Gigi, and The Cat

A worthy attempt. All translations of such poetic prose, graced with the nuances of "le mot juste", and reflective of a subtle play of intersubjectivity, are necessarily failures. It is all a question of how high or low they rate as translations. This translation, by Antonia White, rates very high, thanks to her good judgment and admirable bilingual skill and experience. The human and the feline realms, meeting as they do in a tragic duel of jealousy, represent an extraordinary contribution to the "ménage à trois" topos, along with a rich and veridic peek into upper crust French society of the `30s.

Not to say that Gigi isn't worth reading. It's a classic novel that has got the attention it's deserved. But the second novel The Cat is neglected. I can't blame this when another story is attached to a novel it seems to be a filler but this isn't the case.The Cat deals with a sensitive young boy. He's lives a quiet life with his mother and has a special relationship with his cat. Actually he has a deep understanding of cats that no one can seem to make sense of. He is thrust into a marriage with a local girl Camille.Afer marriage he realizes she wasn't the girl he thought. She's more needy and isn't satisifed with the marriage. He begins to think about the cat he left at home. Then a fierce battle between the cat and the wife begins.An interesting concept and Colette pulls it off well.

Colette writes superbly, although I've never been terribly interested in her subjects, until I read The Cat. Not for everyone, but few things are.

At this point I don't remember if I bought the book for a lady friend traveling to France. I didn't read it. But the book probably arrived in very good shape and very rapidly.

The quality of the book is very nice for being used. It arrived on time and I look forward to adding it to my book collection!

Colette is a beautiful writer, and Gig a marvellous short story: it's interesting to read the scenes which inspired the film!

"Her gaze wandered over Paris, over the sky from which the light drained a little earlier each day, with an impartial severity which possibly condemned nothing."We saw the movie, recently, about her, and decided we wanted to read one of her books. We had never heard of Colette. But it turns out that we were very familiar with her work. Gigi is one of my wife’s favorite movies. And when I was a kid and began learning to play the cornet, the title song of Gigi was one of the songs in my head that I longed to hear coming out of the bell of my instrument.So from the library we got Colette’s volume containing her short story Gigi and her short novella The Cat. Reading this mere sample of Colette’s work does not make us experts. It only makes us fans. Here are some thoughts from a fan:Gigi is a charming story, the movie tracked it pretty closely, just adding a few scenes and characters and a perfect musical score. With refreshing realism and sweet undertone of satire, Colette wrote a story of what one publisher refers to as “the politics of love”. That interesting phrase seems to be a good label for the story, which I would probably have called a comedy of manners. But labels don’t do justice to the story, which is a very special sketch of a very unique romantic entanglement created by the moral ambiguity of early 20th Century Paris. I finished the story with the sudden realization that I had just read a fine piece by a writer of underestimated talent. The Cat did nothing to dispel that opinion and only cemented it.The Cat gives new meaning to the term “cat lover”. It is a sweet portrayal of human weakness and shortcomings, including awkwardness, jealousy and mistrust between lovers. Colette painted the portrait with a keen sense of observation. And, assuming that the translation is true to the original*, she wrote in language of such rich color and impressive depth that I will keep some of her work in the little gallery in my head where I try to collect bits of artistry, bits of intelligence that may not be masterpieces to others but are priceless to me.*My brother-in-law could tell me. He used to teach French.

These are the first works I've read by Colette, and all I can say is that I am amazed by the evocative power of her descriptions. The time and place she describes is long gone, but that atmosphere is sucessfully conveyed by these pages."Gigi" is the story of a young girl raised by three older women (her mother and two aunts). In a sense it is about the division between duty and feelings, following convention or following one's heart. This story is not as deep as the second one, but one can't help being amused by the title character and her reactions to the education the three women impose upon her."The Cat" is longer the the first story and more ambitious. This novella, which is often considered a study in jealousy, follows a young couple as they live the first moments of their marriage. Interestingly enough, Camille does not have to compete with another woman for Alain's love, but with his beloved cat, Saha. All three characters are developed in a masterful manner, and all of them act according to understandable human motives, including the cat. The final paragraph of the story is simply outstanding. It is almost a revelation, and such an important insight into Alain's personality.As you know, Colette is one of the many great women of the French literary tradition. Her style is clear, simple, and deep. If you enjoy evocative literature, you won't be disappointed by this book, and if you happen to like cats, you will be amazed by Colette's understanding of them in the second story. Both selections, however, constitute an unforgettable reading experience.Thanks for taking the time to read!Later...

Gigi is a nice story, but quite simple. I enjoyed the storyof the cat much more ! Interesting that such a topic came up a long time ago...people haven't changed that much as the cat still fits into the present.

Gigi is a classic. Can't help but love it.

As with all of Colette's work, this book is beautifully written and the translation, excellent. If you have never read Colette, you have missed out on one of the greatest creative minds in literature; I like to think of her as the French Virginia Woolfe. Gigi is the quintessential Colette which is very strong on dialogue. The Cat is a very cleverly written piece that an acquaintance of mine once described as 'GARFIELD taken to a literally level'. Both stories are quite short so the best review would be to read them for yourself.

Colette is a must read

Gigi great - the cat put me to sleep....