Chéri Series
This series delves into a passionate yet fleeting love affair between a young man and an older woman. With tender honesty and compassionate insight, it explores the complexities of desire, devotion, and aging. The author masterfully crafts character portraits in a distinctive impressionistic style, revealing the profound human emotions and preoccupations of youth and middle age.
Recommended Reading Order
- 1
- 1
This is Colette's famous love story about the romance between an older woman and a younger man. Léa de Lonval is a magnificent and aging courtesan facing the end of her career. She has devoted the last six years to the amorous education of the exquisitely handsome and spoilt Chéri - a playboy half her age. When an advantageous marriage is arranged for Chéri, Léa reluctantly decides their relationship must end. But neither lover can foresee how deeply they are connected, or how much they will have to give up. First published in 1920, it was instantly greeted by Marcel Proust and André Gide as a masterpiece. VINTAGE FRENCH CLASSICS - five masterpieces of French fiction in gorgeous new gift editions. 'This most French of all French writers tells us how love sometimes binds and keeps a woman from breathing freely or how it may shape and support her and help her to be beautiful . . . One thinks of her as the female voice of Paris . . .' New York Times
- 2
At the end of Cheri the young Cheri left his aging mistress Lea on the eve of his marriage. As Cheri and Lea confront each other, and the changes a decade has wrought on their lives and their looks, Colette displays the incredible sensitivity and insight for which she is justly famous. schovat popis
Chéri, together with The Last of Chéri, is a classic story of a love affair between a very young man and a charming older woman. The amour between Fred Peloux, the beautiful gigolo known as Chéri, and the courtesan Léa de Lonval tenderly depicts the devotion that stems from desire, and is an honest account of the most human preoccupations of youth and middle age. With compassionate insight Colette paints a full-length double portrait using an impressionistic style all her own. "A wonderful subject [treated with] intelligence, mastery, and understanding of the least-admitted secrets of the flesh." ― André Gide
Cheri the Last of Cheri
- 252 pages
- 9 hours of reading
The narrative explores the tragicomic love affair between Léa de Lonval, an aging courtesan, and her young lover, Chéri. Their passionate relationship faces turmoil when Chéri marries the much younger Marie-Laure, highlighting the complexities of love, desire, and societal expectations. Colette's nuanced portrayal of these characters delves into themes of aging, loss, and the bittersweet nature of romance, making it a compelling exploration of human emotions and relationships.