| Genre: Drama Main characters: Helene Grandjean, Henri Deberle Summary: Nothing sums up the book better than its title, as it’s a book about “a love episode”. Helene is a young widow living in Paris with her daughter Jeanne, who is very sick of a sort of “neurosis”. Her illness makes her need medical attention and that’s how Helene meets and falls in love with dr. Deberle. She gradually becomes a close friend of his wife’s even if all her thoughts are for him. Their story doesn’t last very much though as little Jeanne dies of tuberculosis and the two’s ways part: Henri continues to be happy with his wife and in turn Helene gets married too. Their love story has turned out to be nothing but “an episode” of infatuation. |
The characters are so… simple. Helene has lived in Paris for a few years now and never got out of her neighborhood. As for the doctor we don’t know very much about his whereabouts, only that he’s attracted to Helene each time he sees her. His wife, Juliette, is a rather empty-headed little woman, incapable of serious feelings but having a good heart. Helene’s suitor, Mr. Rambaud, is a very kind man and I couldn’t help feeling very sorry for him at times, when he was quietly in love with Helene and she had only one person in her thoughts.
The book has beautiful metaphors, for example when Helene leaves home in a hurry leaving her daughter alone and unhappy, the robe she hurriedly threw on the bed seems to Jeanne like a person thrown on the bed and crying. Also, after Jeanne dies, her face seems sulking and accusing to her mother who can not help feeling guilty.
I also liked the scene when the two meet all alone in the pink rooms. The barely restrained passion between them, the way they are closer than ever before (both physically and in their now open manner of speaking). Actually until that scene everything the doctor said to Helene seemed a bit forced to me, a bit unnatural. This scene is everything the others weren’t and I could clearly imagine it. It was also interesting the feeling Helene had at the end of the scene, that they’ve never loved each other less than in that day. It’s like the physical somehow dirtied their pure and purely intellectual love they shared until then, somehow turned everything… mundane.
What I liked most: The writing style.
What I liked least: I have to say I just couldn’t resonate with Jeanne. She seemed to me a fussy and jealous creature. I must admit though she might have had her reasons to be so, what with her being sick all the time and her mother being the only close relative she had.
Recommend it? I think it’s a good book even though to few things happen in it for my taste (but maybe my tastes are perverted to expect only sensational stuff :P). I’d say 50/50.
Amazon Affiliate. If you click an Amazon link and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Place your comment