One of the most popular 18th century novels, Julie is an epistolary novel detailing the trials and tribulations of two swiss lovers and their small group of myriad acquaintances and relatives. This book is perhaps has the worst pace of anything I have consumed, and makes One Piece look brisk in comparison. The actual, story, if condensed, could be the length of a novella, but at around 300000 words, the book is decently large.
The first couple of parts have a brisk pace, but by the end, the characters are writing pages and pages of singular letters about such invigorating topics such as gardening, domestic employee disputes, child rearing (from a guy who abandoned his kids), and estate management. The characters also grow from being charming and likeable upon their introduction to dull and grating. My favourite part wasn’t even the story, but the notes the author left in the margins. Some of these were pretty funny.
The translation I read was excellent, offered very interesting context in the editor’s notes, had a nice introduction (that you should read after the intro) and was generally clear with its translation and offered ample explanation for questionable word choices. The edition I read was by Dartmouth College press, and translated by Phillip Stewart & Jean Vaché. Despite everything, I could not put the book down. It has a strange effect on one’s mind.
by vhuzi