Summary of Belle du Seigneur
âBelle du Seigneurâ tells the story of Solal, a Greek-Jewish diplomat and high-ranking official at the League of Nations in 1930s Geneva, who embarks on a passionate love affair with Ariane, a Swiss woman married to his colleague Adrien Deume.
Reasons to read Belle du Seigneur
âBelle du Seigneurâ is both a love story and a parody of the pretensions of Genevaâs Swiss bourgeoisie and international bureaucrats. This novel is often hailed as a âchef-dâ Ćuvreâ of French-language literature. At nearly 1,000 pages (depending on the edition), it may feel somewhat slow and lengthy for a modern audience. Regardless, âBelle du Seigneurâ has, since its publication in 1968, remained a much-loved French cult novel. It won the Grand Prix du roman de l’AcadĂ©mie française that same year. The author, Albert Cohen, was a Swiss novelist and a diplomat of Greek-Jewish origin. In 2013, the book was adapted into a film, âBelle du Seigneurâ, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
Setting: Geneva (Switzerland)
Original title: Belle du Seigneur
Year of publication: 1968
Nr of pages: 974
