Celine

scottsplatter · 09-14-2010

Wow, not one comment on Celine.

"Journey To The End of Night" is an exceptional book.

Journey_to_the_End_of_the_Night

"As its title suggests, Voyage au bout de la nuit is a

Nihilist

novel of savage, exultant

Misanthropy

, combined, however, with cynical humour. Céline expresses an almost unrelieved

Pessimism

with regard to human nature, human institutions, society, and life in general."

Here is a quote I lifted from the book that appeared under the tray of one of my CD's

“The world only knows how to do one thing, to roll over and kill you., as a sleeper kills his fleas. That would be a stupid way to die, I said to myself, to let myself be crushed like everyone else. To put your trust in men is to get yourself killed a little.” – Louis-Ferdinand Céline

I have a couple other Celine books I have yet to read, but he knows how weave pessimism with a fine hand.

Autojector · 09-19-2014

Quote Originally Posted by scottsplatter

"Journey To The End of Night"

Is the title of my favorite novel.

This work is genius picaresque of dark comedy through the first third of the 20th century. If you enjoy Vonnegut or Bukowski or even Ligotti, you should read this novel. Hilarious and venomous stuff. Every aspect of human existence raises Celine's snarking ire.

It's funny. Despite finding faults in every aspect of this world, he stumbles blindly, stubbing his toe on every fallen brick he doesn't see. His misadventures usually occur by bad luck, and the happenstance of running into Robinson. For a man who was supposedly such an anti-semite, he comes across a lot like a grizzlier version of Larry David in this book.

If you want something more painful, where you aren't as welcome to laugh at the plight of the protagonist, his 2nd book Death On The Installment Plan is good, but not as good. It's all about his childhood, his abusive father, him being taken advantage of by scheming employers... Generally it paints a far more negative portrait and it loses the first book's humor. It's worth reading but it is a 600 page complaint. It should be noted that these two works were the inspiration for the main character in Camus' The Fall, in my opinion and a couple others at least. Apparently he was not fond of his compatriot Frenchman's lack of ethics and morals... Camus even outright stole from Death on the Installment Plan. One of Camus' most famous scenes. In The Fall, when a woman falls into the Seine river, and the non-hero just watches her drown--That's straight up hijacked from Celine.

SpookSonata · 03-26-2015

I find his style immensely appealing - an elevated conversational style spiked by considerable descriptive powers. It has been a while since I've read Celine, many years as a matter of fact, so he is long overdue for a revisit.

MTC · 03-26-2015

Rigodon is a wonderful book.

Liam Barden · 02-26-2016

GirlyGirlMask · 04-19-2017

I've never read Celine. I've been curious about his work, as the linguist Julia Kristeva (someone who fascinates me) is a rabid fan. Where do I start? "Journey to the End of Night"?

ToALonelyPeace · 04-19-2017

Yes, read "Journey..." before you read anything else by him or about him.

fearofgordon · 05-29-2017

I'm currently reading Journey to the End of the Night. It's an amazing book and I can see it's influence over plenty of other stuff I've read - Bulgakov, Vonnegut and Grass come initially to mind. It's grotesque, funny and genuinely one of the most pessimistic books I've read. What a combination! :-)