Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

Our author for April is the French writer George Sand .
Her life was just as interesting as her books!

We are reading Consuelo as one of our quarterly hefty reads, so if you decide to read it, feel free to discuss it in this thread as well.
If you are looking for shorter books, I recommend the dramatic Indiana or two books of country life-La mare au diable(The Devil's Pool) and La Petite Fadette (Little Fadette).

If you would like to learn more about the author's life, Lelia Ou La Vie de George Sand/Lelia: The Life of George Sand is an interesting well-written book.

I hope to read Indiana. My first time reading George Sand.

I am hoping to read Marianne.

I've finished part 1 of Indiana. It's getting exciting now after much set up about the characters and their traits.

That's good to hear, Kathy.

I plan on reading Pauline later this month.

I've finished Indiana. Maybe it's just me at this time, but it was so melodramatic I almost laughed. Sand has the main characters, Indiana and Raymon, speak about what is in their mind and they start with one "conviction" and end up with an opposite "conviction" by the time the soliloquy is over.

The book is a critique of the laws governing women in 19th century France, which I appreciated. I felt for Indiana and her lack of choices, plus she was so young and married to an old man. Raymon was (view spoiler)[spineless. If he was with Indiana, he gave into her; he married someone else when Indiana was coming back to him because I'm sure the woman (forgot her name) wanted him to (hide spoiler)]. I liked the character of Ralph (view spoiler)[ although that whole "suicide together" idea was ridiculous (hide spoiler)].

I want to try another Sand novel sometime.

The author wrote Indiana when she was young and the book is certainly a product of its era.
Her later novels, about the people who lived in her region of France, Les Landes, have a completely different feel.

I had a similar reaction when I read Indiana, Kathy. But she wasn't the only author who wrote in such a melodramatic way.

That's good to know, Rosemarie. What book did you like best?

I really liked La PetiteFadette/Fadette but the other two books in the set are good too.
When George Sand was older, and a grandmother as well, she lived on her country estate in the Berry region of France and in the three books she deals with the lives of the peasants.

Those sound good, Rosemarie. I actually have The Devil's Pool as an ebook already. Thanks!

Enjoy!

Rosemarie wrote: "I really liked La PetiteFadette/Fadette but the other two books in the set are good too.
When George Sand was older, and a grandmother as well, she lived on her country..."

I visited her house and the gorgeous gardens when in France a few years ago. That is where I found my copy of The Correspondence of George Sand and Gustave Flaubert: Collected Letters of the Most Influential French Authors

That sounds like a lovely experience, Penny.

That is so cool, Penelope!

I've just finished the novella Pauline, whose theme is the friendship between Pauline, who looked after her mother and had a boring life, and Laurence, who is a successful actress and is a caring person.
The title character may be Pauline, but Laurence is the much nicer character.