Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
NYRB Classics (2017), 160 pages
Description
On an Aegean island one summer, an English traveller meets an enigmatic elderly Frenchwoman. He is captivated by a painting she owns of a busy Caribbean port overlooked by a volcano and, in time, she shares the story of her youth there in the early twentieth century. Set in the tropical luxury of the island of Saint-Jacques, hers is a tale of romantic intrigue and decadence amongst the descendents of slaves and a fading French aristocracy. But on the night of the annual Mardi Gras ball, catastrophe overwhelms the island and the world she knew came to an abrupt and haunting end. The Violins of Saint-Jacques captures the unforeseen drama of forces beyond human control. Originally published in 1953, it was immediately hailed as a rare and exotic sweep of colour across the drab monochrome of the post-war years, and it has lost nothing of its original flavour.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member sainsborough
I heard about this book on BBC Radio 4, probably on "Talking of Books". The weird thing about such programmes is the discussion of a book that one cannot possibly fully relate to, having not read it oneself. However, what I did notice is that all the reviewers enjoyed it, and I love fiction set in
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exotic locations, so I tracked the book down on the Internet and bought it. At the time of writing, I am about a third through and entranced, although stumbling on the liberal sprinklings of French in the text (my high school French being somewhat rusty) and words that surely have dropped out of current use, like "aigrette", "colloquy", "ambrosial", "berlines" and so on. Perhaps I am revealing my ignorance here. If so, rap me on the knuckles. Show Less
LibraryThing member Figgles
An odd and captivating little book. A tale told in retrospect of the last night of the Island of Saint-Jaques, the atmosphere is that of seeing another, fey world, in a mirror, just out of reach until the glass is shattered. Like Tam Lin and Thomas a Rhymer, we visit fairyland, are banished and
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left bereaved. Many obscure but beautiful words, and passages in Latin and French add to the mystery. I read it through without a dictionary as I was seduced by the world, but will reread it and learn more. Show Less
LibraryThing member Thruston
A charming tale-within-a-tale that evokes a beautiful vanished world, as stylish and beguiling as the mysterious lady who relates it. Part adventure story, part romance, part life-story; and wholly delightful.
LibraryThing member isabelx
A magical-realist story set on a tropical island in the French Caribbean, dominated by a volcano.
LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
This was another serendipitous acquisition as I had never heard of it until I saw it on one of the display tables in Daunt Books. I had been intrigued by Patrick Leigh Fermor’s accounts of his journey by foot, undertaken at the age of eighteen, from the Hook of Holland to Istanbul (which was
This book takes the form of conversations between the narrator and Berthe, an elderly French lady whom he meets while on holiday on one of the Greek Islands. As they come to know each other better, she recounts various episodes from her life, including the time she had spent on an island in the Caribbean. It had been a French colony, and in the early years of the twentieth century was still administered by a French Governor. Berthe had been born in Paris, but after being orphaned had moved to the volcanic island of Saint-Jaques to live with her cousin’s family, acting as governess to the younger children.
She enjoyed a privileged existence there and recounts a life of ease and luxury, passing from one social event to the next. Such Elysian existence can only last so long, and on the night of a wonderful ball held by Berthe’s cousin, social, political, emotional currents come into powerful juxtaposition, and in a manifestation of extreme pathetic fallacy, the volcano that dominates the physical form of the island lurches into life.
I enjoyed reading this novella, although looking back now from the vantage point of a couple of weeks of reflection, I do feel that it might have been a little overloaded with potential crisis. Still, it was engagingly written, and proved an entertaining distraction over a Bank Holiday weekend.
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probably then still known as Constantinople throughout Western Europe). These were published, more than forty years after the journey was concluded as A Time of Gifts and Between the Woods and the Water, to great critical acclaim. I hadn’t been aware that he had also written novels.This book takes the form of conversations between the narrator and Berthe, an elderly French lady whom he meets while on holiday on one of the Greek Islands. As they come to know each other better, she recounts various episodes from her life, including the time she had spent on an island in the Caribbean. It had been a French colony, and in the early years of the twentieth century was still administered by a French Governor. Berthe had been born in Paris, but after being orphaned had moved to the volcanic island of Saint-Jaques to live with her cousin’s family, acting as governess to the younger children.
She enjoyed a privileged existence there and recounts a life of ease and luxury, passing from one social event to the next. Such Elysian existence can only last so long, and on the night of a wonderful ball held by Berthe’s cousin, social, political, emotional currents come into powerful juxtaposition, and in a manifestation of extreme pathetic fallacy, the volcano that dominates the physical form of the island lurches into life.
I enjoyed reading this novella, although looking back now from the vantage point of a couple of weeks of reflection, I do feel that it might have been a little overloaded with potential crisis. Still, it was engagingly written, and proved an entertaining distraction over a Bank Holiday weekend.
Show Less
LibraryThing member soylentgreen23
A delightful novella, "The Violins" is Fermor's only work of fiction but feels like it could have been non-fiction, such is the level of detail employed throughout. At times this feels a little overbearing, but the way the book accelerates towards its ending is rather thrilling.
LibraryThing member TomMcGreevy
A tale of the mythical island of Saint-Jacques des Alises, full of passion and beauty. The descriptions are magical and the story is worth a listen as the traveler did of events long ago and far away.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1953
Physical description
160 p.; 8 inches
ISBN
1590177827 / 9781590177822