Paul Morand

No one can keep up with Pierre Niox, the speediest antiques dealer in Paris, although not necessarily the most competent. As he dashes about at a dizzying pace, his impatience becomes too much to bear for those around him; his manservant, his only friend and even his cat abandon him. He begins to find that while he is racing through life, it is passing him by. However, when he falls in love with the languid, unpunctual Hedwige, the man in a hurry has to learn how to slow down. This feverish classic by one of the modern masters of French prose is a witty and touching parable for our busy times.

"It is after experiencing life that I have returned here to think about myself." Paul Morand was a diplomat, traveller, socialite and one of the most erudite and original writers of the twentieth century. Venices is his typically unconventional autobiography: an evocative account of a remarkable life lived surrounded by the remarkable. Its poised, impressionistic, poetically vivid scenes add up year-by- year to a rich meditation, full of astonishing portraits and memories, joy as well as melancholy. Though Morands reputation was marred for years by his involvement with the collaborationist Vichy government, this book, in its effortless elegance, demonstrates why his influence has been so great. The thread that holds it taut throughout is Venice, the city to which Morand always returned.Paul Morand was born in Paris in 1888. After studying at the Ecole des Sciences Politiques he joined the diplomatic corps, serving in London, Rome, Berne and Bucharest. Tender Shoots, his first collection of stories, was introduced by Marcel Proust. In a long and busy life, he found time to write poetry, novels, short stories and travel books. Morand was made a member of the Academie Française in 1963 and died in 1976.

Composed before and during the first months of the First World War, Paul Morand did not publish these stories until 1921. Clarissa, Delphine and Aurora - three alluring and independent young women - are stories set largely in London, a city he loved and which continued to fascinate him long after he worked there as an attache at the French embassy.Stylish, poetic and highly original, Morands urbane and witty stories came as a bracing and uplifting breath of fresh air on the French literary scene of the 1920s. They made an immediate impact on writers as diverse as Proust, Cocteau and Giraudoux, and paved the way for Morands illustrious literary career that was to follow.

The story of Coco Chanel in her own words, as told by her to Paul MorandTold in her own words, Coco Chanels memories offer a rare glimpse into the mind of one of the most influential women in fashion history.During a visit to St. Moritz at the end of World War II, Chanel shared intimate details of her life, loves and fashion philosophy with her life-long friend, Paul Morand. Only coming to light after Chanels death, her intimate recollections reveal the secrets behind her success and the captivating charm that made her a true icon

Con Fin de siglo -referido, claro está, al final del siglo XIX-, el escritor nos propone cuatro nouvelles, que quizás sean la mejor forma para conocer a Morand y acercarse a sus puntos de vista, al sarcasmo y la ironia, al desprecio hacia lo popular y comun: su extraño sentimiento de superioridad intelectual y moral, su elegante cinismo. La primera, Flor-de-Cielo, se desarrolla entre Viena y Pekin y narra las disputas de tres oficiales por el amor de una mujer que acabara tragicamente torturada hasta la muerte por los boxers despues de haberse convertido en lazarista. La segunda nouvelle, La Presidenta, pasa en los Estados Unidos y nos muestra a una mujer fuerte de caracter dominada por la cultura de la alta burguesia de su epoca. Con El bazar de la caridad, plantea el clasico escenario marido-mujer-amante, del vodevil que termina en tragedia. Finalmente, con Fuego señor duque, que nos retrata a un hombre viudo de quien toda la familia quiere la herencia, nos encontramos en un territorio mas divertido, casi com si se tratara de una farsa con un final feliz digno de las comedias de la epoca dorada del cine.

Antología poética, de un vanguardista fundamentalPaul Morand (París 1888-1976) es a la vez el célebre, y a menudo reeditado, autor de novelas y libros de viajes y un poeta oscuro al que casi nadie (entre los casi nadie que leen poesia mas o menos contemporanea) parece recordar o haber leido. En realidad, Morand apenas publico cuatro libros de poemas y es cierto que abandono la poesia, al menos la poesia en verso, a poco de cumplir los cuarenta años y casi medio siglo antes de dejar de escribir en absoluto. Pero Morand es ante todo un poeta y uno de los mas grandes poetas, en mi opinion, de todo el siglo XX. Durante mucho tiempo, los superficiales superficialmente han considerado a Paul Morand un prosista superficial y un poeta inexistente, pero cualquiera que se acerque ahora a estos versos hechos de puro musculo, sin un solo gramo de grasa retorica, contundentes como un puñetazo en el plexo solar, capaces de dejarnos sin respiracion, se encontrara (para su sorpresa, que fue la mia) con un poeta absolutamente contemporaneo, quizas incluso tan desmedidamente contemporaneo que a veces parece hablarnos aun desde el futuro. Frente el, Valery, es un poeta del siglo XIX e incluso el muy moderno Cendrars o los surrealistas nos parecen mas lentos, mas pesados, mas envejecidos.Morand merece, junto con Apollina...

Una mirada sutil y penetrante que nos acerca a una ciudad mágica, fascinante, con frecuencia oculta tras los convencionalismos que han hecho de ella un mero "destino turístico".

A presente é unha compilación xenial e caótica das lembranzas e vivencias do home e do diplomático ao longo dun percorrido de sesenta anos. Xa octoxenario, a vontade de Morand foi crear coa súa obra un espazo de dialogo consigo mesmo, no marco dunha cidade incomparable.Si, hai recordos moitos, mais tamen e sobre todo o autor da conta dunha epoca, dun estilo de vida, dunha concepcion da arte, dunhas conviccions e dunhas crenzas que hoxe a duras penas se manteñen, ou cando menos non expostas ao ollo publico. Venecias e polo tanto unha peza de dificil catalogacion, o balance dunha existencia.

Invierno de 1946. Saint-Moritz, Suiza. Dos viejos amigos Paul Morand y Coco Chanel, se encuentran casualmente. El fragor de la guerra ha puesto fin al deslumbrante mundo donde ejercían sus peculiares talentos en un ambiente desenvuelto y cosmopolita. Paris ha dejado de ser una fiesta. Desde alli se mira con prevencion a estos dos personajes, a quienes se reprocha su actitud durante la Ocupacion. Voluntariamente exiliada, "inactiva, por primera vez sin arreglar, mordiendose los labios", Coco Chanel, fumando incansablemente, desgrana sus furias y sus recuerdos frente a su compañero, que se ocupa de anotarlos al regresar a su habitacion. El aire de Chanel, aparecido en 1976, fue el utimo de los libros de Morand. El y Coco se habian conocido en 1921, compartian el mismo circulo de amistades, Jean Cocteau, Erik Satie, Pablo Picasso, Igor Stravinsky, el matrimonio Sert

The story of Coco Chanel in her own words, as told by her to Paul Morand Told in her own words, Coco Chanel's memories offer a rare glimpse into the mind of one of the most influential women in fashion history. During a visit to St. Moritz at the end of World War II, Chanel shared intimate details of her life, loves and fashion philosophy with her life-long friend, Paul Morand. Only coming to light after Chanel's death, her intimate recollections reveal the secrets behind her success and the captivating charm that made her a true icon