Sunday 14 January 2007
Jules VERNE / To Launch a Genre / 15
By David Pitt, Sunday 14 January 2007 - 20:49 :: Best
Very rarely an author will have enough imagination to dream up a new sub species within their chosen category – Jean Auel with the prehistoric historic novel, or JRR Tolkien with fantasy as a subset of science fiction. I suppose you could argue that Gutenberg launched all genres, but certainly they were all inaugurated within a couple of hundred years – all except one. Jules Verne launched the last major genre – Science Fiction – in the 1860’s, with an able assist from H.G. Wells a few years later. ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ and ’20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ were giant leaps of imagination. Because they were written in French, and because the translations for many years were of poor quality, we often do not give this man the credit he deserves – but we should. In my opinion Michael Crichton owes a great debt to Jules Verne.
Original appearance Oct 14, 2005, © 2005 / Jules VERNE / 1828-1905 / author, science fiction, novelist / best / A+ / 15 / CIP 315, OO 09, RD 14, YP 30/3-14
The Eiffel Tower is as symbolic of France as the Statue of Liberty is emblematic of the US (of course they are both of French origin).
It was built hurriedly (in less than two years total, and five months from foundation to finish) by Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923). The occasion was the Universal Exhibition of 1889 on the Champs-de-Mars and it was to commemorate the centennial of their Revolution. 18,000 pieces of pig iron. Amazing! In the end 1,000 feet of symmetry that slowly grew in the hearts of humanity to symbolize everything great and good in France.
Grand. Glorious. A feast for the eyes. French architecture is the embodiment of everything great about France. The sense of style, the strength of stone, the choreography of the village – all elements woven into a tapestry as old as yesterday and new as the dawn of time. The mingling of the ages, with a conscience for continuity, produce in every city, village, rue and realm a mosaic that washes away the cacophony of sounds and soothes the eye with harmony. From the monuments to the miniscule a sense of time and place eternal. From the transcendental brilliance of Notre Dame started in 1163 to the commanding and impressive Millau Bridge (world’s highest) completed in December 2004 – unparalleled architecture.
Tiny specks. Encapsulated history. Take Le Crestet or Rochegude - miniscule hamlets in the south of France. The former, a medieval outcropping clinging to a crest in the Dentelles and the latter, in the shadow of Mont Ventoux, soaked in the history of the vine. Perhaps some sophisticates might echo the oft repeated phrase “ there’s nothing there, there” but I would argue that a couple of millenniums come vibrantly alive. You’ll need a really detailed map to find some of them but they are all over the maps of France. Charm and yesteryear, going back a whole heap and well worth stumbling on. Dream of a knight and a fair damsel – it happened right here in this very village.
It’s called the Metro here and it is for moles. Actually it is quite efficient and during the day it is relatively safe. In addition it is the least expensive way to travel and usually the fastest. That said, it is very often extremely crowded, it is complex, and it is always underground. If I have my druthers I prefer the bus and I much prefer to walk. Paris is geographically a small city with many of the great things uncommonly close together. Take a hike. I am not a mole. If God had meant us to go by subway he or she would probably have made us worms.
If rumor is correct Edith Piaf did, so did Marilyn Monroe and a host of others, but Simone Signoret loved him and stayed with him. He married her in 1951 and they stayed together till her death in 1985, despite all his dalliances – if you can consider Marilyn a dalliance. He was a film actor, a political activist, a singer and a womanizer in no particular order. While he did over 60 films between 1946-1991 there were two highs and many lows. In 1953 Cluzot’s Le saleur de la peur (The Wages of Fear) won the Grand Prize at Cannes. Jean de Florette (1986) was nominated for 8 Césars and won 6. In between the critical acclaim was a little lower, but then he sang for his supper or just impressed the girls – at the latter he was a super star. You may think ‘oh he’s just jealous’ but actually I didn’t like his politics and I am jealous.
High cheekbones and jet black hair were what you noticed first, but when he opened his mouth it was the teeth you remembered. Mister Ed would be proud. He started in vaudeville and music halls and developed into one of the greatest comedic actors ever. Picture Lou Costello or maybe Jimmy Durante and you are getting close. We may remember ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ a little better, but it was the Don Camillo series that made him in Europe. I’m a touch too young to remember but that was the story of a priest’s battle with the mayor of an Italian town that caught the world’s fancy in the early fifties – 347 weekly chapters. Something of a cross between James Thurber and Dave Barry. Collected into 6 books and made into 4 movies it was Fernandel (Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin) who bought the character Don Camillo vs Peppone to life. His characters were common, genial and likable and I think he probably was too, certainly he had a winning smile.