Status
Available
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Publication
Penguin Classics (2000), Paperback, 160 pages
Description
Set in a superficially romantic, between-wars Paris, QUARTET is a poignant tale of a lonely woman. Set against a background of winter-wet streets, Pernod in smoky cafes and cheap hotel rooms with mauve- flowered wallpaper, Marya tries to make something substantial of her life in order to withstand the unreality of her surroundings. Alone, her Polish husband in prison, she is taken up by an English couple who slowly overwhelm her with their passions. Jean Rhys's first novel is both poignant anddisturbingly intimate in its vivid depiction of a woman on her own.
User reviews
LibraryThing member beckyclayton
I wish I could put my finger on why I like Jean Rhys' books so much. On the face of it, her protagonists are unsympathetic to me: weak women who can't seem to get their acts together. But...but...but...I am haunted by her writing in a way that I am not by most writers'. Jean Rhys was a powerful
Quartet is a roman a clef detailing her own relationship with Ford Madox Ford. He gave her a start, publishing her first collection of short stories, but it's clear from this book that she felt manipulated and used by him. Her description of Ford (H.J. Heidler in the book) is brutal, but she doesn't spare herself (as Marya Zelli) either.
Marya Zelli's life is a train wreck -- like most of Rhys' protagonists, she is pathetic and pitiable, and yet Rhys' writing kept me so spellbound that I couldn't stop reading. This is a powerful profile of a woman falling under the weight of her own choices and circumstances, seemingly without the strength to pull herself up.
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writer -- I get the feeling that most people either love or hate her work. Quartet is a roman a clef detailing her own relationship with Ford Madox Ford. He gave her a start, publishing her first collection of short stories, but it's clear from this book that she felt manipulated and used by him. Her description of Ford (H.J. Heidler in the book) is brutal, but she doesn't spare herself (as Marya Zelli) either.
Marya Zelli's life is a train wreck -- like most of Rhys' protagonists, she is pathetic and pitiable, and yet Rhys' writing kept me so spellbound that I couldn't stop reading. This is a powerful profile of a woman falling under the weight of her own choices and circumstances, seemingly without the strength to pull herself up.
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LibraryThing member Lukerik
I read somewhere that Voyage in the Dark was the first novel Rhys wrote, but she wasn't happy with it so published this instead. I can't account for that decision because Voyage is much the better novel.
Quartet is apparently a thinly veiled account of her affair with Ford Madox Ford. Neither of
Quartet is apparently a thinly veiled account of her affair with Ford Madox Ford. Neither of
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them come out looking good. I think the main problem is that it reads like an account of a period of time. There's no plot or point to it. On the other hand it's very well written throughout, with character. At times it's exceptionally finely written; the description of Lois at the start of chapter 14, for example. It's certainly never boring. Show Less
LibraryThing member edwinbcn
Another bleak story of poverty in 1920s Paris. I liked this a little bit more than some of the other novels, but it is too depressing. Obviously, very well-written. The Penguin Modern Classics edition has a very good introduction by Katie Owen which places Rhys early novels in perspective.
LibraryThing member Kristelh
Reason read: Reading 1001 botm, November 2022
This semi-autobiographical novel is bleak; Paris is rainy, cold, and dirty and reflects Marya's life which is also sordid, bleak, and cold. This is a story of a woman who seems to be at everyone's mercy and doing nothing to pick up the pieces of her
This semi-autobiographical novel is bleak; Paris is rainy, cold, and dirty and reflects Marya's life which is also sordid, bleak, and cold. This is a story of a woman who seems to be at everyone's mercy and doing nothing to pick up the pieces of her
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miserable life. Thank goodness it is short and the last of Rhys's books from the 1001 list. The characters are modeled after herself, her husband (Jean) Lenglet, Ford Maddox Ford, and Stella Bowen. Show Less
LibraryThing member burritapal
This story was similar to"Voyage in the Dark." A young woman without familial guidance comes of adult age, and doesn't have any means. The usual, where people take advantage of her.
Language
Original publication date
1928
1929 (US as "Quartet")
Physical description
160 p.; 7.56 inches
ISBN
0140183442 / 9780140183443