The Blue Flower
by Penelope Fitzgerald | Literature & Fiction | This book has not been rated.
ISBN: 0395859972 Global Overview for this book
ISBN: 0395859972 Global Overview for this book
2 journalers for this copy...
I found this at the Friends of the Library book sale, when I was looking for books on the "500 Great Books by Women" List, though I was wrong about this being on the list.
Fitzgerald never repeats herself, and her latest novel, named Book of the Year by 19 British newspapers in 1995, is her most original book yet. Here she reconstructs the life of 18th-century German romantic poet Novalis, focusing on his boisterous family, his struggle to articulate his longings, and, most tellingly, his passion for 12-year-old Sophie, a simple child he intends to marry despite the furious reservations of family and friends. Fitzgerald doesn't make it entirely clear what draws Friedrich von Hardenberg (Novalis's real name) to little Sophie — but that is precisely the point. Throughout, he is carried aloft by an inchoate desire for something beyond that is summed up in his little story of the blue flower: "I have no craving to be rich, but I long to see the blue flower....I can imagine and think about nothing else." As a counterpoint to her protagonist's beautifully captured romanticism, Fitzgerald successfully evokes the sights, sound, and smells — and the constant sorrows — of domestic life in 18th-century Germany. A little treasure; highly recommended. — Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"
Fitzgerald never repeats herself, and her latest novel, named Book of the Year by 19 British newspapers in 1995, is her most original book yet. Here she reconstructs the life of 18th-century German romantic poet Novalis, focusing on his boisterous family, his struggle to articulate his longings, and, most tellingly, his passion for 12-year-old Sophie, a simple child he intends to marry despite the furious reservations of family and friends. Fitzgerald doesn't make it entirely clear what draws Friedrich von Hardenberg (Novalis's real name) to little Sophie — but that is precisely the point. Throughout, he is carried aloft by an inchoate desire for something beyond that is summed up in his little story of the blue flower: "I have no craving to be rich, but I long to see the blue flower....I can imagine and think about nothing else." As a counterpoint to her protagonist's beautifully captured romanticism, Fitzgerald successfully evokes the sights, sound, and smells — and the constant sorrows — of domestic life in 18th-century Germany. A little treasure; highly recommended. — Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"
Thank you so much for this surprise wish granted RABCK. It is very appreciated! I will write another journal entry when I'm finished reading..