Parisienne Louise Levy's twenties have been tumultuous-an early marriage, an abortion at 20, an addiction to amphetamines and months of rehab, her mother's cancer diagnosis, and divorce at 27 when her husband takes up with a model/singer who was once involved with his father. In her second translated novel, after The Rendezvous, Levy, the daughter of French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, elegantly and poignantly recounts these events as her protagonist attempts to move on with her life with boyfriend Pablo. This thinly veiled autobiographical work accomplished the heroic task of knocking Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code off the European best sellers lists; evidently, it resonates with Europeans owing to the presence of the literary equivalents of Carla Bruni, Mick Jagger's ex, and other celebrities watched abroad. Those craving self-absorbed drama might like Nothing Serious-think of a continental Sex in the City with little humor. Recommended only for those libraries collecting contemporary European fiction.-Jenn B. Stidham, Houston Community Coll. Northeast Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
A sensation in France last year, this novel from Levy (Rendezvous, 1997) manages the impossible, combining the plot of a made-for-tv-movie with language worthy of a feminist philosopher-poet. For French readers, some of the interest of this novel stemmed from its rumored autobiographical elements (Levy's father is a noted philosopher in France, and Levy herself travels with European high society), but even if its celebrity references escape American readers, this beautifully written book deserves attention. If it can be said to have something so conventional as a plot, it recounts three crises in the life of first-person narrator Louise Levy. First, her beloved grandmother dies, then her glamorous mother is diagnosed with cancer and, most importantly, her husband, the successful and charismatic Adrien, abandons her to marry his own father's lover. These events do not appear in chronological order. They emerge as almost incidental catalysts for Louise's introspection. The masterful way that the story moves from random childhood memories to evocative sensations of taste and sound and touch in Louise's mind finally yields a rich, multi-dimensional portrait of a woman who believes that she is the creature of feeling alone. Out of a stream of random thoughts, a full character-elusive, contradictory and often very charming-finds her way out of the despair of losing the people she loves. Levy's prose is luminous-much credit should go to her excellent translator-and the novel is a marvel of construction.
The Broadview Press edition of Mathilda fills a gap in Romantic studies. The long-suppressed work (Godwin refused to return the manuscript) wasn’t published until 1959, and its immediate critical reception was almost entirely biographical. Michelle Faubert’s astute introduction to this new edition offers a scrupulous account of the work’s critical reception and opens new possibilities for understanding what she calls a ‘purgatorial text.’ The judicious appendices, a hallmark of Broadview Editions, situate Shelley’s novella in the contexts of its immediate intertexts, of its central place in contemporaneous suicide debates, and, crucially, of representations of incest and the Gothic. A paperback edition makes a hitherto neglected text widely available. The sophisticated editorial care evident throughout ensures that this will also serve as the standard scholarly edition.” — Alan Vardy, Hunter College, City University of New York
“Michelle Faubert’s beautifully edited version of Mathilda is the first widely available edition to come from a transcription of Shelley’s original 1819 fair copy. Faubert’s lucid and elegant introduction situates Mathilda in the context of Shelley’s earlier Frankenstein (1818) and later novella The Mourner (1830) and discusses its troubled publication history and recent critical reception. Faubert provides a wide range of well-chosen supplementary material to complement both novice and returning readers’ appreciation for and study of Mathilda. This edition should become the standard classroom text of Shelley’s important, engaging, and notorious second novel.” — Katherine Montwieler, University of North Carolina Wilmington
“The editor writes with a clear sense of hope that the text may find new readers thanks to this publication. I share her optimism … Overall a superb edition that I hope will indeed breathe new life into the oft-forgotten Mathilda and her haunting tale.” — Anna Mercer, Romantic Circles
“This new edition is a welcome addition, and Michelle Faubert offers an affordable volume for use by students, scholars, and general readers, which is accompanied by careful editing and explanatory notes, an authoritative introduction, and accompanying excerpts from contemporary texts. Faubert believes that the work should be better known, and this edition will do much to make it available to readers.” — Lisa Vargo, European Romantic Review
“Faubert makes a convincing case in her edition for the need for new eyes to be brought to the text, as her annotations and notes regarding editing nuances and specifics attest. Because of the careful transcription her work has brought to the manuscript as well as the judicious footnotes readers expect from a Broadview edition, Faubert invites readers to reconsider the text and contexts of the novel even as readers are invited to read anew—Faubert’s notes position the edition for both the ‘popular, as well as scholarly, audience’. … Faubert’s careful edition makes a convincing argument for shining light back on this novella again.” — Lucy Morrison, Women’s Writing
