Goncourts, Books About Theatre and Teaching

Since my last post, I read an issue of Eclectic Reading. I also read the Goncourt novel, La fille Elisa. It is a realistic prison novel, and I thought it had a much lighter touch, for all its didacticism, than Emile Zola. I liked it. It was short. I also read Cherie, which I thought was far more gossipy than that greatest of French gossips, Proust. I also read two texts on Japanese art, which consisted mainly of descriptions of woodcuttings, without illustration -- Hokousaii and Outamaro. I had trouble with the odd transliteration of the Japanese.

I also read tons of books about the theatre. Teach Yourself Amateur Theatre by Nicholas Gibbs, Elder's Will It Make A Theatre?; Salzer's Skeptical Scenographer; Holdar's study of Bergman, called Scenography in Action; Antony Sher's Primo Time, his diary during a production of a play about Primo Levi; De la Cruz's Directing for Theatre; McCabe's Mis-Directing a Play; Knopf's Director as Collaborator; Stagecrafter's Handbook; the government of Quebec's Production scenique;, and Coulisses de theatre. I was more interested in Gorilla Theatre, which is about a theatre company that played the classics out of doors where people happened to congregate, by Sanderson, and Katie Mitchell's Director's Craft.

I also read Bligh's What's the Use of Lectures, Boyne's Listening and Notetaking Skills; and Cannon's Lecturing.

Zweig, Merimee, Goncourt

Since my last post, I've read one issue of OK Magazine.

I've read the journals of Stefan Zweig, short stories by Prosper Merimee, Manette Salomon, a novel by the Goncourts, Renee Mauperin, another novel, and the first volume of the Goncourt diaries. Look out, there are 19 more volumes of those. Merimee had some interesting short stories, but they were not all good. The novels by the Goncourt were forgettable, I hate to say. I imagine the journals will get better as time goes on, but I already find them critical enough of some figures of the Parisian literati of the 1850s...As for Merime, I'm hoping his novels are better. I've ordered his novels from interlibrary loan.

Goncourts, Merimee, Soyinka

Since my last post, I've read the last of the Morand novels. His range impresses me, but I think I'd like to read his book-length essays. I also read Octave Mirbeau's Journal d'une femme de chambre, which was incredibly daring for its day. It recounts the sex life (without explicit details of any kind, it all happens off-stage) of a chamber maid pursued by men of her own and other classes. Then I read two biographies of the Goncourt brothers, one by Billy in French and one in English by Robert Baldick. Both were so enthralling I ran off and got all their novels and five of the twenty volumes of their journals. I must say, however, that I couldn't tell it was the same people the two authors were talking about. I also read a four volume biography of Prosper Merimee, in preparation for reading his novels and short stories, by Trahard. Four volumes -- that's a lot. I read Soeur Philomene by the Goncourts. Finally, I read Death and the King's Horseman by Wole Soyinka