Making it Up As I Go

I finished The Vagabond by Colette days ago and have moved on to Zoetrope All Story, a collection of short stories that appeared in Francis Ford Copalla’s magazine of the same name. I’m enjoying it muchly and will write about it when I finish it. But it has to wait its turn.

The Vagabond is one of my favorite of Colette’s works. It centers on an ex-writer/ now dancer named Renee, who avoids love after she leaves a bad relationship. She’s courted by a rich man who waits patiently for her to return his affection, which she finally does. Her work calls her away to go on tour, however, and the distance provides space to see that their differences could be surmounted, she just doesn’t want to do it anymore. It’s an interesting look at how we choose both to fall in love and climb out of it, and how past relationships affect current ones, and while some of the sections are extremely cynical, I identify (or have identified) with them.

What was interesting about my reading this time is having the background. Knowing about the people and the relationships that Colette was writing about gave the story more depth, although, from what I’ve read, the narrative of the story is only loosly based on real life. The relationship of Renee and her ex was most likely exaggerated for effect, not necessarily for spite as the tabloidists of the day claimed. But I haven’t read anything she herself wrote about the book, so I could be wrong.

I also read her short story Gigi, which I love, but I’m not counting it as an extra book.

Current total: 41
Just Finished: The Vagabond by Colette
Next Up: Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope All Story