"The Crippled Giant: A Literary Relationship with Louis-Ferdinand Céline" by Milton Hindus (Routledge, June 30, 1997)
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"The Crippled Giant: A Literary Relationship with Louis-Ferdinand Céline" by Milton Hindus (Routledge, June 30, 1997)
Louis-Ferdinand Céline is endlessly fascinating. For obvious reasons, when I think of the publishing house New Directions, I always think of Céline and that press. I first started reading his work due to the love of his stylist language, or at least, the English translation of his work. There is something punk-like in the way he sees his world. The fact that he wasn't exactly a massive fan of the Jews just added a 'wow' aspect to his work. And by no means a 'wow' in a good way. Still, a remarkable figure who lived through the wars and, I think, suffered from them as well.
The Crippled Giant is an interesting and odd book. Milton Hindus, an academic literary type of fellow, as well as being Jewish, became an acquaintance of Céline - in fact, he helped him a lot during the late 1940s, when he was exiled in Denmark, due to his kind-of-pro-Nazi stance. The truth is, I think Céline was just a miserable human being but also a genius stylist - and Hindus had to deal with that fact. The book starts as a memoir of him knowing and visiting Céline but becomes a lit-crit of his writings. The first two parts of the book are so-so to me; on the other hand, the last third of the book is devoted to their correspondence. That, I found much more enjoyable.
Through the letters, one gets a better (not always in a good way) impression of Céline's personality, and to be thankful, Hindus don't back down from him. Yet, he was very supportive, especially in arranging business dealings with New Directions in New York and sending him coffee time-to-time. Since I was a publisher, I found the discussion between Céline and Hindus regarding the publishing world in France and America intriguing. Their relationship didn't last, but this book gives us a peak behind the curtain surrounding the often-mysterious Céline. And for that, I'm thankful for this book.
The book is out of print and costly, but I found copies in the library.
"The Crippled Giant: A Literary Relationship with Louis-Ferdinand Céline" by Milton Hindus (Routledge, June 30, 1997)
Thanks Tosh. I must say that I’ve never read Celine for the reason you mention but I too, like Donald Brackett, am fascinated by this “monster.” This memoir sound interesting.
Sounds like a marvelous study of an endlessly fascinating enigma, a genius who was also a monster, but who always remains a poet of darkness and clarity. Thanks for the heads up on this book's penetrating glimpse into Celine's vortex.