Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
(2019), 107 pages
Description
Classic Literature. Fiction. Romance. Historical Fiction. HTML: Don't let the name fool you�??French author George Sand was not only a woman, she was a woman who was decades ahead of her time when it came to her disregard of social mores and standards of behavior. Her trailblazing take on life is on full display in The Devil's Pool, an unconventional romance of sorts in which Sand explores the stifling patriarchal traditions that often served virtually to imprison rural French women in the nineteenth century.
User reviews
LibraryThing member lostcheerio
This book has been stopping up the works around here. I read it, I digested it, I had thoughts about it, but for some reason I haven't felt quite prepared or qualified or informed enough to just comment on it and get on with life.
I think it's because I have this image of George Sand, this just
Well, there's the prologue. The prologue, which addresses the reader directly, is about how noble and wise the peasants of rural France are (were) and how their lack of intellect or ability to understand their circumstances doesn't interfere with their feeling of important feelings, and experiencing of deep emotion. Isn't that nice? Those sweet, precious peasants and their silly dumb heads.
Sand takes the prologue to rhapsodize about them and how cute they are, with their toil and whatnot, and then tells a pretty story about them falling (without consciousness) in love with each other. Finally, she takes a few more pages (a lot more pages) to just unapologetically savor the peasants' cute rituals. Marriage rituals.
The truth is, I really liked the book, up until the plot quit and the "I miss the cute peasants I used to look down on in my youth" themes came to the fore. I expected something raunchy, loud, scathing, or at least edgy. This is not that. It's a sweet love story, flavored with a lot of local color. So George Sand was a surprise, for this postfeminist. I'm not sure I'd love to read another of her books, but I'm glad I finally found out what she was really writing, under all that scandal and wild living.
I think it's because I have this image of George Sand, this just
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ass-kicking supergenius female from the intimidating past, leaning over my shoulder, saying, "Don't you GET IT you moron? It wasn't just about cabbages and true love. It was about so! much! more!" The truth is, unfortunately, that unless the imaginary spectre of George Sand wants to clue me in, I'm not sure what else is here besides the cabbages. And the true love. Well, there's the prologue. The prologue, which addresses the reader directly, is about how noble and wise the peasants of rural France are (were) and how their lack of intellect or ability to understand their circumstances doesn't interfere with their feeling of important feelings, and experiencing of deep emotion. Isn't that nice? Those sweet, precious peasants and their silly dumb heads.
Sand takes the prologue to rhapsodize about them and how cute they are, with their toil and whatnot, and then tells a pretty story about them falling (without consciousness) in love with each other. Finally, she takes a few more pages (a lot more pages) to just unapologetically savor the peasants' cute rituals. Marriage rituals.
The truth is, I really liked the book, up until the plot quit and the "I miss the cute peasants I used to look down on in my youth" themes came to the fore. I expected something raunchy, loud, scathing, or at least edgy. This is not that. It's a sweet love story, flavored with a lot of local color. So George Sand was a surprise, for this postfeminist. I'm not sure I'd love to read another of her books, but I'm glad I finally found out what she was really writing, under all that scandal and wild living.
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LibraryThing member booklover3258
Part of the 1001 list to read before you die. I enjoyed this story about a widowed man falling in love with a young girl instead of the woman he is supposed to be set up to marry. The story flowed easily and I liked all the characters. Ending was great because it was happy and I was expecting
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something sad or gloomy. Show Less
LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
The Devil’s Pool by George Sand is a short simple novel about a young French farmer who has been widowed and left with three young children to raise. He lives with his in-laws who encourage him to remarry to provide a mother for his children.
His father-in-law has lined up a widow that he thinks
I found this story charming and engaging with it’s exploration of the age-old question of whether one should chose to follow their heart or their brain. The author was inspired by the print called The Dance of Death by Hans Holbein and she wanted to show that farmers have a deep connection to the land and nature that is far more joyful and inspiring than the hardship and struggle that is usually used to describe their lives.
His father-in-law has lined up a widow that he thinks
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would make a good wife and mother and the fact that she has both a dowry and some land is an added bonus. The young man is sent out to meet this widow and see if they can come to an agreement. He is asked to take a young neighbour with him as she is to work as a shepherdess at a farm along the way. Of course, this young farmer and the shepherdess find they have much in common and a mutual attraction. Along the way they must travel by the Devil’s Pool which brings clarity to the decision the young farmer must make.I found this story charming and engaging with it’s exploration of the age-old question of whether one should chose to follow their heart or their brain. The author was inspired by the print called The Dance of Death by Hans Holbein and she wanted to show that farmers have a deep connection to the land and nature that is far more joyful and inspiring than the hardship and struggle that is usually used to describe their lives.
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LibraryThing member japaul22
Decided to try this French novella off the 1001 books to read before you die list. It was just ok. It's a simple story about a widowed farmer who finds love with a poor girl in his village. Sand begins by describing a Holbein painting of peasant and farming life and transitions into this tale of
I didn't find it particularly memorable. Likely I'd need to understand more about how it fits into French literature as a whole to get more out of it.
Original publication date: 1846
Author’s nationality: French
Original language: French
Length: 109 pages
Rating: 2.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased used paperback
Why I read this: off the shelf, 1001 books
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the working/lower classes. I didn't find it particularly memorable. Likely I'd need to understand more about how it fits into French literature as a whole to get more out of it.
Original publication date: 1846
Author’s nationality: French
Original language: French
Length: 109 pages
Rating: 2.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased used paperback
Why I read this: off the shelf, 1001 books
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Language
Original publication date
1846 (in French as “La Mare au Diable”)