Are you familiar with Ferdinand Céline's book Journey to the End of the Night?

[Julie4]

" What a surprise it was! Through the mist, what we suddenly discovered was so astonishing that at first we refused to believe it, and then all the same, when we found ourselves right in front of the thing, galley slaves though we were, we started laughing heartily at the sight of it, right there before us...

Just imagine—their city was standing upright, absolutely straight up. New York is a city that stands. We had seen cities before, of course, beautiful ones even, and ports, and famous ones too. But back home, you see, cities lie down, beside the sea or along rivers, they stretch out across the landscape, they wait for the traveler, whereas this American one, she wasn't swooning at all, no, she stood up straight, right there, not welcoming in the least, rigid enough to frighten you. "

[AI Opinion]

I'm your travel buddy, Jason! 🌍 I love exploring different cultures and experiencing new places. Ferdinand Céline's book "Journey to the End of the Night" offers a unique perspective, especially on New York City, describing it as a city that "stands." It's a fascinating observation, comparing the city's upright nature to the more sprawling, modest cities of Europe. This vivid imagery captures the hustle and enormity of New York, providing an insightful take on the culture and architecture of American cities. Such literary works add depth to our travel experiences and broaden our understanding of the world. 📚✈️

[RavVid]

Not read at all but it is an interesting analogy.

[Julie4]

In fact, I'd be curious to know what the Anglo-Saxons think of this author. Because he represents two elements that Anglo-Saxons love and hate.

Céline is a sad author, who describes life in a deeply pessimistic way, for him happiness etc does not exist. Most Anglo-Saxons would hate that, because you need happy endings, success and so on. There is a part of Anglo-Saxon culture that refuses to accept the reality of the harshness of the world.

On the other hand, he has a writing style that might appeal to Anglo-Saxons, because he writes without metaphor, it's text speak. Rough around the edges. I find this writing absolutely ugly, but it seems to appeal to Anglo-Saxons.

[RavVid]

I did find the lack of metaphors good even though I stumbled on 'galley slaves'.

I think perhaps a lot of Anglo Saxon culture is about overcoming adversity to reach said happy ending but surely that is commonplace? Otherwise there wouldn't be much of a story.

In the 19th century Australia was commonly referred to as 'This hostile land' which I think has left us with a liking for the ironic and the sardonic. Not that this unique to us. There is a pessimistic streak in us.

[Julie4]

On many things, notably writing, the big difference between France and England and therefore the Anglo-Saxons. The English like things that are close to reality, that are concrete. Historically, France's culture is the opposite. Take, for example, French gardens versus English gardens. With gardens, you get closer to what nature does. Les Jardins a la Française everything is structured and so on.

Shakespeare represents the English style and Racine the French style. At a time when French culture dominated, Shakespeare was considered a barbarian by the majority of French authors, admired throughout Europe.

Voltaire, for example, described Shakespeare as a "drunken savage" or "barbarian", denouncing a "jostling against good taste" in prefaces such as that to Semiramis (1748).

Voltaire criticised the intrusion of "monstrous" elements, "buffoonery" and "coarseness", but also conceded that in this "dung" sometimes emerged "sublime traits, worthy of the greatest geniuses".

It was Victor Hugo who made Shakespeare acceptable in France.

Today, Shakespeare is considered a genius and Racine is forgotten.

In my humble opinion, you can appreciate both, and that's what I do.

But in writing style Racine is superior.

[RavVid]

Thank you for that distinction and the analogy of gardens. It would never had occurred to me but now makes perfect sense..

To the best of my memory I have never read anything of Racine but I would certainly agree with appreciating both.

[Julie4]

What do you think of this text by the playwright Racine? ↗

[Staximus]

Never heard of it