You know sometimes you read a book that is so good, and you lose yourself in it so completely that when you finish it, nothing you pick up feels quite right? That is what has happened to me this weekend. Everything I pick up after finishing Colette's Cheri and the Last of Cheri I find that I just can't seem to get into. And it is not a matter of the books not being good, but I think sometimes it is better not to jump into another book too soon, but rather it is better to give yourself time to ruminate over what you've just read instead for a while.
I think I have Litlove to thank for picking Cheri of to read first out of Colette's works. I have read that Cheri and the Last of Cheri are considered to be the highest point in Colette's novelistic achievement. This is only the first of Colette's work (and definitely not the last) that I have been exposed to, so I can't give a personal opinion or compare, but I have read that the characters in this novel are for the first time fully developed and not simply adaptations and variations on herself and people she knew and that the male characters (though Cheri is the main male character)are not just adjuncts to the female characters but also well formed. I loved this book, and now I want to read not only more about Colette, but more of her novels as well. If this is considered one of her best, where do I go from here?
A few possible spoilers here....but don't worry I won't give the story away!
Cheri, the titular character of the novel, is a petulant, spoiled (but excessively handsome) young man in his 20s when the novel opens. He has been the young lover of Lea, an older but still beautiful courtesan (nearly twice his age) for six years. Lea absolutely dotes on him, calling him her naughty boy giving him nearly everything he wants. But it is time for Lea to give him up as a marriage has been arranged by his mother. I'm not sure I would call Cheri naive (perhaps in some respects), but he is definitely immature. Although his wife is a lovely, young woman, Cheri is not happy and returns to Lea one more time after six months of marriage. I think Lea would happily have run off with him, but he doesn't stay. The morning after is not always so generous--Cheri sees that Lea is no longer a young woman and leaves Lea. Cheri is like a warm summer afternoon--filled with lovely, sensual pleasures. The Last of Cheri is darker. Five years and WWI have gone by. Cheri is unhappy and seems quite lost. Everything that once gave him pleasure means nothing to him now. I won't give anymore away--you really must read these novels for yourself! I had been wondering recently what makes a good character in a novel. Cheri is most definitely a character that grows. I read that he is a round character, but a "flat" human, which seems quite apt to me. He never seems to completely grow out of his immaturity, but he does grow as a character--if that makes any sense. Lea, too, grows as a character. For so long she seemed to be looking over her shoulder at age creeping up on her, but in the end she accepts it and is happy. So much could be written about this book, and I wish I could do a better job articulating my feelings about it. I asked what makes a novel good recently...I still can't really say, but I can say that Cheri and the Last of Cheri feels about as close to a Really Good Novel as they come!