Casanova 4 the Diary of Casanova Continues the Diary of Casanova the Conquest
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Although she flew past him she left an impression, an imprint, like no other. When he was writing his memoirs in old age, impoverished financially but rich in memories, she blazed back into life for him again, untarnished, forever young and forever his.
There's an instinct to possess, and it's a hard lesson to finally understand that nobody can possess anything, least of all another human being.
Ca
Casanova famously replied to a woman who asked him what he sought, 'A moment that lasts a lifetime.'Although she flew past him she left an impression, an imprint, like no other. When he was writing his memoirs in old age, impoverished financially but rich in memories, she blazed back into life for him again, untarnished, forever young and forever his.
There's an instinct to possess, and it's a hard lesson to finally understand that nobody can possess anything, least of all another human being.
Casanova grasped that the most we can have is fleeting moments that encapsulate transient joys and preserve them in memory like flies in amber, to be contemplated and cherished later, when everything has changed.
There are certain people I would love to gobble up, possess, kiss and love to pieces while there's still time. But time itself is the problem. These people have changed, though parts of them are scattered across the years like fragments of meteorites that burned up in our atmosphere, and some of those fragments persist and continue to glow incandescently.
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Also fuck Penguin for this type of crap: http://www.penguin.com/static/html/cl...
The rating is for this edition and this translation. Not only is it so heavily edited as to remove any of the power of the original text, but the translator himself has admitted he "modernised" the language to make it "easier" for modern readers. Fuck you is what I say to that. And fuck Penguin.Also fuck Penguin for this type of crap: http://www.penguin.com/static/html/cl...
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Critics hailed this as the best slice of 1700s culture throughout Europe and I have to agree.
What drew me most about the book was the nature in which it pulled me in. I mainly read psychology and business type books, so for me to get engrossed in a story is a rarity. On top of that - I'm usually not one for books more than
I actually read the unabridged version of this book (Diaries of Casanova Vol 1-6) but I think its important to put this review here as I believe it will get the most exposure.Critics hailed this as the best slice of 1700s culture throughout Europe and I have to agree.
What drew me most about the book was the nature in which it pulled me in. I mainly read psychology and business type books, so for me to get engrossed in a story is a rarity. On top of that - I'm usually not one for books more than 300 pages (this was nearly 2400 pages in total). But, despite all of that, the conversational nature as well as the perspective from which it was written was amazing.
Because it was a true story (or at least it is told as such, and while many facts were verifiable, it is impossible to prove some of the adventures Casanova writes of) the introspection that you get is very real and easy to relate to. I found myself caring a great deal about all of the characters as they were painted in such a way that they became real to me.
My only complaint is the sheer amount of names in the book. Casanova did a great deal of traveling, and was a very popular person, so it is very reasonable that he would meet 20 new people in each region, but it became a bit tedious trying to keep up with them as time went on.
All in all, I suggest that if you wish to read this, you attempt to find a copy of the unabridged Vol 1 (I bought my copy from a rare book dealer for $15). If you like that, continue on, otherwise I guess you can just shoot for this shortened version.
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He has all qualities that a bad person would need. He keeps bad company. He drinks. He gambles. He falls in an out of love unimaginably quick
When I read old book, I don't often consider them to be "instructional". Any advice of a philosophical or scientific nature that has been written more than a few years ago is likely to contain assertions that are remarkable for their time, but laughable for our time. Casanova is not like this at all. His memoirs could be titled "Bad advice for a good life."He has all qualities that a bad person would need. He keeps bad company. He drinks. He gambles. He falls in an out of love unimaginably quickly... and yet we like him. Despite his bad habits and inconstancy, we like him because he always means well.
His conquests in love stand up to any memoir I've ever read, though at times his stories have the ring of the unbelievable. One might question whether they are complete fictions, but I'm inclined to believe every one despite the assertion of the occasional critic. Casanova's hedonistic philosophy ends up as admirable as any I've ever read, if not impossible to follow. If I could sum it up only in a line it would be, "Be a slave only to your passion."
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Casanova's name of course has become synonymous with flagrant womanizing, and there
The entire story of Casanova's life is about seven volumes. After reading this edition -- which consists of what the editors think are the best parts -- I want to read the entire thing one day. It's hard to believe all of this is true as it reads more like an adventure novel. If you enjoyed the Diary of Samuel Pepys, Tom Jones, The Three Musketeers and other picaresque tales, you will definitely want to read this.Casanova's name of course has become synonymous with flagrant womanizing, and there is a lot of that here (including a few instances which readers may find a little disturbing in that they seem more like child prostitution). There is however, much more to this story.
Casanova was someone who moved between the high and the low worlds. Born to an actress, he managed to get enough of a good education as to be able to hobnob with the intellectuals and courtiers of his day who found his conversation and person amusing.
It seems he almost always had large sums of money, even if it is not always clear how he got it (odd translation jobs for noblemen, setting up lotteries, and gambling seemed to be his main sources of income). However, as is often the case, many of his powerful friends distanced themselves from him later in life after too much reckless behavior won him the enmity of more conservative elements of society who sought to banish him from their cities.
Particularly gripping was the account of his escape from the "Leads" prison in Venice and his soujourns to Paris and Madrid (where he was again thrown into prison "by mistake"). His observations of the people and customs still ring true today.
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This version is very puritanical. The original is 1400 pages and this version is cut down to 400 and you will read dozens of pages about the food he ate and then in italics the authors will cut between chapters Casanova soon met a pair of sisters whom he pitted against each other in a threesome,
It's just so good. Where else are you going to meet a complete dirt bag who can tell you everything about meeting Voltaire and Benjamin Franklin and who gets congratulated by doctors for giving people VD?This version is very puritanical. The original is 1400 pages and this version is cut down to 400 and you will read dozens of pages about the food he ate and then in italics the authors will cut between chapters Casanova soon met a pair of sisters whom he pitted against each other in a threesome, which is where he lost his virginity. And after reading all about pre-enlightenment Venetian life for 200 pages you kinda want to read about pre-enlightenment threesoms.
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I read it once in book form in college and probably surprised my English professor when I wrote it up. Then I read it twice on a Palm Pilot. Now, I have embarked upon Willard Trask's translation.
Casanova's s
I have read the complete set, several times and it astonishes friends when I say that. Why? (If you are reading this, you probably know why, or can guess from all other contributions here). Because his entire life story consumes more than 1,000,000 words, or roughly 16 standard length novels.I read it once in book form in college and probably surprised my English professor when I wrote it up. Then I read it twice on a Palm Pilot. Now, I have embarked upon Willard Trask's translation.
Casanova's story, when brought to the public by others, often gets trashed beyond recognition. Fellini's effort is truly abyssmal, and many of the video conceptions that have followed are insipid at best. All lack the vitality, honesty, and presence found in the original; and prefer to play to those authors' juvenile imaginings or haunted self-loathing.
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My only regret is that I didn't have the means to acquire the unabridged edition, translated by William R. Trask. This 'Everymans' Library' is a heavily abridged edition, although on good paper and well-bound hardback. For instance, the last volume, consisting of 14 chapters, is not even included.
Utterly fascinating Memoirs, well deserving twelve volumes. By comparison, my boring life will barely occupy several sheets of paper.My only regret is that I didn't have the means to acquire the unabridged edition, translated by William R. Trask. This 'Everymans' Library' is a heavily abridged edition, although on good paper and well-bound hardback. For instance, the last volume, consisting of 14 chapters, is not even included.
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But, of course, he was real. An adventurer and professional gambler in his youth, Casanova ended his days as a librarian and writer. He wrote several books, including novels and part of the libretto for Mozart's Don Giovanni. His longest and most
Talk about wild. Giacomo Casanova was well known in his lifetime, but even he likely couldn't have imagined how his infamy would grow over the next couple centuries. Even now, his name is familiar to people who have no idea he was actually a real person.But, of course, he was real. An adventurer and professional gambler in his youth, Casanova ended his days as a librarian and writer. He wrote several books, including novels and part of the libretto for Mozart's Don Giovanni. His longest and most famous book is his sprawling memoir, which stretches out for over 3,000 pages and only covers part of his life. It is, predictably, interesting stuff.
His reputation as a ladies man comes straight from his memoir, filled with stories of passion and sex. He sleeps with commoners, ladies of high standing and even a few men. His sexual appetite is voracious, even by modern standards; I can only imagine what 18th Century Europe thought of them.
At the same time, his memoir is far more than just a ladies man bragging about notches on his bedpost. Honestly, the most exciting parts of the memoir are the stuff happening away from the bedroom; at it's most exciting, Casanova's life is something straight out of romantic fiction. For example, there's the daring account of him escaping from prison in his native Venice under a full moon, crawling across lead roofs with just a sharpened spike to keep him plunging to death. There's a pistol duel with a Polish noble, a tale which seems straight out of A Hero of Our Time. Or there's his verbal duel with Voltaire where both try to outshine the other in wit, learning and translation. Or the time he tricked an aging noblewomen into thinking he was a magician who'd get her pregnant and give birth to herself, allowing her to live another 70-odd years (for a huge fee, naturally).
The Penguin Classics edition is admittedly pretty heavily abridged - it's trimmed from over 3,000 pages to about 500 - and slightly censored. The translation's less than 20 years old, but translators Stephen Sartarelli and Sophie Hawkes can rarely bring themselves to call a sexual act by it's name, or even call people gay/homosexual (they instead rely on dated, insulting terms). You could argue it's in the spirit of Casanova's memoirs, but one assumes the footnotes reflect their writing, not his.
That annoyance aside, it's an enjoyable read, with nice segues between the episodes chosen for translation. It gives you a taste of how the longer book reads, without it being as weighed down as a huge, multi-volume memoir usually is. I can't speak to how it compares to other translations - Modern Library has another single-volume edition, while Johns Hopkins University Press has the whole thing in translation - but like most Penguins, it's an easy read, not bogged down with notes, but also lacking in things like a map or cast of characters. All in all, I had a fun time here.
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I already love the preface, where the humble author professes Christian belief and in t
I came to this looking for a quotation. This is not the edition I am reading, as mine appears to run much longer. I admit to being totally taken in by the author's charming and humble preface to his own work. I look forward to reading this on vacation and disappearing into the world of the 18th century--the courts of Louis XIV and Catherine the Great--through the eyes of one its truly notorious personalities.I already love the preface, where the humble author professes Christian belief and in the next paragraph describes his love of, and the perfect justice of, his robbing money from fools. He declares that his life was worth living because he danced close to the Precipice, but did not go over. Since he alleges he is writing this at the age of 72, it may be somewhat embellished.
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My problem with the
Giacomo Casanova's abridged autobiography (the full-length version is many volumes) is a fascinating, albeit frustrating, rollick through 18th century European society. From audiences with royalty to the horrors of an Inquisition prison, Casanova surely led the sort of libertine life most could only imagine. Along the way the sexual encounters for which he is most famous help us to understand his need to constantly be traveling, either running to or from his latest adventure.My problem with the book is the way it is edited/abridged. There are synopses of the missing chapters that sometimes seem more interesting or relevant than what was included. I suppose that if I were to read the entire work I would conclude that it needed editing, but reading the digest version simply left me wanting more.
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In general we get This belongs to the genre of the picaresque novel: very volatile both in space (constantly traveling, from one situation in the other) as in fortune. Casanova is quite blunt and honest about his disposition: he's a slave of his passion, driven from one conquest to another and constantly failing. He has no remorse about several broken promises (his conscience is regularly lulled by a "favorable" scheme for the victim). Paradoxically Casanova expects loyalty from his counterparty.
In general we get a picture of the (presumed) libertine section of society in the second half of the 18th Century, with beautiful vistas to the various European courts. You don't have to share the author's amoral view on life to find this very entertaining. ...more
The Frederico Fellini movie starring Donald Sutherland was a box office bust but does indeed offer
Every Goodreads member should make an effort to familiarize himself or herself with this remarkable 18th Century gadfly who knew everyone from Voltaire to Mozart. I think reading his complete 12 volume memoires which run to 3000 pages would be a bit much. However, if after 150 pages of this book of excerpts you find yourself attracted to this engaging personality, stop and switch to the real thing.The Frederico Fellini movie starring Donald Sutherland was a box office bust but does indeed offer a legitimate interpretation of this profoundly debauched man.
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There is much more to Casanova than his legendary love affairs. There is an abundance of relevant 18th century history here and, for the most part it is a genuine page turner. Excellent.
Extraordinary Book! As much as I enjoyed Vol. 1 of the Memoirs of Duc De Saint-Simon, I enjoyed this even more. True, this is a 550 page abridged version "The Story of My Life", but it is not wanting in content.There is much more to Casanova than his legendary love affairs. There is an abundance of relevant 18th century history here and, for the most part it is a genuine page turner. Excellent.
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But who was Casanova? We all know his reputation and how much he liked to fuck, but what many people are not aware of are his great literary and intellectual interests. Often described as the world's first pure celebrity, he has reason to be remembered in a large number of areas of cultural pursuit.
Essentially an account of
He was known as history's greatest lover, right? This massive shagger. A seducer, poet, betting man. Curious about the occult and both genders. General layabout and louche.But who was Casanova? We all know his reputation and how much he liked to fuck, but what many people are not aware of are his great literary and intellectual interests. Often described as the world's first pure celebrity, he has reason to be remembered in a large number of areas of cultural pursuit.
Essentially an account of a vanished period in time, and of different places, STORY OF MY LIFE is about a man who squeezed five times as much into his life as any normal human being.
Well, if only half the stories in it are a quarter true, the mind boggles. Deflowering nuns, secret assignations, midnight gardens, transvestites, decadent orgies. Quite apart from the astonishing adventures, it's a moving and sad account with a strong underpinning of philosophy. And in its way it's a morality story. Sleeping with lots of women (and some men) really doesn't necessarily lead to happiness for everyone. Just kidding.
He's quite an amusing chap too. From the doctor who welcomed his return to town as he had made so much money from curing venereal disease the last time Casanova was there, to his asking a portly gentleman-stranger about a rather porky lady: "Who is that fat pig?", Casanova asked him. "Why, the wife of this fat pig" came the reply. Casanova is a good raconteur and such good company to the reader. His views about the results of the Empress Maria Teresa's urge to rid Vienna of the seventh sin are very funny, as is his clever riposte to her son about the selling of titles.
If you haven't tried Casanova before this lively edition is a good place to start, considering it was originally 14 volumes. You may well want to move onto the excellent Ian Kelly biography from about ten years go once you've finished this, or even start there instead.
Between chapters, the editor seeks to give some flavour of the parts he has omitted. But what appears inexplicable is that one of those parts includes his fateful years with Henriette, who the editor himself describes as "beautiful, cultured, intelligent, and witty, she aroused deeper feelings in Giacomo than perhaps any other woman." Another unfortunate gap appears in his return from Poland, where the visit to his mother in Dresden is omitted, as is his removal from Vienna, and his expulsion from Paris.
All in all, this is a great edition of what I imagine to be a tedious slog in its vast unedited entirety. But if you like caddish adventures, japes, scrapes and swindles then Casanova is your man.
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Casanova had a life like no other. Listening to his biography I not seldom had the impression of engaging in a well written fiction story. Gifted in language and charming in nature he befriended people from the highest social classes all over western Europe. Especially the women were one of his greatest distractions - although distraction might be the wrong word, since he had no real aim in life except jumping from one pleasure to the next. Casa
What an interesting man, what an adventurous life.Casanova had a life like no other. Listening to his biography I not seldom had the impression of engaging in a well written fiction story. Gifted in language and charming in nature he befriended people from the highest social classes all over western Europe. Especially the women were one of his greatest distractions - although distraction might be the wrong word, since he had no real aim in life except jumping from one pleasure to the next. Casanova was a connoisseurs par excellence. A really smart one, too. He almost always managed to find a sponsor for his excessive lifestyle, rarely having to depend on work for money. He lived a life riding the waves of adventure - being wealthy; losing all money through gambling; traveling all over western Europe; almost dying from his numerous sexually transmitted diseases; breaking out of a prison; having a romance with a nun, whose lover is watching her and Casanova having sex from the next room and many more. His biography is an accumulation of extraordinary events - events which won't happen to most people even once in a whole lifetime. Some of them might be slightly exaggerated thus more interesting for the reader. Although a lot of his actions were questionable, especially regarding younger women, Casanova seems to have a had a good heart and hardly any bad intentions towards others. He acknowledged the beauty and virtues of his fellow men and women wherever he went. He was also remarkably attentive in seeing and remembering the characteristics and behaviours of other people - attributes, which certainly were reasons for Casanovas "successes" throughout his journey.
You might like Casanova or you don't, but his life story is an adventure like no other, giving valuable glimpses in the societies and people of the 18th century. Even if it was pure fiction, it would still be worth the read.
...moreHe was so famous as a womanizer that his name remains synonymous with the art of seduction and he is sometimes ca
Giacomo Girolamo Casanova de Seingalt was a Venetian adventurer and author. His main book Histoire de ma vie (Story of My Life), part autobiography and part memoir, is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of the customs and norms of European social life during the 18th century.He was so famous as a womanizer that his name remains synonymous with the art of seduction and he is sometimes called "the world's greatest lover". He associated with European royalty, popes and cardinals, along with men such as Voltaire, Goethe and Mozart; but if he had not been obliged to spend some years as a librarian in the household of Count Waldstein of Bohemia (where he relieved his boredom by writing the story of his life), it is possible that he would be forgotten today
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