und anderes mehr). Abenteuer- und episodenreich wird ein Panorama dieses Krieges entwickelt, wie ihn eine von ihm entwurzelte Frau erlebt.
181 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1670
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259 people want to read
About the author
Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen
156 books47 followersGrimmelshausen was born at Gelnhausen. At the age of ten he was kidnapped by Hessian soldiery, and in their midst tasted the adventures of military life in the Thirty Years' War. At its close, Grimmelshausen entered the service of Franz Egon von Fürstenberg, bishop in Straßburg and in 1665 was made Schultheiss (magistrate) at Renchen in Baden.
On obtaining this appointment, he devoted himself to literary pursuits, and in 1668 published Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch, d.h. die Beschreibung des Lebens eines seltsamen Vaganten, genannt Melchior Sternfels von Fuchsheim, the greatest German novel of the 17th century. For this work he took as his model the picaresque romances of Spain, already to some extent known in Germany. Simplicissimus is in great measure its author's autobiography; he begins with the childhood of his hero, and describes the latter's adventures amid the stirring scenes of the Thirty Years' War. The rustic detail with which these pictures are presented makes the book one of the most valuable documents of its time. In the later parts Grimmelshausen, however, over-indulges in allegory, and finally loses himself in a Robinson Crusoe story.
The historian Robert Ergang, however, draws upon Gustav Könnecke's Quellen und Forschungen zur Lebensgeschichte Grimmelshausens to convey the assertion that "the events related in the novel Simplicissimus could hardly have been autobiographical since [Grimmelshausen] lived a peaceful existence in quiet towns and villages on the fringe of the Black Forest and that the material he incorporated in his work was not taken from actual experience, but was either borrowed from the past, collected from hearsay, or created by a vivid imagination."
Among his other works, the most important are the so-called Simplicianische Schriften:
* Die Ertzbetrügerin and Landstörtzerin Courasche (1669)
* Der seltsame Springinsfeld (1670)
* Das wunderbarliche Vogelnest (1672)
His satires, such as Der teutsche Michel (1670), and gallant novels, like Dietwald und Amelinde (1670) are of inferior interest. He died at Renchen on August 17, 1676, where a monument was erected to him in 1779.
Grimmelshausen's Landstörtzerin Courasche became an important inspiration for Bertolt Brecht´s play Mutter Courage.
On obtaining this appointment, he devoted himself to literary pursuits, and in 1668 published Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch, d.h. die Beschreibung des Lebens eines seltsamen Vaganten, genannt Melchior Sternfels von Fuchsheim, the greatest German novel of the 17th century. For this work he took as his model the picaresque romances of Spain, already to some extent known in Germany. Simplicissimus is in great measure its author's autobiography; he begins with the childhood of his hero, and describes the latter's adventures amid the stirring scenes of the Thirty Years' War. The rustic detail with which these pictures are presented makes the book one of the most valuable documents of its time. In the later parts Grimmelshausen, however, over-indulges in allegory, and finally loses himself in a Robinson Crusoe story.
The historian Robert Ergang, however, draws upon Gustav Könnecke's Quellen und Forschungen zur Lebensgeschichte Grimmelshausens to convey the assertion that "the events related in the novel Simplicissimus could hardly have been autobiographical since [Grimmelshausen] lived a peaceful existence in quiet towns and villages on the fringe of the Black Forest and that the material he incorporated in his work was not taken from actual experience, but was either borrowed from the past, collected from hearsay, or created by a vivid imagination."
Among his other works, the most important are the so-called Simplicianische Schriften:
* Die Ertzbetrügerin and Landstörtzerin Courasche (1669)
* Der seltsame Springinsfeld (1670)
* Das wunderbarliche Vogelnest (1672)
His satires, such as Der teutsche Michel (1670), and gallant novels, like Dietwald und Amelinde (1670) are of inferior interest. He died at Renchen on August 17, 1676, where a monument was erected to him in 1779.
Grimmelshausen's Landstörtzerin Courasche became an important inspiration for Bertolt Brecht´s play Mutter Courage.
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October 25, 2010
I wish my vagina had this cool a nickname.
December 20, 2022
Bueno, la relectura de esta obra ha sido en la edición de Cátedra con notas y una introducción muy útil que no aparece en Goodreads, ya que previamente me había leído una traducción del alemán a un inglés arcaizante y pensaba que quizá me habría perdido algo.
Se trata de una novela picaresca ambientada en la Guerra de los Treinta Años protagonizada por una astuta joven de fortísimo carácter amoral, un producto de la terrible guerra que asoló el centro de Europa en el siglo XVII. Relato con el que, en un principio, Grimmelshausen quiere advertir a sus lectores para que tengan cuidado con este tipo de mujeres de vida licenciosa, advertencia hecha con la boca pequeña, puesto que se nota muchísimo el aprecio y cuidado que le ha puesto a su personaje y lo simpático que le resulta.
Argumentalmente se trata de un relato de aventuras humorísticas muy ágil, bastante entretenido y, como ya he dicho, es la protagonista Coraje, el elemento más interesante de la obra y el que me animó a leerla, es decir, un personaje femenino tan fuerte e independiente en una novela picaresca del s.XVII ambientada en la Guerra de los Treinta años atrajo mi atención. Como es habitual en estas obras, seguiremos la vida de Coraje, sus altos y bajos, hasta sus últimos días como gitana vagabundeando, ya completamente libre de ataduras sociales y morales, por toda Europa. Coraje es capaz de cualquier cosa (robo, estupro, prostitución, pillaje, usura) para sobrevivir y ganar dinero, cuya diferencia con otros pícaros, sobre todo españoles, es que no sólo actúa por necesidad, sino muchas veces por el placer de la venganza o de apropiarse de lo ajeno, y a quien no le duelen prendas a la hora de recurrir a la violencia, combatiendo disfrazada de hombre ya desde el arranque de la novela, pegándole una buena paliza a uno de sus muchos maridos o cortándole la cabeza a un soldado en batalla. Y es que ya lo dice el mejor aforismo de la novela; "a bastonazos hay que hacer entrar en razón a los necios, y me quedo corta".
Se trata de una novela picaresca ambientada en la Guerra de los Treinta Años protagonizada por una astuta joven de fortísimo carácter amoral, un producto de la terrible guerra que asoló el centro de Europa en el siglo XVII. Relato con el que, en un principio, Grimmelshausen quiere advertir a sus lectores para que tengan cuidado con este tipo de mujeres de vida licenciosa, advertencia hecha con la boca pequeña, puesto que se nota muchísimo el aprecio y cuidado que le ha puesto a su personaje y lo simpático que le resulta.
Argumentalmente se trata de un relato de aventuras humorísticas muy ágil, bastante entretenido y, como ya he dicho, es la protagonista Coraje, el elemento más interesante de la obra y el que me animó a leerla, es decir, un personaje femenino tan fuerte e independiente en una novela picaresca del s.XVII ambientada en la Guerra de los Treinta años atrajo mi atención. Como es habitual en estas obras, seguiremos la vida de Coraje, sus altos y bajos, hasta sus últimos días como gitana vagabundeando, ya completamente libre de ataduras sociales y morales, por toda Europa. Coraje es capaz de cualquier cosa (robo, estupro, prostitución, pillaje, usura) para sobrevivir y ganar dinero, cuya diferencia con otros pícaros, sobre todo españoles, es que no sólo actúa por necesidad, sino muchas veces por el placer de la venganza o de apropiarse de lo ajeno, y a quien no le duelen prendas a la hora de recurrir a la violencia, combatiendo disfrazada de hombre ya desde el arranque de la novela, pegándole una buena paliza a uno de sus muchos maridos o cortándole la cabeza a un soldado en batalla. Y es que ya lo dice el mejor aforismo de la novela; "a bastonazos hay que hacer entrar en razón a los necios, y me quedo corta".
January 2, 2022
"La vagabonde Courage" est un roman picaresque allemande avec une joie de vivre rabelaisienne qui plait beaucoup. Les romans picaresque qui étaient au programme quand j'étais au premier cycle étaient par contre tous des calvaires à lire. Mes professeurs étaient de l'avis que le roman picaresque était un des genres incontournables de la littérature de l'Europe même si a disparition au dix-huitième siècle a été un grand pas dans la bonne direction.
Courage, la protagoniste est une vivandière de la Guerre des Trente Ans et une ribaude insatiable. "Je ne sortais pas seulement pour trafiquer comme un descendant des citoyens de Jérusalem , mais aussi pour remplir mes fonctions de prêtresse de Vénus et d'en tirer profit." (pp. 134-135)
Durant les trois décennies de la guerre, Courage va visiter tous les théâtres de la guerre se livrant à toutes les débauches et escroqueries imaginables. Elle va avoir pendant cette période plus qu'une vingtaines de maris (à savoir des entreteneurs) qui vont tous mourir sur les champs de bataille. Le premier lui donne le nom de "Courage" parce qu'elle était suffisamment courageuse de vivre avec lui comme marié sans la "bénédiction" d'une église: "Les gens croyaient à tort qu'il me nommait ainsi parce que j'avais coutume d'affronter les pires dangers avec un étonnant esprit de décision et un courage incomparable." (p. 52)
La mère courage de Brecht qui court d'un désastre à un autre est une déformation du personnage de Grimmelshausen qui maitrise toute situation. La pièce de théâtre de Brecht est une polémique communiste. Le roman de Grimmelshausen est une célébration de la vie que j'ai fini par plus aimer.
Courage, la protagoniste est une vivandière de la Guerre des Trente Ans et une ribaude insatiable. "Je ne sortais pas seulement pour trafiquer comme un descendant des citoyens de Jérusalem , mais aussi pour remplir mes fonctions de prêtresse de Vénus et d'en tirer profit." (pp. 134-135)
Durant les trois décennies de la guerre, Courage va visiter tous les théâtres de la guerre se livrant à toutes les débauches et escroqueries imaginables. Elle va avoir pendant cette période plus qu'une vingtaines de maris (à savoir des entreteneurs) qui vont tous mourir sur les champs de bataille. Le premier lui donne le nom de "Courage" parce qu'elle était suffisamment courageuse de vivre avec lui comme marié sans la "bénédiction" d'une église: "Les gens croyaient à tort qu'il me nommait ainsi parce que j'avais coutume d'affronter les pires dangers avec un étonnant esprit de décision et un courage incomparable." (p. 52)
La mère courage de Brecht qui court d'un désastre à un autre est une déformation du personnage de Grimmelshausen qui maitrise toute situation. La pièce de théâtre de Brecht est une polémique communiste. Le roman de Grimmelshausen est une célébration de la vie que j'ai fini par plus aimer.
March 28, 2024
I love this book, and i want to read the rest of the Grimmelshausen series. I read this for my German Literature class during my undergraduate career and have officially fallen in love with German works.
December 18, 2020
1🌟
Also Freunde .... Ne 😅 ich weiß nicht ob es für die Zeit damals revolutionär war aber mir hat es überhaupt nicht gefallen und die Beweggründe aller Charaktere waren auch fragwürdig 🤷♀️
Also Freunde .... Ne 😅 ich weiß nicht ob es für die Zeit damals revolutionär war aber mir hat es überhaupt nicht gefallen und die Beweggründe aller Charaktere waren auch fragwürdig 🤷♀️
October 8, 2023
Viele werden dieses Nebenwerk des Simplicissimus mit Brechts Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder, doch nahm übernahm Brecht nur den Namen, während ihm die Biographie einer schwedischen Marketenderin als Vorbild für die Handlung diente. Grimmelshausens Courage ist nämlich keine Mutter, sondern unfruchtbar. Als junge Frau ermöglicht ihr dies ihre Lust zu befriedigen und zugleich Geld wie auch Status zu erringen. Doch in den Wirren des Dreißigjähriger Krieges Bundes Mantua schien Erbfolgekrieges wird sie so auch zum Lustobjekt der Söldner und Offiziere und verliert erst ihren Status, dann ihr Geld (mehr wird nicht verraten).
Für den heutigen Leser ist das Werk weit besser genießbar als der weitschweifige Simplicissmus, eswirkt viel geschlossener. Darüber hinaus gleitet Grimmelshausen hier nur selten in Fäkalhumor und Albernheiten ab. Obwohl zum Teil groteske Komik das ganze Werk durchzieht, entwickelt sich das Werk von einem Lust zu einem Trauerspiel.
Auch wenn die "Hur" zuletzt verurteilt wird, so bleibt sie als eine Frau in Erinnerung, die in der Männerwelt des Krieges zeitweise mit Erfolg versucht, sich selbst zu behaupten. Vergleichbar unverblümt Schilderungen weiblicher Sexualität findet man in der deutschen Literatur wohl erst wieder im 20. Jh.
Für den heutigen Leser ist das Werk weit besser genießbar als der weitschweifige Simplicissmus, eswirkt viel geschlossener. Darüber hinaus gleitet Grimmelshausen hier nur selten in Fäkalhumor und Albernheiten ab. Obwohl zum Teil groteske Komik das ganze Werk durchzieht, entwickelt sich das Werk von einem Lust zu einem Trauerspiel.
Auch wenn die "Hur" zuletzt verurteilt wird, so bleibt sie als eine Frau in Erinnerung, die in der Männerwelt des Krieges zeitweise mit Erfolg versucht, sich selbst zu behaupten. Vergleichbar unverblümt Schilderungen weiblicher Sexualität findet man in der deutschen Literatur wohl erst wieder im 20. Jh.
April 12, 2018
I admired the surprising gender fluidity of Mother Courage in this work, especially considering the time period it was written— the Thirty Years’ War during early modern Europe. Whether the work seeks to judge Mother Courage for it, or whether the work upholds her as a heroine, however, is questionable. One could also question whether the emphasis on her sexuality establishes Courage as a feminist work as we know it today. It seems to do so at some times and, at other times, not.
February 6, 2021
Short read - Really enjoyed the account of a woman making her way in the late 1600s during the Thirty Years Wars as a Lady, Wife, Prostitute, Shopkeeper, Thief, Soldier, Gypsy, etc. all without shame or remorse. What a life!
May 21, 2024
iconic early modern girlboss
March 9, 2025
This is a terrifically entertaining German Baroque novel. I had no idea that Grimmelshausen had written not only one, but a cycle of 5 Simplicissimus novels. This one has some extremely modern gestures, although the meta-narrative is similar in spirit to Don Quixote and Sterne, but the female first person narrator, I thought, was kind of wonderful. Although not believable (not the point of these comic texts which date back to the Middle Ages often referred to as realistic simply because comedic, low in both topic and style, dealing often with the lower or merchant class, and not allegorical) I feel that the exercise of writing outside of one's gender, race, nationality, etc. can only ultimately lead to an exercise in empathy. If you use an other's I you begin to step outside yourself and that's always worthwhile, even if politically risky in the era of identity politics.
The inclusion of this as a kind of follow-up, a riposte to some of what went on in Simplicissimus makes the original novel better and more interesting--just as Don Quixote Pt. II enlarges and carries that novel into something much greater than the original. That, along with the strong narrator and the odd gender transgressions of an unashamedly promiscuous female soldier rogue character make it potentially revolutionary. It's at least a bit realistic insomuch as I guess she's not wholly unapologetic--that is unable to at least partially condemn herself and her own actions along the lines of conventional morality, still, as has been noted, actions speak louder than words, thus I read her as less apologetic than she seemed.
This edition has a solid, very informative but perhaps a bit too long-winded. Still. I'll add here a review of the second text, The False Messiah as soon as I've read it.
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Well, The False Messiah is a tad disappointing. First of all, It's only an excerpt, the last third or so of the fifth and final Simplicissimus novel, The Enchanted Bird's-Nest, in which (so the long introduction tells me) two different characters have various adventures via the title object which grants them invisibility. That's immediately disappointing to me as I prefer reading all or nothing of a text. Also, the long-winded intro. goes on even longer about this excerpt than it did about the full novel Courage, making me wonder why the editor(s?) didn't shorten the intro and translate this novel in its entirety, or make this a two-volume project? I dunno, the intro was exhaustive but not, as is usually the case with criticism, as interesting as reading the novel itself would have been.
That said, the excerpt does work more or less as a stand-alone novella and was, so it tells me, published as such at least one other time. The story is an age-old narrative motif in which a man passes himself off as a god or deity of some sort in order to seduce a woman. I recognized the motif from Boccaccio's Decameron in which Friar Alberto seduces Madama Lisetta in the form of the angel Gabriel. Boccaccio, in my opinion, is poking fun at his contemporary religious art, which was then depicting the annunciation as a courtly love plea between a handsome young man and a noble woman.
Here, however, the text harps on the credulity of the Jews and their ridiculous belief in the coming of a messiah, which the narrator exploits, along with the help of invisibility and a Mandrake root which opens and closes locks magically, in order to have his way with a beautiful young Jewess. Although Grimmelshausen is always paying lip service to Christianity, I couldn't help think which is more deluded, believing in a future messiah or believing that the messiah has already come when the world is not a whole lot better off than it was before he came, at least not morally or in terms of justice. So I rejected the lambasting of the Jewish beliefs as no more absurd than the Christians' beliefs, and kind of turned on the narrator for his not seeing that.
So, a modern reader needs to both ignore the casual, assumed Antisemitism and put up with a bigoted and not very perspicacious or self-aware narrator. But even then the tale isn't really funny (as in Boccaccio and others) as the narrator is so much more involved in his own moral self-castigation and excoriation of those silly Jewish beliefs to let us laugh for very long at the situation. Oddly, in the end, it's a tale of desire, how achieving desire doesn't quell desire, and then how tiring of the desired object and abandoning it only leads one back to the desire. It's not wrong, but it's not a super entertaining story to tell and might have been better told in another way.
The inclusion of this as a kind of follow-up, a riposte to some of what went on in Simplicissimus makes the original novel better and more interesting--just as Don Quixote Pt. II enlarges and carries that novel into something much greater than the original. That, along with the strong narrator and the odd gender transgressions of an unashamedly promiscuous female soldier rogue character make it potentially revolutionary. It's at least a bit realistic insomuch as I guess she's not wholly unapologetic--that is unable to at least partially condemn herself and her own actions along the lines of conventional morality, still, as has been noted, actions speak louder than words, thus I read her as less apologetic than she seemed.
This edition has a solid, very informative but perhaps a bit too long-winded. Still. I'll add here a review of the second text, The False Messiah as soon as I've read it.
------------------------------------
Well, The False Messiah is a tad disappointing. First of all, It's only an excerpt, the last third or so of the fifth and final Simplicissimus novel, The Enchanted Bird's-Nest, in which (so the long introduction tells me) two different characters have various adventures via the title object which grants them invisibility. That's immediately disappointing to me as I prefer reading all or nothing of a text. Also, the long-winded intro. goes on even longer about this excerpt than it did about the full novel Courage, making me wonder why the editor(s?) didn't shorten the intro and translate this novel in its entirety, or make this a two-volume project? I dunno, the intro was exhaustive but not, as is usually the case with criticism, as interesting as reading the novel itself would have been.
That said, the excerpt does work more or less as a stand-alone novella and was, so it tells me, published as such at least one other time. The story is an age-old narrative motif in which a man passes himself off as a god or deity of some sort in order to seduce a woman. I recognized the motif from Boccaccio's Decameron in which Friar Alberto seduces Madama Lisetta in the form of the angel Gabriel. Boccaccio, in my opinion, is poking fun at his contemporary religious art, which was then depicting the annunciation as a courtly love plea between a handsome young man and a noble woman.
Here, however, the text harps on the credulity of the Jews and their ridiculous belief in the coming of a messiah, which the narrator exploits, along with the help of invisibility and a Mandrake root which opens and closes locks magically, in order to have his way with a beautiful young Jewess. Although Grimmelshausen is always paying lip service to Christianity, I couldn't help think which is more deluded, believing in a future messiah or believing that the messiah has already come when the world is not a whole lot better off than it was before he came, at least not morally or in terms of justice. So I rejected the lambasting of the Jewish beliefs as no more absurd than the Christians' beliefs, and kind of turned on the narrator for his not seeing that.
So, a modern reader needs to both ignore the casual, assumed Antisemitism and put up with a bigoted and not very perspicacious or self-aware narrator. But even then the tale isn't really funny (as in Boccaccio and others) as the narrator is so much more involved in his own moral self-castigation and excoriation of those silly Jewish beliefs to let us laugh for very long at the situation. Oddly, in the end, it's a tale of desire, how achieving desire doesn't quell desire, and then how tiring of the desired object and abandoning it only leads one back to the desire. It's not wrong, but it's not a super entertaining story to tell and might have been better told in another way.
July 10, 2019
Wichtig wegen Brechts "Mutter Courage". Ganz der alte Johann Jacob Christmuffel von Himmelsgrausen! Oder hieß er doch nicht so? ;-)
October 8, 2017
Hodnotím pouze první povídku: Poběhlici Kuráž.
Ten příběh byl super. Vtipné, lechtivé, strašně dobře napsané. Osobně mám chuť si přečíst i Divouse a a dílo, ke kterému se to všechno vztahuje: Dobrodružný Simplicius Simplicissimus! :3
Ten příběh byl super. Vtipné, lechtivé, strašně dobře napsané. Osobně mám chuť si přečíst i Divouse a a dílo, ke kterému se to všechno vztahuje: Dobrodružný Simplicius Simplicissimus! :3
December 15, 2024
An enjoyable series of brief adentures encapulating the life of a resourseful woman surviving and mostly thriving as a camp follower in the 30 years war.
March 4, 2025
This is rather a curiosity. My copy is yet another book which has lingered on my shelves for many years. A Folio Society edition, it has numerous 'woodcut' illustrations similar to those which would have appeared at the time the book is set [17thC]
The book is translated from its original German language and the translator's introduction is unclear as to whether it is a genuine product of that century or a later pastiche. Having said that it is an entertaining read - the chapters are just a few pages each, making it possible to read it in bite-sized chunks and, at least in the earlier part, it is an amusing read. The final handful of chapters let it down rather - they do not entirely read as part of the earlier story, but seem almost to have been added as an afterthought to bulk out the book, which is a pity as the earlier part flows much better and comes across as an authentic tale. Again, there is nothing to say conclusively whether this is fiction or otherwise. There are no obvious anachronisms so I assume it is 'of the period' but, as I have said, I assume it is fictional unless anyone knows otherwise...
The book is translated from its original German language and the translator's introduction is unclear as to whether it is a genuine product of that century or a later pastiche. Having said that it is an entertaining read - the chapters are just a few pages each, making it possible to read it in bite-sized chunks and, at least in the earlier part, it is an amusing read. The final handful of chapters let it down rather - they do not entirely read as part of the earlier story, but seem almost to have been added as an afterthought to bulk out the book, which is a pity as the earlier part flows much better and comes across as an authentic tale. Again, there is nothing to say conclusively whether this is fiction or otherwise. There are no obvious anachronisms so I assume it is 'of the period' but, as I have said, I assume it is fictional unless anyone knows otherwise...
April 28, 2016
A Grimmelshausen scholar told me this book was better than "Simplicissimus." Considering that book is a masterpiece, I thought it wasn't possible for this book to be better. It isn't, in my opinion, but that doesn't keep it from being a well-written tale whose scandalous subject matter hasn't been dampened by time. Indeed, it's a miracle that someone who's been dead for centuries could create characters and situations that still breathe with such life, but Grimmelshausen's body of work belongs to that small corpus of literature (i.e. Boccaccio, Chaucer, etc.) whose work never dates. The premise of this story- a prostitute who conceals her gender in order to enjoy the adventures and autonomy denied the fairer sex- is one that is well-sustained throughout the picaresque, and is bound to keep any reader entertained. Just make sure that if you read this one, you also read "Simplicissimus."
January 4, 2016
This is an interesting story of a woman born to a life a privilege that she will never know. She is intelligent as well as clever something that is not always valued by her male counterparts. Courage does what she can to make her way in the war torn world in which she lives. in addition to falling in love, she becomes a successful soldier and eventually a businesswoman.
June 5, 2009
Like Grimmelshausen's other works, this is a tour de force of 17th century debauchery and survival amidst war and political turmoil. The excellent English translation if of course a major factor in making this such a delicious reading experience.
January 12, 2016
Early picaresque novel about a woman whose whole life is bound up in the turmoil of the Thirty Years War. Her misfortunes and her successes are mostly easy to sympathize with, sometimes by design and sometimes in spite of the roguish caricature appropriate to the genre.
April 22, 2013
15.4B Bloodstone > Courage (meaning)
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