Jules Renard

I read his novels and short stories, and I understand the verdict of history on him, that he was the poet of the countryside, and also that he is like Mallarme in his experiments with structure. I think he is largely successful in his experiments, unlike Mallarme himself. I also read his journals, which are combined with his writer's notebook. It was harder to pick out the journal parts from the notebook part, but I did think it was interesting to read about the notes he took as time went by. I didn't read his plays.

Since my last post, I also read OK Magazine, an issue of Eclectic Reading, an issue of The New Yorker, and an issue of The New Scientist. I'm reading two issues of The Economist simultaneously.

Yourcenar, Vidal

I read Myra Breckinridge first thing this morning, and I must say I was a little shocked at the content. In the introduction to the edition I was reading, Vidal mentioned a Russian publisher telling him Myra would never be published there, and I believe him. The sexual content is shocking...I've finished reading Yourcenar's memoirs and her essays, so I've completed the lot. I liked her memoirs, there's something unvarnished about them, and it's interesting to read about the French bourgeoisie. I also read an issue of Electic Reading, an issue of The New Yorker, and an issue of The New Scientist. Now I've figured out why I didn't read Dostoievsky's Adolescent -- it's unfinished, and I don't read unfinished works as a rule. I'm now diving into the journals of Jules Renard.