A Widower’s Grief:
Bruges-la-morte by Georges Rodenbach
Women or men who need to come to terms with the loss of a loved one are popular figures in literature. Since readers like happy endings, the grieving often find new joy, maybe even new love by the end of the story and at first this also seems to be the case in the late nineteenth-century novel Bruges-la-morte by almost forgotten Belgian journalist, poet and novelist Georges Rodenbach (1855-1898). But he was obsessed with death and so it’s little wonder that his symbolist chef-d'œuvre first published in 1892 is a thoroughly gloomy piece of prose poetry, a short Gothic novel in the vein of his contemporary Oscar Wilde. The book focuses on the melancholy scene of dead or moribund Bruges in Belgium at least as much as on the woebegone protagonist who has chosen the city to indulge in his infinite sorrow after the death of his adored wife and in keeping her memory alive.
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Your review is so beautiful I don't feel the need to read the book. It doesn't sound like the thing for me, but your review is!
ReplyDeleteI agree that Bruges-la-morte isn't a book for everybody. Admittedly, I was a bit worried at first that it might be a rather depressing read, but it wasn't! It's melancholy like the scene and for this it's in line with my own nature.
DeleteOh, I left out so much in my review in order not to spoil the pleasure of the read. The second half dealing with the affair is great and the tragic end a surprise...