Madame Chrysantheme

About this film

LibriVox recording of Madame Chrysantheme by Pierre Loti. (Translated by Laura Ensor.) Read in English by Peter Tucker. Pierre Loti (a nom de plume) was for many years an officer in the French Navy, giving him the opportunity to sample and analyze different national and cultural milieux, in which he deeply immersed himself. The present book, said to have formed the basis for the famous "Madame Butterfly" story, is presented as an autobiographical account of his marriage to a young Japanese woman while his ship was stationed in Nagasaki. His style is surprisingly modern for the period, perhaps anticipating Camus. His descriptions of summer in Nagasaki have a detail which is at the same time personal and detached, while his observations of the people are less than sympathetic. A sense of ennui and lack of conventional morality pervades. (Summary by Peter Tucker) For further information, including links to online text, reader information, RSS feeds, CD cover or other formats (if available), please go to the LibriVox catalog page for this recording. For more free audio books or to become a volunteer reader, visit LibriVox.org . M4B Audiobook (139MB)

Directors & creators

Pierre Loti

Subjects

librivox; audiobooks;Japan; naval; xenophobia; madame butterfly

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