This is part of a series of occasional posts where I look at works from Le Monde’s 100 Books of the Century. Please see the separate page (link at the top) for the full list of books and an explanation of why I would do such a thing.
When I first started this challenge, I thought it would never be complete as I have commitment issues Wikipedia told me that Tendrils of the Vine had never been translated. Yesterday in my favourite charity bookshop (handily located across the road from my flat, so I don’t have to stagger far with my heavy loads/nightmarishly located across the road from my flat – if you had a problem with drug addiction you wouldn’t live opposite a crack den) I picked up a huge volume of The Collected Stories of Colette for £3.50, and was very excited to see Tendrils of the Vine translated within it (by Herma Briffault – and I see Wiki no longer makes its fallacious claim).
In fact , Tendrils of the Vine, proclaimed A Fable in the title, is only 1000 words long and I may have been able to struggle through with my appalling French. The difficulty is, being only 1000 words long, I really can’t say too much about it without spoilers, so this will be an uncharacteristically short post from me 🙂
The story begins in typical fable fashion, describing how the nightingale got his song:
“While he slept, the vine’s gimlet feelers – those imperious and clinging tendrils whose sharp taste, like that of fresh sorrel, acts a stimulant and slakes the thirst, began to grow so thickly during the night that the bird woke up to find himself bound fast, his feet hobbled in strong withes, his wings powerless…”
The nightingale escapes, and sings relentlessly to keep himself awake through the Spring, thereby avoiding the terrors of the vine. I can’t say much more, except Colette then expands this into a truly creepy and oppressive tale. The fact that she does this in 1000 words within a pastoral fabulistic setting makes it like a short, sharp punch to the sternum. What a writer – I’m looking forward to reading the rest of my newly-acquired tome.
Image from here
A second hand bookshop right across the road? Bliss! And constant temptation. What a great find.
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It is brilliant and a total nightmare. The majority of my disposable income ends up in their tills…
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Yes, Colette is totally awesome. You have such treats in store in that volume! 🙂
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I’m really looking forward to it 🙂
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Oh man, secondhand books across the road? that’d be me staring into happy bankruptcy. I have a short story collection of Colette’s (I should really give it back), I’ll see if this is in it, and if not read one or two of the others. I do love Colette, how cool is she in that photograph? Just when I thought I’d never take up smoking! 😉
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Yep, bankruptcy definitely beckons – I need to move…
She is so cool. I think I’m vehemently anti-smoking, then I see a picture of Colette or Lauren Bacall and I start to waver 😉
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What a wonderful book to find. I love Colette and it’s really time I read her again.
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It was a great find, I was really pleased 🙂 I hope you enjoy revisiting Colette, I’m looking forward to exploring her writing further.
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A crack den just opposite your flat? Oh, I could never survive…
Colette is utterly delightful – too much at once can be like a very rich cake, but a little every now and then is just what the doctor ordered.
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That’s good to know – I think this will be a good book for dipping in to, so I’ll follow your advice and take that approach 🙂
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What a great find! The story sounds quite dark. I’m woefully underread when it comes to Colette (only Cheri so far), so I must try another at some point.
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The story is quite dark, very affecting. I’m also very underread with Colette, I’d only read The Other One before I picked up this volume. I’m definitely going to explore her further though.
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It transpires that secretive talks are in full throttle with Keira Knightley tipped to play Colette in a biopic by the producers of “Carol”. I hope they decide to film it in Paris – would put a tent up in the Palais Royal if so – or a grand reading of Colette could be organised in the gardens as a fitting tribute?
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How exciting! I’ve not seen Carol but I’ve heard good things. A grand reading is a must!
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I looked up this story to find out more about it because I can’t get a sense of what it’s about, but there seems to be nearly nothing about this author. Quite strange…
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Colette is reasonably well-known (especially once Gigi was made into a film), but I don’t think this is one of her best known stories, at least in English. I’m sorry I can’t give more of a sense of what it is about, but its so short I’d end up spoiling the whole thing!
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The fact it’s a charity crack den makes all the difference, so never feel guilty. And they’ve even thoughtfully made it a clean indoor location for you, as opposed to having to stand at a bus stop waiting for a dodgy geezer on a stolen mountain bike to thrust a novel in your hand before cycling away stuffing your cash into his pocket.
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I would love it if dodgy geezers on stolen mountain bikes thrust novels in my hands – that’s the world I want to live in! But you’re right – its probably is better that its a clean, bright shop, staffed by lovely volunteers 🙂
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