I got to know about ‘The Lost Estate’ (‘Le Grande Meaulnes’ in French) by Alain-Fournier after Caroline from ‘Beauty is a Sleeping Cat’ recommended it. As the only novel of a writer who died young and as a novel which is known to deeply resonate with readers, it had a lot of romance attached to it. I couldn’t resist reading it. I finished reading it yesterday and here is what I think.
‘The Lost Estate’ is about two friends Francois Seurel and Augustin Meaulnes (the ‘Le Grand Meaulnes’ of the title). Seurel is the narrator of the story, but most of the story is about Meaulnes. Seurel’s father is the headmaster of the school in the village where Seurel also studies. One day a tall boy comes to stay in Seurel’s home and also joins him in school. This boy is Meaulnes. From the day he joins school, he becomes the most popular boy and leader at school resulting to a few other boys getting jealous of him. Then one day Meaulnes takes the cart with the horse to pick up Seurel’s grandparents from the station, but disappears. When he comes back after three days, his clothes are dirty but he is quiet and doesn’t tell anyone what happened. Slowly, after a while he tells his friend Seurel where he had been and what happened. When Meaulnes goes to pick up Seurel’s grandparents, he loses his way and ends up in an old château, where the celebrations for a wedding are in progress. He meets a beautiful girl there, with whom he falls in love at first sight. He later discovers that she is the groom’s sister. While the celebrations are on, people are waiting for the bride and the groom to arrive. When finally the groom comes he says that the wedding is off. Everyone leaves the château and it is empty like nothing ever happened there during the past three days. Meaulnes is dropped near his school by one of the locals. He keeps thinking about the beautiful girl everyday and wants to find the château once again and go back and meet her. But he doesn’t know the way. The rest of the story is about whether he is able to find his way back to the lost castle and win his beloved’s love.
I don’t know how to describe ‘The Lost Estate’. It is a story of the loss of adolescence (when we read the narrator’s line ‘inside that old carriage my adolescence had vanished for evermore’ a deep pain seeps into our heart), of how the dreams of adolescence, even if they are realized at a later time, look different in new light. It is a story which will resonate with most of us – about a dream place, sometimes real sometimes imaginary, which if we are lucky, we might discover when we are adolescents, a place where we are able to spend only a few fleeting moments or days, but moments which are joyful, idyllic, blissful, exhilarating and happy and which change our lives forever, a place which we spend the rest of our lives trying to find again. It is a beautiful, sad, poignant and haunting story. The ending is bittersweet – part tragic and part happy, but mostly tragic. Alain-Fournier’s prose is lush, luscious, delightful, beautiful. It is the perfect companion to the haunting story.
The Penguin classics edition I read had a wonderful introduction by Adam Gopnik which was a beautiful education in itself. The introduction had this beautiful line which made me smile – “It is left to ordinary books, of which there are many, to teach realistic lessons and point out morals; good books cast spells and cast out demons”. Gopnik’s introduction had this wonderful passage which summarizes the book beautifully and which I partially agree with :
But if the novel’s incidents are improbable, its images are unforgettable. Hard to enter, it is still harder to abandon. Once read, Le Grand Meaulnes is forever after seen. Seen rather than remembered. I have noticed that most French readers who are devoted to the book hardly notice or recall, or even brood much on, the somewhat improbable entanglements of the second part of the book…The force of the imagery…is…so strong that it blissfully erases the apparent point of the story.
The translator’s note by Robin Buss was beautifully written too and addressed the challenges of translating a fascinating work, starting from the title – a work which is supposedly untranslatable.
I also discovered some interesting facts through the story – that French schools had holidays on Thursdays (instead of Saturdays) during the 19th century and an acrobat called Jules Léotard gave his name to the garment. I was also surprised at the use of the word ‘speechifying’ in the story – I had always thought that this was an ‘Indian English’ construct.
I loved reading ‘The Lost Estate’. If you like reading poignant stories with beautiful prose, you will love it.
I will leave you with some of my favourite passages from the book.
I am looking for something still more mysterious. I’m looking for the passage that they write about in books, the one with the entrance that the prince, weary with travelling, cannot find. This is the one you find at the remotest hour of morning, long after you have forgotten that eleven o’clock is coming, or midday. And suddenly, as you part the branches in the dense undergrowth, with that hesitant movement of the hands, held unevenly at face height you see something like a long, dark avenue leading to a tiny circle of light…
From time to time, the wind, laden with a mist that is almost rain, dampens our faces and brings us the faint sound of a piano which someone is playing in the closed house. At first it is like a trembling voice, far, far away, scarcely daring to express its happiness. It’s like the laughter of a little girl in her room who has gone to fetch all her toys and is displaying them to a friend. I am reminded, too, of the still timorous joy of a woman who has left to put on a lovely dress and returns to show it off without being sure of the effect it will have…This unknown tune is also a prayer, an entreaty to happiness not to be too cruel, like a greeting and a genuflection to happiness…
…in the old days, my mother would get worried and come out to tell me, ‘It’s time to come indoors’; but she would take a liking to this walk through the rain and the night, and just say gently, ‘You’ll catch cold!’ then stay with me, talking for a long time.
This evening, which I have tried to spirit away, is a strange burden to me. While time moves on, while the day will soon end and I already wish is gone, there are men who have entrusted all their hopes to it, all their love and their last efforts. There are dying men or others who are waiting for a debt to come due, who wish that tomorrow would never come. There are others for whom the day will break like a pang of remorse; and others who are tired, for whom the night will never be long enough to give them the rest that they need. And I – who have lost my day – what right do I have to wish that tomorrow comes?
Have you read ‘The Lost Estate’ (‘Le Grand Meaulnes’) by Alain-Fournier? What do you think about it?
Beautiful review, Vishy. It brought back the book and even tempts me to re-read it. I’m very glad you liked it, it’s not everybody’s thing as it is very mysterious, haunting and melancholic as well.
The more I look at the books I like best, the more I see how much I love mood and atmosphere, even more than character and plot.
The Lost Estate has an almost mythical quality.
Thanks Caroline! Thanks a lot for recommending this book. I totally loved it. It is mysterious, haunting and melancholic as you have said. It is sad that Fournier wrote only one book. Wish he had written more. There is definitely something beautiful about books which give more importance to mood and atmosphere over character and plot.
Do you know how bad it is for my bank account to visit ur blog? 🙂 Just kidding!! Lovely review and by the sound of it looks like a ‘has to be read’ kind of book. Will be getting it real soon. Somehow ur review has made me very curious. Plus another reason to read new to me author.
Ha, ha, ha! Thanks Shweta 🙂 Hope you get to read ‘The Lost Estate’. It is a really beautiful and poignant book. Will look forward to hearing your thoughts on it whenever you get to read it.
Thank you much for stopping by my blog Vishy, I am so happy to be here and to now be following you, a year of reading French literature, wow, well I know I am going to be inspired and if this review if anything to go by, I’ll be adding much to my TBR list as well.
I love the premise of this story and I automatically thought of a château near here that I know very well and could well imagine a story like this taking place there. I love stories with mythical qualities, that one can just dwell in, no need to be sped along.
It is funny you mention ‘speechifying’, I haven’t heard that used but just last week a student of mine introduced me to two English words that have been Frenchified in a similar manner, they say “checké” sounding like ‘check ay’ to mean checked and “shippé” sounds like ‘ship ay’ to mean shipped or delivered. I do love how language evolves and mingles between cultures, but that must be a real challenge to a translator, no wonder they update translations every 50 or so years.
Thanks for stopping by, Claire. Nice to know that this book made you think of the château near your home. Those ‘Frenchified’ words ‘checké’ and ‘shippé’ are really interesting! Thanks for telling me about them. It is really interesting to see how languages evolve and how new words are formed as you have said. If you do get to read ‘The Lost Estate’, I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
Well, I’ve just finished it and really enjoyed it Vishy, all the more poignant for knowing how connected the story is to Alain-Fournier’s own life and the wonderful introduction by Hermione Lee, in the centenary edition I read.
I like that it was narrated by the quiet observer, the sensitive Seurel, whom I wanted to know more of and to know that his life might be fulfilled, as the others suffered in pursuit of romantic illusions.
I can’t help thinking about the translations, and the discussion about the title and its difficulty in being translated, given Le Grand Meaulnes was also the nickname of that influential character who so influenced Seurel’s perception of life. You must read the Hermione Lee introduction, I think it will really add something to your own reading. I am intrigued also by her reference to Penelope Fitzgerald’s critical essay.
Overall, a wonderful read and just the kind of classic I love.
So glad and happy to know that you liked ‘Le Grand Meaulnes’, Claire 🙂 I don’t know many people who have read it, and so I am really happy that you liked it. So jealous that you could read the centenary edition 🙂 I will try to get the new edition just to read Hermione Lee’s introduction. It is sad that Alain-Fournier wrote just one book. Wish he had written more. I will look forward to reading your longer review of this book.
He did write one other book when he took up a post as secretary to Claude Casimar-Périer, son of the French President at the time, he ghost-wrote a book about the naval port of Brest. 🙂 Not sure I will be adding it to my TBR! But the affair he had with the man’s wife was a drama in his life he neglected to write into the book – well, maybe he did refer to it, but his real life situation seemed more dramatic and continued long after his death.
Interesting to know that, Claire. I didn’t know that he wrote another book, eventhough he only ghost-wrote it. I would like to read his biography sometime – I hope someone has written it. His life seems to have been quite interesting from what you have said. It is sad that he died young. We can only wonder what might have been and what other literary treasures he would have left for us.
I love the sound of the story, when you mentioned the wedding and how it seemed unreal, that was it – they’re often so fascinating. Sometimes even more so if they are sad. I was expecting the theme, though, loss in the context of the wedding and the reality alludes to lots of detail.
Glad to know that, Charlie. The book was really beautiful and poignant. If you do get to read it I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
I brought this a couple of weeks ago I remember how caroline like it and now reading your review makes me think I should nugde it up the reading pile a bit plus need read a few more french classics my self ,all the best stu
Great to know that, Stu! Will look forward to hearing your thoughts on it, whenever you get to read it. Happy reading!
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