Eventually, he dropped his business card in one of the baskets. And now I knew his name, his title and career scape, and I also got to know where he worked, building, storey and company name. He was involved in the oil industry. He was the head honcho of finance. By now the flowers had given way to full-fledged gift baskets bearing chocolates, perfumes, premium wines and all sorts of accompanying treats — waffles, truffles, nuts and fruits.
At long last he called me when I least expected it. It was kind of off-putting but I overlooked it for now. After all, no one deserved to be judged by the accent of their dialect. We arranged to meet at one of the newly launched, high-end, boutique hotels at the time. The Grand Regency.
He clearly was out to impress. The first time I saw Saraswati, I was a bit disappointed. He had a slight hunch back, a protruding tummy, his face was long, puffy and his head was bigger than his body. His buttocks were flat — I noticed when he excused himself and walked towards the bathroom.
Not to mention a sloppy walk. He was slightly knock-kneed, and his overall physique was less than impressive. I was immediately repulsed by him. Quite frankly, I was done before I began. My attention was scattered all through the evening. He was really smartly dressed though: crisply ironed peach shirt, expensive looking, pricey timepiece, bespoke footwear, and well-groomed top to bottom.
He wore a mild and sublime cologne, and I could tell he was very wealthy. As we finished and headed out to his car, he gentlemanly opened the door for me. When I look back on those times, in hindsight, on particularly gloomy days when it feels like my life has been a series of contemptible decisions, I wonder what kind of maturity deficit I was suffering, because — how could I judge someone so harshly on appearance? I mean his looks, physical frame and twang. I remember feeling cold toward him soon after our first date.
His overall image did nothing to convince me to meet him a second time, despite his affluence and effort. I avoided him altogether and declined to respond to his communications. I never revealed the truth as to why.
Yet, he continued his ritualistic gift sending. Never did he falter. Psychologically, I had disconnected after our first meeting. I could tell he was ecstatic about it by the way he treated me, showered me with attention and compliments at every opportunity and somehow, eventually, I let down my guard.
I just — well — we were spending a lot of time together, I loved the way he spoiled me, the company, the travels, the soirees. I literally fell for and fed off of it. I was also bored and tired of the dating scene, less-than-serious suitors and all, most of them stone broke with abundant flair but no ambition.
So it was easy to be with Saraswati for his effort, attention, and indulgences rather than for romance. It felt that way anyway. I was passively into him with zero connection. I remember from the outset of dating, he used to move heaven and earth to make sure I was happy.
I promised myself that I would learn to love him eventually. It was a weak attempt of a pledge, though, because somehow I never did. Bad jobs. But this novel is supposedly funny. Well, one scene is laugh out loud funny. Well that scene is hilarious, but it ends in tragedy, which is typical for Celine. Celine, who was a real sonofabitch in real life. Anyway, I didn't love this great piece of modern literature.
Didn't love it despite Celine's inspired prose. Or maybe it's just that I don't love any of the writers who suck Celine's cock. Yeah, I can see you. I guess I don't blame you. Especially you, you cheat and phony, J. Oh, you too, Bukowski. Maybe I needed to read Celine before I turned twenty, just so I could reaffirm how crummy the world really was. I kept reading. Pauses in thought? A lyrical stuttering? I keep reading. And then his disastrous months in England, which ended in sex and tragedy.
Then comes the ending. Courtial, an inventor and writer is introduced, and Courtial is a lovable scoundrel who brings Ferdinand under his wing. Courtial becomes Ferdinand's father figure, but a father who has more in common with Dr. Moreau or Dr. They con, they steal, they stage balloon accidents. It ends badly. How could it not? But the end is beautiful and crazed. There are cops, wrecked buildings, waylaid youth, thievery, suicide, insane priests, perpetual motion machines, potato famine, radio-tellurium rays, and more cops.
All in the last section, which is worth it's weight. Not sure if the pig shit of reading this book is worth the awesome brilliance of the diamonds hidden within. And the ending? The ending is pretty damn lovely. View all 8 comments. Ferdinand, the main character of the book, explains his life story at the book. He spends his childhood with his cousin Gustin, his uncle Armide, his father, mother and grand mama.
He finishes the school and begins the commerce. He must the work because of insufficient economic status of his family. After some bad life experiences his family decides to send him to boarding school at England. He constantly thinks to Nora who is the female owner of school and this mutually situation leads to one t Ferdinand, the main character of the book, explains his life story at the book.
He constantly thinks to Nora who is the female owner of school and this mutually situation leads to one tragic event at the end. At the end of the school he gets letter from his father. Obviously, his relation with his family is not good but he must return even so he could not do at home.
By the help of his uncle Eduard he starts to work at journal together with Courtial. Courtial is a extraordinary person. They look for treasure, they do agriculture and tragic end of the Courtial. Then Ferdinand returns to home to his uncle It is good journey and good book. Dec 20, Scott rated it it was ok. Stopped just over halfway through because - try though I might - I wasn't experiencing the literary depth and power for which this book has been praised.
Instead, I experienced a kind of I-don't-care tedium, ad infinitum. Jun 14, Simon rated it it was amazing Shelves: europe-west , bildungsroman , reviewed , s , modernism , roman-a-clef , mad-frenchmen , humour-and-satire , cultural-pessimism , antiheroes. I would call "Death on the Installment Plan" one of the very few good prequels, if I didn't feel so awkward using a Hollywood neologism to describe a book written in the mids.
The set-up here is the main character from "Journey to the End of the Night", the author's alter-ego Dr. Ferdinand Bardamu, as an old man in ill health looking back upon his adolescence: His dysfunctional parents, his less-than-successful apprenticeships for various craftsmen, his education at a British boarding schoo I would call "Death on the Installment Plan" one of the very few good prequels, if I didn't feel so awkward using a Hollywood neologism to describe a book written in the mids.
The writing style is much more fractured then in the preceding book, likewise is the content way more transgressive and sexually explicit. Much of it I can't believe got accepted by a major French publishing house as early as ! With the ultra-chaotic prose style, graphic description of socially unacceptable sexual practices, exploration of bizarre and terrifying uses of medical science as well as the occasional surreal nightmare sequence I can easily imagine a before-he-was-famous William Burroughs reading this and feverishly annotating his favourite parts.
Even Ferdinand's abusive father is thoroughly humanized, so it becomes absolutely heartbreaking when his son attempts to murder him. The equivalent scenes in "Journey The one completely sympathetic character here, Ferdinand's uncle Edouard, also plays a much bigger role in the story than Molly did in "Journey I think "Death There's neither as much political commentary for that matter, but then again this book shows Ferdinand as a confused adolescent rather than a world-weary WW1 veteran.
Sep 28, Patrick McCoy rated it really liked it Shelves: classics. Journey To The End of Night takes up from enlistment in the army and onward, but was written first. I guess the most common characteristic between the two books is the writing style.
They both contain elements of black humor. It is clear that modern writers like Michel Houllenbecq and others wouldn't have been possible without Celine to lead the way with his profane and misanthropic view of life. A life of misery punctuated by brief moments of bliss. I must say that there were some great comic moments that made me laugh out loud, but there's a lot of excessive protestations of the protagonist's flaws and people bereaving their lot in life and the misery that they feel that are doomed to experience.
There are some interesting interludes throughout as well. For example, his dismissal from his first apprenticeship at a textiles factory, when Bardamu is sent to England to learn English and he makes no effort whatsoever to do so, and his apprenticeship with an inventor-businessman-balloon pilot.
An influential, compelling, and ultimately entertaining read in the end. Dec 19, Neil rated it it was amazing. Some people find Celine's exaggerated account of his childhood depressing. I thought it was a riot, laughing out loud many times while reading. Probably just a matter of one's taste for dark comedy. The story is a similar form to his earlier Journey to the End of the Night, but the sentence structure is much more idiosyncratic.
In the end you are left with one man's hyperbolic interpretation of society, full of alternately cruel and pathetic animals. Even though I don't share his misanthropy, Some people find Celine's exaggerated account of his childhood depressing.
Even though I don't share his misanthropy, it was very easy for me to relate to a number of the episodes here, and those were the most fun. He was certainly a master of the brutally honest, conversational style of storytelling.
It's unfortunate he became more and more alienated as he grew older, reaching a point where he turned into the most bitter, ranting grump at least, that is my impression from Castle to Castle, one of his later works, which is unreadable.
Mar 04, Lawrence rated it it was amazing. Hard to imagine he could write a more explosive novel than"Journey" There are moments when the language is so powerful and musical that entire passages move like mythic poems set to some unknown , arcane composer Celine captures the absurd and the mundane.. Celine would never com Hard to imagine he could write a more explosive novel than"Journey" Celine would never come back to equal these works Masterpieces both.
Nov 02, Daniel Simmons rated it it was ok. Best read in installments. Or maybe never. Can see it's brilliant, but the constant stream of invective and bile just made me a bit ill. Not in the mood may go back to it though abandoned after 40 pages of Not in the mood may go back to it though This is it, the bildungsroman to end all bildungsromans. Celine wields youth like a cudgel. What came before is dead and putrescent. It whistles and hums and steams for dozens of pages at a time before a periodic explosion of nightmarish dimensions.
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Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Preview — Death by Installments by Arthur S. The principle revealed in Death by Installments is that the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment does not guarantee protection to black men who kill whites. Reading the carefully researched and well-told story of Willie Francis offers a four-decade-old view of both the society's commitment to this principle, and the Supreme Court's unwillingn The principle revealed in Death by Installments is that the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment does not guarantee protection to black men who kill whites.
Paternoster, R. The death penalty: America's experience with capital punishment. Furman v. In Furman , the Court struck down the death penalty as then applied. Gregg v. Four years after their decision in Furman , the Court reversed course in Gregg. William Kemmler was the first individual executed in the electric chair. Louisiana ex rel. Francis v. This link will provide you with additional insight into the case of Willie Francis. Marbury v. In Marbury , the Court first assumed the power of judicial review.
Clicking on this link will take you to a page devoted to the case. Roper v. In Roper , the Court took the position that executing individuals, who had committed their crimes at 16 and 17, violated the Constitution. Trop v. Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. It was recorded on September 5, This short excerpt from an interview with author Jill Jonnes includes a discussion of the case of William Kemmler. His presentation is followed by audience questions.
In this brief clip, Justice Scalia discusses his views on interpreting the Constitution and his perspective on the constitutionality of the death penalty. Robert Dunham on the Death Penalty in the U. It includes audience questions. Supreme Court and Juvenile Death Penalty. This program features a discussion of the juvenile death penalty case, Roper v. It includes interviews with two individuals who filed written briefs in the case. The program includes audience questions. View All Podcasts.
Your browser does not support the audio element. Download All Podcasts. Play this section 31 seconds Justice William Brennan, Play this section On a hot and sunny morning in southwestern Louisiana, Willie Francis, a year-old Black teenager with a third-grade education, left his courthouse jail cell.
Willie confessed to the robbery and to the murder. Play this section William Kemmler was finally declared dead eight minutes after the execution began. Georgia, the U. Supreme Court argued that the death penalty as then applied violated the Constitution. Two of the members of the Court took the position that the death penalty was unconstitutional in all circumstances.
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